Even President Barack Obama admits he's surprised at winning the Nobel Peace Prize Friday.  That same response is echoing on the campus of a Sioux Falls school that's hosted past Nobel dignitaries.

Augustana is one of five Midwest schools that sponsor yearly forums through the Nobel Peace Prize Institute in Norway. Augustana last hosted one of those forums in 2007. So the Sioux Falls campus has a deep interest in who's awarded the peace prize.

President Obama's Nobel Prize selection caught much of the world off-guard. But perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised by the surprise pick.

"To be fair, it's always a surprise who the Nobel Institute is going to favor with that recognition," Augustana President Rob Oliver said.

Oliver says by choosing Obama, the Nobel Institute runs the risk of bringing politics into the selection process.

"You choose a sitting president who at this time our country's involved in two wars and therein lies the politicization of it and perhaps the controversy of it," Oliver said.

Some Augustana students question whether Obama is truly deserving of receiving the peace prize. 

"I think he possibly could be, but I feel like there's probably other people that have done just as much, if not more that probably deserve the same award," Augustana Senior Ashley Feller said.

Augustana's Nobel Peace Prize forums bring students, faculty and world leaders together to discuss issues of global importance. Issues that organizers hope will gain more attention with Obama's selection.

Obama will be invited to speak at the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize forum at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Augustana is scheduled to host the event again in 2012.