Month: October 2025

Luther College President Brad Chamberlain announced the 2025 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award during a celebration ceremony on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 in the Center for Faith and Life.

The award is presented to alumni or individuals with strong connections to Luther College who have exhibited admirable service to society in areas such as education, government, the arts, business, church, labor, industry, agriculture, research, medicine and community affairs. The recipients are announced each year during Luther’s Homecoming weekend.

This year’s recipients are Allan Solomonson ’60, Linda (Olson) Bieri ’75, Michael Goze ’75, Perran Wetzel ’79 and Loretta Dooley Wetzel ’80, Esther Menn ’80, Erika (Barth) Cottrell ’95 and Ryan Nilsestuen ’05.

Allan Solomonson ’60

After earning a degree in history from Luther College in 1960, Allan Solomonson continued his studies at the University of Iowa. In 1962, he received a master’s degree focused on German history before embarking on a 37-year teaching career at Wausau West High School in Wausau, Wisc. In 1989, Solomonson received the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point annual award for outstanding high school history teaching.

Solomonson’s impact extends beyond the classroom. Throughout his career, Solomonson worked to improve the standing of teachers and their working conditions. He served as an officer of the Wisconsin Education Association and led the effort with that group and local unions to negotiate and secure an employment contract that greatly improved working conditions and job security for Wausau educators.

Solomonson continues to serve his community through his local Sons of Norway chapter, Habitat for Humanity, the Golden K Kiwanis Club and the Marathon County Democratic Party. Solomonson and his wife, Vonnie, who graduated from Luther in 1961, are longtime members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wausau.

Linda (Olson) Bieri ’75

Linda (Olson) Bieri, a Luther class of 1975 graduate, is a dentist at Great Lakes Dental Associates in Spirit Lake, Iowa. She is also an adjunct faculty member with the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics.

As a student at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Bieri was awarded the highly esteemed Hancher-Finkbine Medallion Award. After completing the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1978, Bieri joined her father in his practice in Laurens, Iowa. Later, Bieri and a fellow Luther alum opened a satellite clinic in Spirit Lake. Bieri received the 2005 Outstanding Dentist of the Year from the Pierre Fauchard Academy and has been honored by the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists.

In addition to her professional commitments, Bieri volunteers in her community, with sports organizations and at her church.

Michael Goze ’75

Michael Goze is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and he has been an elected legislator for the Ho-Chunk Nation. He still serves on a committee for the tribe in support of enrolled members. Goze was involved with the Twin Cities Urban Indian Community for more than 30 years. Goze was the chief executive officer of the American Indian Community Development Corporation for 16 years before retiring in 2024. In recognition of his work, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared Dec. 11, 2024, as Michael Angelo Goze Day in the state of Minnesota.

Goze has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Federal Reserve Bank 9th District Community Advisory Committee, the Little Earth of United Tribes Board of Directors, Neighborhood Development Center of St. Paul, Minn., the Global Market Minneapolis and the Ho-Chunk Housing and Community Development Agency.

Goze earned his degree from Luther in 1975. He is married to Rebecca Faust Goze, a fellow Luther 1975 graduate. The couple has four children and lives in St. Paul, Minn.

Perran Wetzel ’79 and Loretta Dooley Wetzel ’80

Chicago residents Perran and Loretta Dooley Wetzel met when they were students at Luther. Perran earned his degree in accounting in 1979. Loretta studied psychology and graduated in 1980. The couple has been married for 45 years.

Throughout Loretta’s professional journey, she has served as a business strategist and belief catalyst, helping high-achieving professionals break free from paycheck-to-paycheck survival and enter into business ownership. Currently, Loretta is the chief executive officer of The Wetzel Group. Perran is the chief executive officer of PG Wetzel and Associates and PG Wetzel Consulting.

As the first co-presidents of the Black Alumni Association — established in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Union — they co-founded the Luther College Black Alumni Association Scholarship. Their initiatives have ranged from the Holiday Happiness Treat Bag campaign, providing holiday gifts to all students of color and international students, to mentoring in the Vocation Inspired Alumni Mentoring Program and hosting the Black Alumni Association Game Night during Homecoming weekend.

Esther Menn ’80

While studying at Luther, Esther Menn learned that she had a Jewish great-grandparent. This discovery prompted Menn to study Hebrew and spend a year in Israel. Her experiences in Israel, with both Jews and Muslims, ignited her lifelong passion for intercultural and interreligious understanding.

Menn graduated from Luther with a degree in art in 1980. She has two master’s degrees, one in religious studies from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) and one in history of religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She earned her Ph.D. in Biblical Studies with a concentration in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in 1995 from the University of Chicago. In 2001, Menn joined the faculty of LSTC. Now, she is the Ralph W. and Marilyn R. Klein Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at LSTC, where she teaches courses and organizes events in support of Jewish-Christian relations.

For the past 20 years, Menn has offered global travel seminars designed to facilitate interreligious understanding. Texas Lutheran University named Menn the 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Church Service Award.

Erika (Barth) Cottrell ’95

In 1995, Erika (Barth) Cottrell graduated with a degree in anthropology from Luther. She earned a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Cottrell received her Ph.D. in sociology and demography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Currently, Cottrell has a joint appointment as associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Medicine and senior investigator and director of clinical research networks at OCHIN, a national nonprofit focused on equitable health care.

Cottrell conducts research focused on the non-medical factors that shape inequalities in health outcomes. Her research, which draws from multiple disciplines and works at local, state, national and international levels, has resulted in 73 peer-reviewed publications and numerous invited lectures and presentations. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Ryan Nilsestuen ’05

In 2023, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appointed Ryan Nilsestuen to the Dane County Circuit Court, a seat Nilsestuen retained in the next election. Nilsestuen also presides over the Dane County OWI Treatment Court. In this role, Nilsestuen leads a comprehensive team of treatment professionals, prosecutors, defense attorneys and parole agents to help individuals recover from addiction.

Before becoming a judge, Nilsestuen was chief legal counsel for the Office of the Governor and the chief legal counsel and an attorney for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Nilsestuen studied history and political science at Luther and graduated in 2005. He graduated cum laude with a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2012. Nilsestuen is a board member of the Ralph K. Morris Foundation. He serves as a mentor to law students and former colleagues. Nilsestuen and his wife, Stephanie Mock, who also graduated from Luther in 2005, live in Madison, Wisc.

At a Celebration Convocation on Monday, Oct. 6, Luther College conferred the degree of Doctor of Civil Law honoris causa upon His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in recognition of his dedication to human rights, environmental responsibility, and the bonds between Norway and the United States.

The convocation marked the ninth visit to Luther College by members of Norway’s royal family. The date is significant: Sixty years ago to the day, on Oct. 6, 1965, Crown Prince Haakon’s father, King Harald — then the Crown Prince — received an honorary degree from Luther College. King Harald’s father, Olav V, also received an honorary degree from Luther in 1939, when he was Crown Prince.

“This is just one of the reminders of the history and heritage that have shaped Luther College, and a remarkable tradition of three generations of visits by the Crown Prince of Norway,” said President Brad Chamberlain. “Today, we celebrate the historic and enduring connections between Norway and the United States of America. Today, we lift up the story of a people separated by an ocean but united by their heritage, their values, and their collective pursuit of the common good.”

“Let me say how deeply honored I am to receive this recognition. To be granted an honorary doctorate from Luther College is not just a privilege, it is a moment that I will treasure,” said H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon. “This country has always believed in the power of knowledge, building some of the best learning environments in the world. Luther College is part of that proud tradition.”

Crown Prince Haakon’s visit was part of a trip marking the 200th anniversary of the first organized Norwegian emigration to the United States. His trip highlighted the deep cultural and historical ties between the two countries and promoted cooperation in business, education and culture. Luther College is the first U.S. college founded by Norwegian immigrants (1861), and its early collections of Norwegian-American objects grew into Decorah’s Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, one of the most comprehensive museums in the United States dedicated to a single immigrant group.

A New Home for Nordic Studies at Luther Unveiled

Luther’s ties to Norway remain vibrant and future-focused through its Nordic studies academic program and the Richard L. and Judith A. Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies, founded at Luther College in 2018. It is the only endowed undergraduate Nordic Studies center in the United States. Annually, approximately 125 Luther students take coursework in the Norwegian language and Nordic culture, and at least 20 study abroad in Norway annually.

Accordingly, the Celebration Convocation marked the official unveiling of site plans for the renovation of Luther’s oldest building, Campus House, to serve as the new home of the Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies. Initial planning is being conducted in collaboration with Snøhetta, the world-famous Norwegian architectural firm headquartered in Oslo, to create a welcoming and vibrant space that reflects a Nordic ethos and aesthetic.

A cornerstone that will be placed in the renovated Campus House was unveiled at the convocation. The cornerstone bears the logo of Crossings, the yearlong bicentennial celebration of Norwegian emigration to the U.S., and the inscription “Dedicated by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon.””

“For Luther College and its broader community, this visit by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, and this cornerstone, inaugurates new energy and a renewed commitment to exchange that honors the history of the founders of Luther College and the enduring connections between Luther College and Norway,” Chamberlain said.

“Universities are the sites for the free exchange of ideas. Independent teaching and research is at the heart of a free society,” said H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon. “And so, to the students here today: Cherish that freedom. Seek out those that are different from you. Be curious and be generous, because that is how we grow.”

Investment in the Future

Chamberlain also announced that Luther College has purchased a stake in the Future Library, a project in Nordmarka, Oslo, Norway. Future Library is a public artwork that aims to collect an original work by a popular writer every year from 2014 to 2114. The works will remain unread and unpublished until 2114. One thousand trees were specially planted for the project in the Nordmarka forest at its inception. One hundred manuscripts will be printed in limited-edition anthologies using paper made from the trees.

“By owning a stake in the Future Library, Luther College will receive in 2114 a copy of the manuscripts that have been collected,” Chamberlain said. “Luther College honors this connection to Norway that promotes the sustainability of people, conversation, open debate and literacy.”

Welcome from Decorah and Iowa

At the Convocation, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Decorah Mayor Lorraine Borowski delivered greetings on behalf of the city, county and the state of Iowa.

“It is my privilege today on behalf of the elected officials of our city and county to welcome His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway to Decorah and the great state of Iowa. Our town and your family have had a storied history, dating back almost a century ago when we welcomed your grandfather, King Olav the Fifth, to our community back in 1939. The tradition continued with your father, His Majesty King Harald the Fifth’s visits, and of course your own.”

— Lorraine Borowski, mayor of Decorah

“Norway and Iowa share deep, historic ties. This year, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first organized crossing of Norwegian immigrants. We remember the hopes and dreams that brought them across an ocean and then across half a continent to make their homes here in Iowa. It is fitting that we come together to celebrate that past here at Luther College, where descendants of those first voyagers created the first institution to educate their children, and preserve their legacy. But we are also here to think about the future and excited to see partnerships develop between Norway and institutions like Luther and Vesterheim that can spur innovation, entrepreneurship and stronger cultural ties.”

— U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson

About H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon

Crown Prince Haakon was born on July 20, 1973, and is heir to the throne of Norway. The Crown Prince married Miss Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in Oslo Cathedral on August 25, 2001. There are three children in the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s family: Marius Borg Høiby, Her Royal Highness Princess Ingrid Alexandra and His Highness Prince Sverre Magnus. Crown Prince Haakon has one sister, Her Highness Princess Märtha Louise.

Crown Prince Haakon carries out a wide variety of official engagements in Norway every year, focusing especially on entrepreneurship and innovation in Norwegian business, youth and diversity, and nature, with a special regard for the ocean and the issue of climate change. In 2013, he initiated the SIKT conference. This has become an annual meeting where young leaders from all sectors of Norwegian society discuss the future of Norway.

He holds the rank of general in the Norwegian Armed Forces, admiral in the Norwegian Navy and general in the Norwegian Air Force.

The Crown Prince is very active in the international sphere, where young leadership and the fight against poverty are issues particularly close to his heart. As Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2003, he annually visits UNDP-funded projects all over the world. In his work for UNDP, Crown Prince Haakon puts special emphasis on the Sustainable Development Goals. The fight to alleviate poverty and sustainable oceans are at the core of his efforts.

In 2006, Crown Prince Haakon was one of three founders of the organization Global Dignity, a worldwide initiative to promote values-based leadership. He is actively engaged in The Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s Foundation, which identifies and supports projects for young people in Norway with the objective of strengthening youth leadership and integration.

In a lovely display of community spirit, Luther College professors, staff members and alumni created a native prairie seed mix to serve as the memento for President Brad Chamberlain’s inauguration.

“At Luther College, we sow seeds that inspire and equip students to courageously serve the common good,” Chamberlain said as a part of his closing remarks. “It is a collective effort that develops in students a focus on others and prepares them for lives of meaning and purpose. I am grateful to the faculty, staff and alumni who created a memento that enables the broader community to participate in Luther’s mission, both literally and figuratively, and to realize its vision of catalyzing the creation of a more sustainable and just world.”

The seed packet memento was distributed before and after the ceremony held in the Center for Faith and Life on Friday, Oct. 3.

“Luther College approaches the tasks of faith and learning with deep trust that we are planting seeds now which will continue to grow and shape our world,” said Melissa Bills, director of College Ministries and college pastor.

She served on the inauguration committee, which selected this memento. This native prairie seed mix was chosen for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons were practical. Other reasons were symbolic.

“The seeds remind us of our campus commitments to sustainability and how our efforts to serve the common good include the good of creation, the good of our civic order and the good of those who will come after us,” Bills said. “The act of planting seeds underscores the inauguration theme of ‘For the Common Good,’ reminding us that our individual growth and flourishing are ultimately for the sake of the flourishing of our communities.”

Kirk Larsen, entomologist and professor of biology at Luther, was consulted on the creation of the memento. He encouraged the committee to select a perennial seed mix instead of sunflowers as the committee first suggested.

“Being very involved in the planting and maintenance of our campus tallgrass prairies since I arrived at Luther in 1993, I immediately thought that seeds from a diversity of perennial native flowers would be more symbolic of our diverse student body and the long-term impact Luther alumni have on their communities rather than annual sunflowers that are all the same and then gone,” he said.

These perennials are also beneficial for bees and butterflies.

“These flower species are particularly attractive to endangered pollinators like the rusty patched bumble bee, which we have living on campus, and the monarch butterfly,” Larsen said.

Following Larsen’s recommendation, college officials reached out to Mark Udstuen, president of Shooting Star Native Seeds in Spring Grove, Minn., about the inauguration memento. Udstuen and Larsen have worked together on several successful and rewarding restoration projects at Luther. Udstuen graduated from Luther in 1997.

“We’ve supplied seed for restoration projects on several college campuses throughout the Midwest, but this is the first time we’ve made seed packets for an event like this,” Udstuen said. “Shooting Star Native Seeds is very honored to be able to contribute to President Chamberlain’s inauguration. Planting native seeds is a small way we can all make a big impact.”

Besides being attractive to bees and butterflies, the memento is visually appealing to humans, too. The custom-designed seed mix package features a watercolor scene painted by Julie Strom Hendrickson, graphic designer and production coordinator at Luther. The artwork was originally created and used as the backdrop for “Christmas at Luther” in 2021.

“As an artist, it is always nice to have your work appreciated enough that it is wanted to be in various scenarios,” she said.

Strom Hendrickson, who graduated from Luther in 1993 and worked on campus since 1995, appreciated the opportunity to be part of the team that created the memento.

“This memento is a wonderful nod to the sustainability philosophy of Luther College,” she said. “To me, the seeds demonstrate that President Chamberlain is in tune with our students and their desire for experiences — planting and enjoying wildflowers in this case.”