No pressure, but President Bahls is teaching this term

President Steve Bahls will teach one of the 130 courses offered during January Term starting this week.

Although he's had to learn some new technology, he won't have to worry about the course content when he teaches the Art of Fundraising. He ranks as one of the all-time most effective fundraisers in the Quad Cities: Nearly $300 million has been raised during his 18-year tenure at Augustana. 

Nancy Johnson '83, a senior advancement consultant for the college, will co-teach the class. The two of them have worked on seven major capital campaigns and share 58 years of fundraising between them. 

President Bahls’ course will be taught in-person as well as virtually.

“One of the most important aspects of an Augustana student’s experience is being in the classroom, knowing their professors, challenging their peers, exploring new passions and joyfully uncovering their sense of purpose,” said President Bahls. “I’m glad COVID hasn’t changed my plans to be part of J-term and to work with our students.

“Nonprofit organizations around the globe are going to look to smart, creative, caring professionals when the pandemic subsides. Fundraisers and philanthropists will be vital to the recovery of many organizations, so the timing of this class may actually be ideal."

The college began hosting a J-term during the 2019-2020 academic year when the campus switched from a trimester calendar to a semester calendar. This year, the campus will have 116 J-term courses and 14 J-term internships. 

“J-term is a fairly unique opportunity, and mostly offered by smaller colleges like ours,” said Provost Dr. Wendy Hilton-Morrow. “It’s a departure from 15-week semesters and balancing multiple classes, and it gives students, as well as faculty, the opportunity to dig in deeply on one topic.”

Students enroll in one course that meets five days a week for four weeks. Registration for J-term stands at 1,944 students, or 82% of the student body. Only first-year students are required to enroll in J-term; most students do so by choice.