Hannah Johnson wins first Hasselmo Prize

Hannah Johnson, a senior double-majoring in communication studies and English, is the inaugural recipient of the $5,000 Hasselmo Prize for Academic Pursuit at Augustana.

Johnson plans on attending graduate school in communication studies with an emphasis in rhetorical theory and criticism.

“The faculty in the communication department is mostly to blame for this ambition,” she said. "My professors have been incredible, and I would want nothing more than to teach or research as well as they do."

Dr. Stephen Klien, associate professor of communication studies, nominated Johnson.

“Her work with me on a student-faculty research fellowship led to presentations at two national conferences," he said. "The University of Iowa’s Ph.D. program in communication studies, arguably the nation’s top program, saw the potential in Hannah’s insightful research on the rhetorical performance of LGBTQ identity when they admitted her to begin study this fall."

Dr. Nils Hasselmo

Dr. Nils Hasselmo ’57 came to study at Augustana as an international student after receiving the college’s Mauritzson Memorial Scholarship for students from Sweden.

After earning his Ph.D. in linguistics from Harvard University, he served in higher education throughout his career, including as a faculty member at Augustana College, the University of Arizona and University of Minnesota; vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Arizona; president of the University of Minnesota; and from 1998 to 2006 as president of the Association of American Universities.

In 2011, he funded the Hasselmo Prize for Academic Pursuit at Augustana, in recognition of the ways in which his Augustana education both informed and transformed his life and vocational calling. The significant monetary prize is awarded to enrich the experience of a student who has demonstrated academic excellence and who expresses an intent to pursue higher education teaching and/or research as a vocation.