Month: August 2025

Marking the start of the fall 2025 semester at Luther College, President Brad Chamberlain introduced a new college mission statement, along with supporting identity, vision and values statements, to the campus community.

Luther College President Brad Chamberlain introduces the college’s new mission statement at the annual Service of Dedication.

The announcement was made during the college’s annual Service of Dedication and marked the completion of a two-year collaboration among faculty, staff, students and supporters of Luther to revise the mission statement. Luther last revised its mission statement in 2006.

Chamberlain’s remarks highlighted how the revised mission provides clarity and focus for the college community.

“Taken together with our compass points (honesty, hope, pride and belief), these new elements will support the focus we need as a community to thrive during a tumultuous time for society in general and higher education in particular. Our identity statement provides clarity about who we are. Our mission statement describes what we do. Our vision statement signals where we are going and our values explain why we act,” he said.

Since the summer of 2024, the Mission Statement Task Force has met with various constituents, taking feedback and vetting drafts of the statement.

The five-person task force completed its last revisions at the end of the spring 2025 semester. The final draft was presented to the Board of Regents for their consideration this summer. The Regents unanimously approved the revision in July.

“I am thankful for the many hours of thoughtful deliberation and input from our task force, but truly, this was a campus-wide effort,” Chamberlain said. “Numerous formal and informal meetings provided the feedback that led us to the version we presented to the Board of Regents this summer. The stewardship of the task force was essential to the completion of the project.”

The task force included Jon Jensen, professor of philosophy and environmental studies and director of the Center for Sustainable Communities; Maren Johnson, associate professor of Nordic studies and director of the Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies; David Thompson, professor of Spanish; Michelle Boike, assistant dean and director of the Center for Intercultural Engagement and Support; Andrew Peter ’14, director of principal and major gifts; and Chamberlain.

Over the course of the upcoming weeks, updates to websites, documents and presentations will begin to display the new mission statement.

The revised mission and supporting documents can be found online at Luther.edu/about/mission.

A team of three Luther College anthropology students led by Colin Betts, professor of anthropology, worked to identify unmarked graves at three pioneer cemeteries in Winneshiek County this summer.

Evan McElroy, Benson Newhouse and Rebecca Zheng used advanced remote sensing technology to identify unmarked burial sites without disturbing the ground, an effort that reflects a growing movement in archaeology to adopt non-invasive methods for sensitive and historically significant investigations.

“This summer we learned how to use remote sensing. I hadn’t had any experience with this equipment previously, nor the software involved in processing the data and how to analyze it, so it was a great opportunity,” Newhouse said.

Three Luther College anthropology students and Colin Betts, professor of anthropology, work to identify unmarked graves at pioneer cemeteries in Winneshiek County.

The students conducted their efforts in three cemeteries: Big Canoe Norwegian Methodist, Springwater Cemetery and Crossroads/Metcalf Cemetery. These locations were selected for their high likelihood of containing unmarked graves. By combining survey-grade GPS mapping with ground-based sensing technologies, the students sought to detect subsurface anomalies that may indicate burial sites.

The students used ground penetrating radar, soil resistivity and a magnetic gradiometer to survey the cemeteries. Each of these technologies offer different types of insights into what may lie beneath the surface. When weather was favorable, high-quality data was collected. In several cases, the technology revealed patterns consistent with unmarked burials.

The initiative was partially inspired by the hopes to eventually locate unmarked graves at former Indigenous boarding schools in Iowa.

“These sites are part of a painful and often overlooked chapter in American history, where Native children were forcibly removed from their families and communities, and where many died and were buried in unmarked graves,” Betts said. “The research also has relevance in identifying unmarked graves in historically Black and slave cemeteries.”

Students were deeply involved in every step, from data collection and equipment handling to interpreting complex geophysical results. In some cases, the data suggested the likely presence of unmarked graves. In others, results were inconclusive, requiring careful interpretation.

The findings from this summer’s work will be presented by the student researchers during the 2025-26 academic year.

Luther College’s Center for Ethics and Public Engagement in collaboration with the Regenerating Soil and Community Project is hosting a special event titled “The Ground We Share: Conversations on Soil, Food, and Health” on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in the Center for Faith and Life. The event is free and open to the public.

Anne Biklé

“The Ground We Share” is a multidimensional experience and includes interactive exhibits about soil testing and regenerative agriculture, samples of local foods, books on the topic of “food is health,” and a dance performance by Luther College Orchesis, all beginning at 6:30 p.m.

At 7:30 p.m., science writer and public speaker Anne Biklé will discuss the link between soil health and food health during a presentation and Q&A session hosted by Jodi Enos-Berlage, professor of biology at Luther. 

“Anne Biklé’s work elevates attention to global soil degradation and the essential connections between the health of the soil microbiota and the rest of the living world. One could argue that there is no greater motivator for caring for the soil than seeing this act through the lens of our own health,” Enos-Berlage said.

Biklé is the co-author of “What Your Food Ate” and “The Hidden Half of Nature.” Both are collaborations with her spouse, geologist David Montgomery. Biklé draws on her background in biology to explore humanity’s relationship with nature through the lens of agriculture, soil and food. Biklé’s work has appeared in print and digital media including “Nautilus” and “Natural History and Best Health” as well as independent and documentary films, podcasts and radio programs focused on farming, food and human health.

The Ground We Share guest speakers. Top row: Anne Biklé, Erin Meyer, Jake Larkin. Bottom row: Carly Zierke, Robby Jewell, Wendy Johnson

Immediately following Biklé’s Q&A session, a panel made up of several Iowa organic farmers and medical professionals will discuss the topic of “Soil, Food, and Health Conversation.” 

“By including vegetable, livestock and commodity farmers on the same stage as human health care professionals, we are intentionally recognizing all as health care providers and providing the audience with a rare opportunity to engage with this span of health contributors simultaneously,” Enos-Berlage said. 

Panelists include:

• Wendy Johnson, 2024 Iowa Aldo Leopold Conservation award winner, organic/conventional farmer and owner of Joia Food and Fiber Farm, Charles City, Iowa
• Robby Jewell (2014 Luther alumnus), 2024 Excellence in Agriculture Decorah Chamber of Commerce award winner, sixth generation organic/conventional farmer and co-owner of Jewell Enterprizes, Decorah
• Carly Zierke, organic farmer and co-owner of Sweet Season Farm, Calmar, Iowa
• Jake Larkin, PA-C, lead physician assistant in hospital medicine and clinical preceptor at Emplify Health by Gundersen, La Crosse, Wis. and co- founder of plant partners group, which developed a rooftop garden and hospital farm 
• Erin Meyer, MSFS, RD, executive director and founder of Basil’s Harvest and clinical associate/co-founder of culinary medicine program, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria, Ill.

View the comprehensive evening agenda

Additional Event in Decorah

These events are part of Biklé’s nine-day visit to Midwestern farms and organizations whose work centers on the relationship between soil and human health. A book reading and signing of Biklé’s latest book, “What Your Food Ate,” is at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, at Pulpit Rock Brewing Company. This event is sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation (OVLF). 

Additional sponsors of Biklé’s visit to Decorah are Davi Design Co., Decorah Bank & Trust Co., Decorah Public Library, Emplify Health by Gundersen, Luther College CEPE, Northeast Iowa Dairy and Agricultural Foundation, Oneota Community Food Co-op, OVLF, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Seed Savers Exchange and Winneshiek County SWCD.