Planetarium lobby makeover is out of this world
The door to the director's office honors the first director, Dr. Harry Nelson, the second, Dr. Mel Petersen, and current director Dr. Lee Carkner.
A makeover of the Getz-Rogers Gallery in Augustana's John Deere Planetarium took off after a gift from the estate of the first director of the facility.
The gift came from the estate of Dr. Harry and Lillian Nelson. Dr. Nelson, a 1935 Augustana graduate and longtime mathematics professor, was the planetarium’s first director.
In recognition of the gift, the college has named the dome seating area the Dr. Harry E. Nelson Theater.
When 1965 graduates John and Chris Anderson Adolphi learned of the planetarium's gallery improvement project, they contributed funds and John Adolphi recreated the portrait he took of astronaut Neil Armstrong when he visited campus in 1972. A gift from the Adolphis, the portrait now hangs in the Getz-Rogers Gallery.