Augustana College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has a new name to reflect its success and expanding focus across these key areas: Cross-Cultural Competence, Global Intercultural Experiences and Culture and Identity Building.
The official 2026 rechristening of what is now the Office of the Vice President For Culture and Connection is part of the award-winning liberal arts college’s “Ten Years of Becoming” promotion. It is designed to showcase that ever-evolving mission. That includes in the DEI space, an Augustana news release said.
“Over the past 10 years, what the office achieved naturally expanded in reach and depth,” said Gauri A. Pitale, vice president for culture and connection. “While we have strengthened recruitment and support for international students, U.S. students of color and first gen students, our focus has always been on serving the evolving needs of all students.”
She added “As those needs have shifted, we have responded by expanding our services to ensure every student can thrive. This work remains grounded in Augustana College’s broader mission to prepare students for leadership and service in a diverse and changing world.”
The renewed Office of the Vice President for Culture and Connection is guided by three strategic areas of work. They are:
- Cross-Cultural Competence – Building campuswide capacity to engage difference through shared dialogue, intercultural learning and community-building.
- Global Intercultural Experiences – Expanding interconnection with a growing international student body and an increase in global learning opportunities for all students.
- Culture and Identity Building – Strengthening a campus culture grounded in identity awareness, inclusive norms and community accountability and in promotion of the college’s policies prohibiting discrimination.
‘Ten Years of Becoming’
“Our focus is on helping every student flourish at Augustana and after,” Augustana President Andrea Talentino said in the release. “The Office of the Vice President for Culture and Connection strengthens that promise, ensuring our practices reflect both our college’s values and the world that awaits our students.”
As part of Augustana’s “Ten Years of Becoming” theme, the launch is also is a reflection on the growth and change since the Office of DEI was created in 2016. During conversations with students, faculty and staff, two themes surfaced again and again. They are students thrive when they feel connected, and when they gain the cultural understanding that prepares them for the world today.
The evolution of the office and its work also honors a decade of foundational leadership, Augustana said.
President Emeritus Steve Bahls oversaw the DEI office’s launch in 2016. He is among those reflecting on its evolution.
“Throughout the past decade, Augustana has steadily strengthened its commitment to facilitating the success of all students,” he said in the release. “It is gratifying to see this next chapter taking shape with clarity and purpose.”
The newly rebranded office will continue to assist all students in thriving by driving campus efforts to continue to foster meaningful connection, strengthen the skills that build cultural understanding and ensure every student is equipped for a life of purpose in an interconnected world, the college said.
That mission also “remains steeped in Augustana’s Lutheran commitments, which guide the community to dignity, justice and love of neighbor,” it said.
More on the way
To mark its new role, the office also will roll out new programming in the months ahead.
Ashley Allen, executive director for intercultural experiences, noted those programs will give students new ways to express themselves and connect across cultural differences.
“We have grown to serve a student body that is now more than 20% international, and is drawn from more regions and backgrounds than ever before,” she said. “Students want ways to share who they are, and to learn from one another. The new programs will create opportunities for learning and connection across campus.”
