Contribute
The best way to participate in the life of the Ronning Centre is to attend events and engage with us and visiting speakers as part of the conversation. If you have suggestions for topics or themes that the Centre might address, please Contact Us.
We also invite your financial contributions, which enlarge the possibilities for the Centre's work. Below are descriptions of each Ronning Centre-related fund to give you an understanding of the work each fund supports. While these are established funds, we welcome any and all contributions to these funds and their important work within the Chester Ronning Centre.
The Chester Ronning Centre Annual Fund
The Annual Fund supports the day-to-day work of the Centre. The Annual Fund allows the Centre to maintain its full schedule of speakers and programming, organize Community Service-Learning student projects, as well as provide online access to publications and audio recordings of events.
Ronning family portrait
The Daniel Yang Endowment
This endowment supports the annual Rev Dr & Mrs Hsi Shao Yang Internship with the Centre, with preference given to a student with East Asian ancestry. Students work directly with the Centre's staff on research projects and program development to expand their knowledge and understanding of the complex themes explored by the Centre.
2017 dialogue with Dr. Jim Linville
The Hendrickson Memorial Endowment
This endowment supports the Centre's annual lecture series. Lectures are given by outstanding scholars, who come from within and outside the academy, whose thought and action engage the demanding issues facing our world. The endowment was founded by the family of Magda and George Hendrickson back in 1969. The Hendrickson family has nurtured Augustana and studied with its various teachers and professors for more than 90 years.
The Distinguished Visiting Fellows (DVF) Endowment
This endowment allows the Centre to bring prominent scholars of religion and public intellectuals to Augustana. While in Camrose, DVFs deliver a series of lectures, engage with students, participate in the Centre's activities and work on individual projects. The DVF endowment was founded by alumni Jim and Sonja Hendrickson. The two served 25 years on the Board of Regents at Augustana (then known as Camrose Lutheran College) prior to its merger with the University of Alberta. Recently, the endowment has helped support one quarter of the Centre's events, including the extremely successful and well-attended livestream with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Gifts to this fund support an integral part of the Centre's work.
2017 lecturers Dr. Aruna Gnanadason and Ani Zonneveld
The International Fellows Program
This endowment aims to connect the work of public intellectuals with the Augustana community, media and non-academics (policy makers, clergy, etc.) on local, national and global levels. The program brings nationally and internationally recognized intellectuals to campus every other year for a conference. The program benefits from the work of a Postdoctoral Fellow, whose primary task is to help organize the International Fellows conference and to work towards publishing research that results from the conference. The program is supported in part by a significant long-term grant from the Wendy Cassady Memorial Fund. Wendy Cassady was Chester Ronning's daughter-in-law and an ardent supporter of the arts and faith-based social justice causes.
For more information or assistance with giving opportunities to the Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public life please call Augustana's Office of Advancement: 780-679-1558.
Augustana Campus, University of Alberta
4901 - 46 Avenue, Camrose, AB T4V 2R3
ualberta.ca/augustana/ronning