August 5, 2008

Inside this Issue

From the Chancellor
Featured Events & Activities
Around Campus

From the Chancellor

I trust everyone is having a good summer. Recent weather has provided the opportunity to enjoy a variety of outdoor activities that make this part of the state special. The excellent weather is good for the farmers in the region as well. Agriculture is an important part of the regional economy so we all watch that carefully.

Much activity continues on campus in preparation for faculty returning on Monday, August 18, and classes starting on Tuesday, August 26. Prior to that, football players will return on Thursday, August 7, volleyball players on Saturday, August 9, and soccer players on Sunday, August 10. It will be good to have students back on campus with all the activity and energy they create.

Facility upgrades are on schedule to be ready for the start of classes. The biology laboratory, business conference room and Dowell Hall 207 are all making good progress and will enhance the teaching and learning experience. Renovations in Hill 12 as a home for International Programs are underway as are some changes in the Knutson Sports Center.

Several other projects are also underway. The campus looks great and continues to draw positive comments from visitors. If you have a chance, please express your support and appreciation to all the facilities staff.

On July 1, the switch over to the new Enterprise Financial System took place. While there have been a number of challenges with the transition, the Business Office staff is working hard to respond by offering training and individual help with questions and difficulties. Your patience is appreciated.

Another change involves the installation of a new phone system. The past few weeks have been extremely busy for Jeff Sinks and his staff in offering training, delivering and installing phones and responding to a number of issues. Again, your patience is appreciated.

A third change is the transition of dining services from self-operational to Sodexo. Installation of new equipment and re-configuration of some equipment will take place over the next two to three weeks in Brown Dining Room and the Eagles Nest.

Registration of students continues to go well. I remain confident we will meet the total of last fall and continue progress toward our goal of 1,200 students.

With strong enrollment numbers, we are challenged to find housing for students. Residential Life has been proactive in exploring alternatives, including leasing the apartments being constructed at the former Central Junior High School. This is obviously a short-term solution. To address housing for the longer term, we continue to develop plans for a new 128-bed apartment style residence hall with an anticipated completion date of fall 2009.

My best wishes to everyone as the start of the fall semester approaches. If you haven’t had the chance already, I hope you will have some time for some rest and relaxation soon.

Chuck

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

Featured Events & Activities

UMC Women’s Golf Tournament, Tuesday, August 12 – Registration begins at noon at Minakwa Golf Club in Crookston. For more information, contact Natasha Kuhle, assistant athletic director, at 218-281-8423 (kuhle007@umn.edu).

Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social, Friday, August 15 – Join the fun at the annual ice cream social from 3-5 p.m., on the Campus Mall in conjunction with Crookston’s Ox Cart Days celebration. There will be displays, prizes and music by the Valley Fiddlers of Crookston. Special guest will be Kathryn Adams Doty, former Hollywood actress who spent time growing up in Crookston. Rain site will be the Northern Lights Lounge in the Student Center.

Welcome Back Week Begins, Monday, August 18 – Faculty and staff return for the beginning of fall semester with a luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. Workshops and training will take place throughout the week.

Orientation Convocation, Friday, August 22 – A special convocation for students and their families begins at 3:45 p.m. in Kiehle Auditorium. All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.

New Student Orientation, August 22 – 25

Fall Semester Classes Begin, Tuesday, August 26

For details on these and other events or to discover what's happening this week, visit UMC Today at www.UMCrookston.edu/umcnews or review our news page at www.UMCrookston.edu/umcnews/stories .

Around Campus

Academic Affairs

The University of Minnesota, Crookston has been named one of the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for a second year by The Princeton Review, a New York City-based education services company. The U of M, Crookston is one of 159 institutions recommended in its "Best in the Midwest" section on its website feature 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region. The 630 colleges named "regional best(s)" represent only about 25% or one out of four of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.

Eric Burgess, business management instructor, recently presented a research paper at the annual conference of the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in New Orleans, Louisiana. His presentation was developed from the research he conducted for his doctoral dissertation, “Stakeholder Perceptions of Strategic Planning in Higher Education.” Eric successfully defended his dissertation and was awarded his doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota on August 1.

Mark Huglen, associate professor of communication, received the Distinguished Service Award at the Seventh Triennial Conference of the Kenneth Burke Society (KBS). The award recognizes extraordinary service to KBS, a national/international interdisciplinary organization for scholarship in areas such as communication studies, English, rhetoric, composition, literature, gender, sociology, philosophy and more.

Kevin Cooper has been hired as a teaching specialist in marketing for the Business Department. Kevin holds an MBA from the University of North Dakota (UND). Most recently he has served as the director of UND’s Research Enterprise and Commercialization Park. He has also worked as an economic development director for the cities of Jamestown and Hazen in North Dakota.

The notebook computer model selected for the 2008-09 academic year is the Hewlett-Packard HP 6910p. Plans are to issue computers to new students during New Student Orientation and to returning students during the first week of classes. Hailed as HP’s current flagship notebook model, the machine features:

• Intel Core2 DUO Processor T8300 (2.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 3MB L2 cache)
• 160GB 5400 rpm hard drive
• 2 GB 667DDR2 1DM memory module
• 14.1” WXGA+ display screen
• 128-MB ATI Radeon X2300 video graphics
• DVD-RW double layer optical drive
• Intel 802.11a/b/g/n wireless card
• Bluetooth 2.0+ card
• 6 cell 55Whr rechargeable battery
• SD/MMC digital media card reader
• Microsoft Vista Business operating system
• Microsoft Office 2007 suite software
• 3-year warranty which includes accidental damage protection (ADP)

Student Affairs and Enrollment

Residence halls are currently at maximum capacity. The Office of Residential Life has experienced one of the highest return rates to the campus residence halls in recent years. Officials are moving forward with plans to lease a new eleven-unit apartment complex located downtown Crookston at the former location of the junior high school. The complex will accommodate up to 45 students.

Renovation and enhancements to Dining Services are progressing in conjunction with the new contract with Sodexo, a national leader in food and facilities management services. Students, faculty and staff can expect some exciting changes—both in the layout of the kitchen and serving areas and in the variety of foods—when they return. Meal plans have been finalized and approved. In the following week students will receive an official letter mailed to their home address and an official e-mail to their U of M e-mail account detailing the various plans and options.

A new campus recycling program has been developed and will be implemented fall semester. Information about the program will be available the first week of classes.

Admissions and Enrollment Management

Three new admissions counselors have been hired: Paige Eskelson, Alysa Haugen and Josh Lunak. Paige is a 2008 graduate of the U of M, Crookston. Paige has worked in the Admissions Office as a student worker for five years and has been filling a position as a temporary emergency hire since January of 2008. She has now been hired into a permanent position. Alysa Haugen started on August 4. Alysa holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and has athletic and corporate recruitment experience. Josh Lunak has a master's degree from South Dakota State University and a bachelor's degree from Saint Cloud State University. He is currently the U of M, Crookston Women's Tennis coach.

Finance & University Services

Special offer on State Fair tickets! Visit the UMC Bookstore in the Student Center for special savings on Minnesota State Fair admission tickets. The regular price is $11.00, but the U of M special rate available through the Bookstore is only $8.00. (No other discounts apply.) Special limited edition State Fair t-shirts are also available for $6.99 each.

Development & Alumni Relations

We offer a special thank you to Bill and Mary Tyrrell, who've made a pledge commitment of $34,000 in support of Golden Eagle Athletics. Bill serves as the director of athletic fundraising for the Crookston campus.

Donald Oss, Columbia, Missouri, recently donated $50,000 in memory of his late wife, Wilma (Anderson) Oss, alumna of the 1948 class of the Northwest School of Agriculture.

This summer's three golf tournaments were successful, with more than 220 total participants and a net of more than $8,500 generated from the three. Thanks to all who participated, assisted and sponsored these tournaments. We're already looking forward to 2009!

The Teambacker Fund Drive has begun. Everyone should have received the materials for the 2008-2009 drive. We encourage each of you to make a gift in support of our student-athletes, who make up more than 26% of our student body.

University Relations

Administration, faculty, staff and students will take part in Crookston’s annual Ox Cart Days. The campus will serve as the host site for the annual ice cream social on Friday, Aug. 15, from 3 to 5 p.m.; campus representatives wearing maroon and gold will staff the entrance gate to Ox Cart Days events in Crookston’s Central Park Saturday, Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; student-athletes and alumni will take part in the Ox Cart Days Torchlight Parade, Saturday, Aug. 16 starting at 7:15 p.m.; and students, faculty and staff will operate the UMC Kids Corner, an arts, crafts and activities booth in Central Park Saturday, Aug. 16, and Sunday, Aug. 17.

Athletics

Golden Eagle Football administration, staff and three players attended the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Football Media Day Monday, August 4, on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato in conjunction with the 2008 Alltel Vikings Training Camp. The 2008 NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll was announced followed by a breakout session with all the head coaches and top players in the NSIC.

Men’s golfer Jake Sanders, a sophomore from Crookston, advanced to the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Birchmont Golf Tournament at the Bemidji Town and Country Golf Club August 1 and 2.

Visit www.goldeneaglesports.com for schedules and cheer on the Golden Eagles.

Publication notes: The E-Update is published twice each month August thru April and once each month in the summer, May thru July. Issues are posted online.

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