News Archives - 1998

The "compensation gap," which deals with shortcomings in the distribution of wages earned in today's society, and its effects on families will be explored at the 16th Annual Augsburg Symposium in Applied Ethics on April 2-3 in an event that is free and open to the public.

The 1998 Ethics Symposium theme is "The Compensation Gap: Striving for Social Justice in Today's Economy." The keynote speaker is Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, author, lecturer and activist. Nelson-Pallmeyer will deliver lectures at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2 and at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 3. Both lectures will be given in the Hoversten Chapel, located in the Foss Center at the Corner of Riverside and 22nd Avenues South in Minneapolis.

Nelson-Pallmeyer's April 2 lecture is titled "The Compensation Gap: Social Justice, the Economy, and Families in Crisis." This lecture will explore the ramifications of globilization of the economy and public policies such as tax and social spending priorities through the specific lens of their impact on families and society. The lecture will also address the implications for Christian ethics and faith and for the role that Christian colleges play in contemporary society.

On April 3, Nelson-Pallmeyer will give a lecture titled "The Compensation Gap: Social Justice, the Economy, and You." According to Nelson-Pallmeyer, trends in distribution of wealth and income reveal profound and accelerating inequalities within the United States. These inequalities, Nelson-Pallmeyer says, affect everything and everyone, including the wages one can realistically expect to earn.

Among the questions Nelson-Pallmeyer will address are: "Will health care become less accessible?" and "Will a college education become available to fewer people?"

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is a noted author of numerous books and articles on hunger, the arms race, and U.S. foreign policy and also teaches classs on these topics at Augsburg College and the University of St. Thomas. His most recent book, "School of Assassins: The Case for Closing the School of the Americas," was published in 1997 by Orbis Books. A social activist, Nelson-Pallmeyer has served on committees dealing with hunger and justice, including the Minnesota-based Hunger and Justice Project for the Lutheran Church. A consultant for the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College, he is a frequent visitor to Central America.

The Annual Augsburg Ethics Symposium is funded by the Batalden Applied Ethics Fund, established by Abner and Martha Batalden, Paul and LaVonne Batalden, and Stephen and Sandra Batalden. The fund brings national and international authorities in the field of ethics to Augsburg College to discuss questions of applied ethics within spiritual and practical dimensions.

For more information on the 1998 Augsburg Seminar in Applied Ethics, contact the Public Relations and Communication Office, Augsburg College, Campus Box 145, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454, phone (612) 330-1180, or send e-mail to: bensond@augsburg.edu.