August 2, 2010

Inside this Issue

From the Chancellor
Featured Events & Activities
Around Campus
Accolades

From the Chancellor

Over the past few months I’ve made reference to how quickly the summer is passing.  That seems even more real now that we’ve entered the month of August.  Many signs are all around us as we watch the local crops mature and harvesting begins.  Daylight hours are shrinking, and some say it feels like fall.  Despite all those things it has been a good summer with more than enough rain—perhaps too much for those with large lawns to mow.  In any case, the calendar indicates we are heading into the Dog Days of Summer and that means the 2010-2011 academic year is close by.

That realization was clear as I drove into campus on Monday morning.  The grounds crew have prepared the athletic fields for the arrival of student-athletes next week.  The flowers on campus look great, and the grass has thrived with the rain and warm days.  The custodial staff has been working all summer to make sure classrooms are ready for fall semester.  Other facilities staff members have also been working to prepare offices for new and returning faculty as they start their year on Monday, August 16.  Other improvements on campus include new lighting in several buildings, a new paddock for the horses at the University Teaching and Outreach Center (UTOC), and many examples of preventive maintenance too numerous to mention.  A noticeable addition on the Mall are the three new flag poles, a gift from NWSA Alumnus Harris Peterson.

I’ve mentioned many visible signs of work over the summer.  However, everyone has been working to prepare for the new academic year as well.  Department Heads are preparing for the arrival of new and returning faculty.  New student recruitment and registration is ongoing work.  Changes in financial aid procedures that need to be followed and fundraising and alumni relations always require everyday attention.  New laptop computers were delivered a few weeks ago, and technology staff and student workers are preparing them for returning students.  Coaches are eager for the arrival of student athletes, and the residence hall staff is looking forward to the opening of the halls in less than three weeks. 

Over the summer sometimes people will ask, “Do you work during the summer?”  I would hope from what I have referenced anyone would see there is a tremendous amount of work that goes on across the campus during the summer.  We are excited about the return of faculty on August 16 and the start of classes on August 24.  We have much work to do over the next three weeks but will be ready for the arrival of students.


– Chuck
Charles H. Casey, Chancellor
University of Minnesota, Crookston

Featured Events & Activities

New Student Registration, Friday, August 6 – 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., check-in at Sargeant Student Center

Women’s Golf Tournament, Tuesday, August 10 – 1:00 p.m. tee-off, Minakwa Golf Club, Crookston, $30 entry fee, proceeds support women’s athletics

2010 Annual Red River Valley Volunteer Recognition Banquet Recognizing Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Pennington, and Norman Counties, Wednesday, August 11 – 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Brown Dining Room, Sahlstrom Conference Center

2010 Annual Red River Valley Volunteer Recognition Banquet Recognizing Polk and Red Lake Counties, Thursday, August 12 – 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Brown Dining Room, Sahlstrom Conference Center

New Faculty and Staff Orientation Session, Monday, August 16 – 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., meet in Kiehle 116

Faculty and Staff Luncheon Followed by New Employee Introductions and Address by Chancellor Casey, Monday, August 16 – 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center

UMC Hosts Annual Ox Cart Days Ice Cream Social, Wednesday, August 18 – 2 to 4 p.m., Peterson Gazebo, Campus Mall

New Student Orientation and Check-In to Residence Halls, Friday, August 20 – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Check-In at Rotunda of Kiehle Building

New Student Convocation, Friday, August 20 – 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., Kiehle Auditorium

Fall Semester Classes Begin, Tuesday, August 24


For details on these and a comprehensive listing of other events or to discover what’s happening this week, visit UMC Today at www.umcrookston.edu/today or review our news page at blog.lib.umn.edu/umcweb/news.

Around Campus

Administrative Affairs -

The U of M, Crookston contributes $50 million annually to the local and regional economy, according to a study recently completed by University of Minnesota Extension's Center for Community Vitality.  The economic impact of UMC supports a total of 602 jobs and $25.1 million in labor income.  The study factored the economic contributions of faculty and staff spending, construction projects, daily operations, student spending, and spending by visitors at campus events in 2009.  Learn more.

Academic Affairs –

The Business Department has hired Denis Maier as a tenure-track assistant professor in business management.  Maier earned his Ph.D. in operations management from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, where he also taught undergraduate business administration courses and served as a consultant in the Department of Business Administration with a focus on production and logistics.  Most recently he served as an associated partner for Management and Advisory Services, based in Zurich, Switzerland.  From 2007 to 2009 he served as director of operations and COO for Tecton Products, a division of Marvin Windows and Doors in Fargo, N.D., where he was responsible for production, quality, manufacturing engineering, and maintenance.  He also has held various positions with BMW in Munich, Germany.

Two certificate programs to be offered by the Math, Science, and Technology (MST) Department were approved at the July meeting of the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota.  Both certificate programs, which will launch this fall, are integral components of the University Partnership for Health Informatics (UP-HI), a consortium established through partnership among the U of M, Crookston, the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Health Informatics, School of Nursing, School of Public Health, and Department of Computer Science, and the College of St. Scholastica.  The UP-HI consortium has been funded $5.1 million by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for three full years.  Scholarships to cover tuition are available for up to 54 students at the Crookson campus.  Contact Adel Ali, professor and head of the MST Department, for more information.

The Health Informatics Privacy and Security for Health Care Providers (HIPS-HCP) Certificate Program prepares students to support the secure collection, management, retrieval, exchange, and/or analysis of information in electronic form in health care and public health organizations.  This program is designed mainly to attract students who are working as health care providers or who are currently enrolled in or have completed a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree in health, allied health, clinical lab science, or public health.  The program is especially attractive to community college graduates who are seeking to complete a baccalaureate degree.  

The Health Informatics for Software Engineers and Information Technology Professionals (HI-SEITP) Certificate Program prepares students with an existing background in information technology, programming, and software engineering to apply their expertise to the domain of health informatics in order to build advanced information systems for health care and public health organizations.  This program is designed mainly to attract students who are enrolled in or who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher in a computer science, software engineering, or information technology profession.

Research –

Research currently being conducted at the U of M, Crookston by Katy Smith, Ph.D., assistant professor, biology and environmental sciences, may provide important answers to solving one of today’s most pressing environmental challenges:  the restoration of contaminated soil sediments.  Starting in February 2010, Smith and Tamara Luna, a recent UMC graduate, used a growth chamber in the Bergland Laboratory to conduct tests on several plant species including iris, mimulus, switchgrass, and fescue.  This continuing research will help determine the degree to which the toxicity of sediments might be reduced by the presence of these plants.  Learn more.

Kristie Walker, Ph.D., assistant professor, agronomy and golf and turf management, is conducting research that will help determine the best mix for managing a quality athletic field with a smaller budget and crew – a serious consideration in the current economy.  Walker has spent her summer working on the football practice field at the U of M, Crookston along with Mark Michalski, a senior double majoring in golf and turf management and horticulture.  They are examining the effects of cultivation practices on three varieties of grass seed:  Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and a mix of the two, all donated by Rivard's Quality Seeds Inc. in Argyle, Minn.  Learn more.

Student Affairs –

With the departure of Sara Kaiser to the University of Mississippi to pursue her doctorate, the coordinator position for the Student Experience and Parent Programs will report to the director of admissions as soon as a replacement is hired.  Efficiencies will be gained with the overlap of responsibilities within the Office of Admissions and Enrollment Management, and the new coordinator of the Student Experience and Parent Programs will operate out of Owen Hall 170G.  In tandem with this change, Deb Chandler, principal office and administrative specialist, will move to the office 145H Sargeant Student Center and will report to the associate vice chancellor for student affairs.  She will continue to cover the campus switchboard and will assist Student Affairs with additional administrative tasks.  Thomas Williams, director, diversity programs, will move to 145G Sargeant Student Center.

New Student Registration is scheduled for Fri., Aug. 6.  The schedule begins at 8:30 a.m. with check-in at the Sargeant Student Center.  In addition to registering for classes, students will have a chance to meet with faculty members as well as representatives from Financial Aid, Student Affairs, and the Business Office. 

Business Affairs –

Parking permits for the new academic year are now available at the Business Office in Selvig Hall.  Cost is $90 plus tax for an annual permit for all lots or $60 plus tax for a single semester permit.  Reserved parking permits are available in lots D, E, and F and cost $145 plus tax.  Faculty may elect to have the cost automatically deducted from their pay, and, new this year, students may place the permit fee on their student accounts.  Fines for not having a parking permit appropriately displayed by the second week of the semester have increased to $25.  Holds will be placed on student accounts after three unpaid parking tickets.

Facilities & Operations –

Work to replace the light fixtures in Lysaker Gymnasium, the Fitness Center, and UTOC Arena has been completed.  The project involved replacing existing low efficiency lighting with high efficiency fluorescent lighting. Replacement of lights in campus greenhouses is also planned.  Not only are the new lights brighter, but their electrical efficiency will save an estimated $11,000 per year.  The new fixtures will essentially pay for themselves by the electrical savings they generate in just over two years.  This replacement project has been part of the Campus Energy Challenge, a conservation effort UMC has undertaken with Otter Tail Power Company to reduce campus electrical consumption by 15% by the end of this year.

A request for proposals (RFP) for an electronic card access system has been completed and will be released in the next two weeks.  The Crookston campus was allocated $175,000 in funding from a capital and maintenance security fund managed by U of M Central Security and authorized by the VP of University Services to implement this project.

Permanent water faucets (spigots) will be installed at the Jim Leclair Practice Field this coming week.

The ramp between Dowell Hall and Sahlstrom Conference Center and the ramp going north in Dowell Hall have both been recarpeted.  Also three thermo pane windows were replaced in the link between Dowell and Sahlstrom.

Technology Support Services –

Technology Support Services has been sending reminders regarding the implementation of Google Apps for the Crookston campus.  Google Apps is a suite of web applications including e-mail (Gmail), documents, calendar, and other applications.  At this time, however, the focus is on Gmail; the calendar app will follow at a later date.  The migration process began the week of June 28 for a small group of users.  Technology Support Services plans to phase in the Google e-mail implementation over the summer and will contact individual faculty and staff members to make arrangements for the transition.   Again, please review the information at the following web link, www.oit.umn.edu/google/transitioning-gmail, to help prepare for migration to Google e-mail sometime this summer.

Development & Alumni Relations –

The new $50,000 George French Endowed Music Scholarship has been established.  Special thanks go to the donor whose financial support created this endowment.

Donald Oss of Columbia, MO, has made a generous gift annuity of $25,000 in memory of his late wife, Wilma ’49.

Landscaping work is planned for the Centennial Park Flag Pole Project and should take place this coming week.  Facilities & Operations interns, along with Theresa Helgeson, lab services coordinator for horticulture, will plant Diablo Ninebark shrubs and daylilies (separated from existing plants from across campus) around the flag poles.  This project was fully funded by alumnus Harris Peterson ’42 with a gift of more than $31,000 last winter.  A dedication will be held this fall.

The 2010-11 Teambackers Fund Drive is underway.  Please consider making a donation in support of student-athlete scholarships

On Tuesday, July 27, Development & Alumni Relations hosted seven peers from the University of Minnesota Foundation who serve as regional development officers (RDO’s) across the nation.  They’re visiting all coordinate campuses and colleges of the U of M system to better understand each and to be more effective advocates when visiting with prospective donors.

University Relations -

Faculty and staff are reminded that the campus Printing and Design Unit will gear up with staffing starting Thursday, August 5, with the return of Linda Wilkens, copy center operator.  Patti Tiedemann, graphic designer, and John Zak, photographer and editor, will both return August 9.  They will be happy to assist you with your print, design, and photographic needs.  Also please know advance lead time for projects is appreciated.

With this edition, University Relations begins the return to a twice monthly publication schedule of E-Update for the academic year.  To submit items for consideration, please contact Andrew Svec, director of communications, public relations, and marketing at 218-281-8438.

Athletics -

The fall pre-season starts soon with football players reporting on Wednesday, August 11, and soccer and volleyball players reporting on Saturday, August 14.

The annual UMC Women’s Golf Tournament will be held on Tuesday, August 10, at Minakwa Golf Club in Crookston.  Tee-off is at 1:00 p.m. and the entry fee is $30 per person.  Proceeds support women’s athletics.  Please contact Assistant Athletic Director Natasha Kuhle at 218-281-8423 to register.

Campus & Community -

The successful partnership between the U of M, Crookston’s Center for Adult Learning and the City of Crookston's Parks and Recreation Club Kid Program closed on a high note at LeClair Field on July 27 with a group of young students launching rockets they built under the supervision of Tim Young, associate professor of physics and astrophysics at UND, Tricia Young, UMC teaching specialist, and David DeMuth, associate professor of math and physics at UMC.  The event was the last in a series of fun educational events held on campus over the summer intended to expose elementary and middle school-aged students to a college atmosphere as they experienced lessons in science, athletics, physics, humanities, and natural resources.

Accolades

Don Cavalier, director, Career and Counseling Department, was recently elected by the University of Minnesota Civil Service Committee as chairperson-elect for the 4,800 civil service employees on all five campuses of the University of Minnesota.  He will become the Civil Service Committee chairperson for the 2011-12 academic year.   He has represented the Civil Service Committee on several other all-University committees including the Benefits Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee, the Equal Opportunity and Access Committee, and he has served as the Civil Service representative on the Grassroots Legislative Committee.  He also was a past vice-chairperson in 1996-97 and was the All-University Civil Service Committee Chairperson in 1997-98. 

Publication notes:  The E-Update is published twice each month August through April and once each month May through July.
Issues are posted online.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this news update, please send them to urumc@umn.edu.

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