The shared services marketing and communication and IT departments have been working together since summer 2017 on a staged transition to move the seminary off our legacy content management system for web properties. The CMS is a custom-built system that faces stability issues and challenges with adding new functionality (because it doesn’t have access to an ecosystem of compatible components). It is also expensive to maintain.
We are transitioning to WordPress, a CMS used by many colleges, universities, and graduate schools. The system is intuitive for content managers, and extensive training and support materials are available.
The first items to be moved were those needed to ensure continuity of operations in the event of a catastrophic failure of the legacy CMS. Fortunately, Seminary Relations already used a third-party system to accept philanthropic gifts online. Admissions has been moved to WordPress (admissions.luthersem.edu), so we would still have the ability to collect prospective student inquiries and applications as well. Lifelong Learning moved to the new faith+lead site (faithlead.luthersem.edu), which is also hosted in WordPress. The Festival of Homiletics (festivalofhomiletics.org) has transitioned, and a project to move Working Preacher is under way. The new inside.luthersem.edu site is also hosted on the new system.
The time has now come to move the rest of the primary external site, www.luthersem.edu, into the new system. (The admissions site will be re-integrated with the rest of the seminary website as part of this project.) A “test” or staging site has been built, and marketing and communication is currently in the progress of migrating the current content from the existing site onto that platform. We will then connect with each site content manager or department to discuss whether any of that content should be edited or revised before the launch of the new site. Of course, changes and revisions can continue after the new site launches as well. Our goal is to launch the new site in early 2020.
Please reach out to me; Laura Swanson Lindahl, director of marketing; or Joe Mann, web manager, with any questions, concerns, or advice about this effort. Thank you!
Stephen Jendraszak, Associate Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Augsburg University and Luther Seminary
Archives for October 11, 2019
Collecting Warm Winter Outer Wear for Our Community!
The dropping temperatures seem especially cold to our newest students unused to Minnesota’s quickly changing seasons. And, since most international students arrive from warm weather countries, they have no cold weather clothing to bring to Luther.
Thus, International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) is collecting warm winter gear in good, usable condition for our international students. Along with winter coats, most needed are hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, boots, sweaters, and sweatshirts. Adult sizes only, specifically men’s M/L/XL; no additional clothing accepted at this time.
You may bring your donations to Student Affairs in NW 120, or leave them in the tub outside the office suite.
Remaining items will be distributed to our seminary community through the seminary Food Shelf. Any items not used will be donated locally to those in need. Thank you!
Why Jesus? A Spiritual Formation Experiment
Wednesday Oct 16th after chapel, come join us for Why Jesus? It is our community’s experiment on spiritual formation and story sharing. This event is supported by Aus Memorial Lecture on Evangelism and Spirit Lab. We will have The Rev. Dr. Joy Moore, Associate Professor of Homiletics, sharing her story of faith and answering these two key questions: Why are you a Christian? What difference does Jesus make in your life?
Come and join us in Dining Room C from 11:45am-12:30pm. Soup and bread will be provided.
*Not on campus? The faith stories will be posted in a Special Moodle module and live streaming through Community Life Facebook.
Questions? Reach out to Professor Mark Granquist (mgranquist001@luthersem.edu)
Professor Alan Padgett (apadgett@luthersem.edu)
or Spirit Lab (spiritlab@luthersem.edu)
Application for Conference Funds via Student Affairs
Students: looking for funds to attend professional conferences, trainings, or workshops that will supplement your educational experience at Luther?
Limited funding is available from Student Affairs, with a $300 maximum per student. Residential & DL students are eligible to request funds. We specifically encourage applications for opportunities which expand students’ experiences of the diverse religious communities in the U.S., of other cultures, or of the global church.
Please submit requests a minimum of two weeks prior to the event. If awarded, you will be asked to provide a summary of your experience and any itemized receipts, as applicable.
Apply now!