May 29, 2020

Here’s a clever — and tasty — way to stay in touch and thank your team: Host a Zoom dinner.

That’s what Augustana University president Stephanie Herseth Sandlin did Thursday night for nearly 200 faculty, staff and coaches.

Just as the Augustana class of 2020 did last week, the dinner guests drove through the Elmen Center parking lot to pick up their meals.

The to-go Italian dinner featured fresh, house-made blue and gold pasta as a nod to the university’s colors, made-from-scratch sauce, breadsticks, dessert and a thank-you note from the president.

Herseth Sandlin and her husband, Max, also gifted each employee a bottle of wine to accompany the meal.

Everyone started cooking at 6 p.m. and the Augustana families gathered in a Zoom “dining room” for dinner with special pre-recorded Italian music by Augustana musicians Peter Folliard, Russ Svenningsen and Brian Hanegan.

Campus pastor the Rev. Ann Rosendale offered a prayer, and throughout the dinner, the group conversed, toasted and reflected on the unprecedented academic year.

“I am enormously grateful to my colleagues and their families for participating in this special community event, marking the end of ‘a semester to remember,’ ” Herseth Sandlin said.

“As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of the present circumstances, what we just lived and worked though together is now a part of the university’s storied past and reflects the resilience of this very special place.”