October 7, 2009

Inside this Issue

From the Chancellor
Featured Events & Activities
Accolades

From the Chancellor

Last week was a very full and exciting time on the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus.  In addition to the many Homecoming activities, Evergreen Hall was dedicated on Friday, October 2.

University of Minnesota President, Robert Bruininks, First Lady Susan Hagstrum, Board of Regents Chair Clyde Allen, and Regent Venora Hung were on campus for the dedication ceremonies.  A large crowd attended the program that included tours of the new residence hall.  We were pleased that Representative Bernie Lieder, Senator LeRoy Stumpf, and Crookston Mayor Dave Genereux also attended the dedication.

Concurrent with the dedication of Evergreen Hall was the official announcement by Otter Tail Power Company President and CEO Chuck MacFarlane that the Crookston Campus was selected for their Campus Energy Challenge Grant.  This unique grant will assist the campus in reducing energy consumption and costs.  A second objective will be to use education to affect behavior change leading to energy conservation.

Otter Tail Manager of Market Planning Kim Pederson was the speaker at the fall semester convocation on Thursday and shared the criteria they used to select the campus for the grant.  In addition, during the day, Kim and other Otter Tail leaders met with students, faculty, and Campus Sustainability Coordinator Dr. Dan Svedarsky to discuss plans for implementation of the grant.

Homecoming activities included Friday night’s Athletic Hall of Fame and Outstanding Alumni Awards and the student pep rally, Saturday’s parade, tailgating, football and volleyball games, and alumni social.

I want to recognize the work of the many individuals in Student Services, Dining Services, University Relations, and Development & Alumni Relations for making the week a special one at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Friday, October 9 will be an in-service day on campus.  Several faculty workshops will be held as well as an all campus staff and faculty program in the afternoon.  Extension Educator Jody Horntvedt will again lead a discussion of ways to engage all faculty and staff to create a positive work environment on campus.

– Chuck

Charles H. Casey, Chancellor
University of Minnesota, Crookston

Featured Events & Activities

Farewell for Charla Hollingsworth of the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, Thursday, October 8 – 1 p.m., Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center

Faculty and Staff In-service Day, Friday, October 9 – no classes, Bede Ballroom and other locations

Seasonal Flu Shot Clinic for Students Only, Tuesday, October 13, and Wednesday, October 14– 2 to 4 p.m., Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center, free of charge

Thursday Commons: Speakers Myron Just, Virajita Singh, and Richard Strong: “Connecting the Dots of Sustainability – a Game Everyone Can Play,” Thursday, October 15 – 12:15 p.m., Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center

Campus Open House Sponsored by Admissions, Thursday, October 15, and Friday, October 16 – 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Campus Preview Day Sponsored by Admissions, Saturday, October 17 – check-in begins at 9:45 a.m. in Sargeant Student Center, program begins at 10 a.m.

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 –

Friday, October 9, will serve as a faculty and staff in-service day; classes are excused for the day.  The morning sessions are geared toward faculty and some select staff or administrators.  Everyone is strongly encouraged to come for a free lunch and the afternoon session, which will serve as a follow-up to the opening week session held August 17. The day’s schedule is listed below:

8:30 a.m.  Coffee and Rolls, Bede Ballroom

8:45 a.m.  Welcome/Review of the Day, Bede Ballroom

9:00 a.m.  Concurrent Workshops: 
- Steve Hannah and Pam Elf, “New Tools for the Classroom,” Dowell 207; 
- Jack Geller, “Jumpstart Your Research,” Minnesota Room;
- Bruce Brorson and Nancy Shay, “Online Teaching...Is It for Me?” Alseth Business Board Room, Dowell Hall;
- Sharon Stewart and Kim Gillette, “Advising Beyond the APAS,” Dowell 206

11:00 a.m. Digital Measures Demonstration by Karen Zentner Bacig, U of M associate to the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, Bede Ballroom

12:15 p.m. Free Lunch in Brown Dining Room

1:00 p.m. Jody Horntvedt, Extension educator, presents “Be the Change you Want to See,” Bede Ballroom

“Connecting the Dots of Sustainability – a Game Everyone Can Play” is the theme of the Thursday Commons session set for Thursday, October 15, from 12:15 to 2 p.m. in Bede Ballroom.  Three guest speakers will address topics including energy conservation and renewable sources, building design, climate change, and agriculture within the context of sustainability.  Global food systems expert Myron Just has more than twenty years of experience in public policy and economic development advocacy, leadership, and management in government, business, and not-for-profits.  Just has served as North Dakota’s commissioner of agriculture and as executive director for the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council.  He currently serves as a consultant to the Minnesota Project, a regional not-for-profit whose mission is to advocate on conservation issues in public policy development.  Virajita Singh is a senior research fellow at the U of M’s Center for Sustainable Building Research. She is currently involved in developing a sustainable design assistance program that engages students from the College of Design to help communities, non-profits, and local governments interested in advancing their sustainable efforts related to buildings.  Richard Strong is a senior research fellow at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture’s College of Design and the Center for Sustainable Building Research.  He was one of the initiators of the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide while a project manager at Hennepin County during the 1990s.  He has taught sustainable design at Carleton College and is currently involved in monitoring the Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines at the U of M.

Academic Affairs –

Arlene Carney, U of M vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, will visit campus Friday, October 16.  She is scheduled to meet with tenure track faculty from 8:30 to 10 a.m., with departmental promotion and tenure committees from 10 to 11:30 a.m., with department heads from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and with tenured faculty from 1 - 2:30 p.m.  Meeting locations are awaiting finalization. 

Student Affairs –

The U of M, Crookston’s newest food service venue, the Evergreen Grill and gathering space, is located on the north end of Evergreen Hall.  The gathering space is currently open, and the Evergreen Grill will open for business on Friday, October 9, to offer students and the UMC community a wide range of food items such as pizza, sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, fries, and other foods.   Fountain and bottled beverages, coffee, and snack food items will also be available.  For convenience, customers may use Eagle Bucks, cash, checks, and credit cards (later this month) to purchase food items and special combinations.  The Evergreen Grill will be open seven days a week during the following times:  Sunday through Thursday 7 p.m. to Midnight; Friday and Saturday 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday Noon to 4 p.m.   The gathering space will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.  This facility may also be reserved for various functions.  Please contact Sandy Desrosier, 218-281-8531, to reserve this facility or any facility associated with Residential Life.

International Programs –

Working through contacts made by local community member Ken Gray, Kimberly Gillette, Ph.D., director of international programs, published an article about the University of Minnesota and the Crookston campus in the September 2009 edition of Bolashak, a magazine published by the Center for International Programs in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.  The purpose of the article was to provide exposure for students who may wish to study on the U of M Twin Cities campus or on the Crookston campus.  Fifteen years ago Kazakhstan set up the competitive Bolashak program to finance student study abroad. In Kazakh “Bolashak” means “future.” 

Those interested in learning the Chinese language are welcome to take part in the Chinese Corner, held each Thursday at 4 p.m. near the Golden Eagle Grind coffee bar in the Sargeant Student Center.  The Chinese Corner is the counterpart to exchange partner Zhejiang Forestry University’s English Corner, where students, staff, and others gather and practice their English.  UMC's Chinese Corner offers a chance to learn both language and culture.  Everyone is welcome.

Finance and University Services –

Shawn Callagan and Stephen Mosloff have been hired by Facilities and Operations as operating engineers for the Heating Plant.  Nanette Wilson has been hired by Dining Services as a food service worker.  Please welcome them to the campus community.

Human Resources –

Barry Melcher, employee benefits specialist, will be on campus on Thursday, October 8, to assist faculty and staff with retirement planning and answer questions regarding the University’s UPlan, dental plans, and/or disability insurance coverage.  Contact Jacquie Normandin at 218-281-8346 or Les Johnson at 218-281-8345 to schedule an individual meeting with Barry Melcher during the morning or early afternoon.  Individual meetings will be held in room 105 in Kiehle Hall.

Development & Alumni Relations –

The Office of Development & Alumni Relations would like to thank all who assisted, participated, and supported a successful 2009 Homecoming.  Congratulations to Outstanding Alumni Mary Jo (Melbye) Eastes, Dave Genereux, Troy Olson, Karissa (Dahl) Olson and to Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Al Strandberg, Chrissy (Nettum) Cyr, and Frank Fee.   Special thanks to Brost Chevrolet for loaning their pickups for Saturday’s parade.   Thanks to Jim Sims, Chuck Holmquist, Chuck Larson, Ed Odlund, Nate Lubarski, and many others who made the tailgate such a success.

The campus will host the annual Torch & Shield Awards Program on Wednesday, November 4.  The highest honor bestowed by the University of Minnesota, Crookston will be presented to Erma Vizenor, Orlyn Miller, Jim Sims, and The Crookston Daily Times. 

University Relations –

Campus maps have been updated to include Evergreen Hall and the new Maintenance and Farm Research Operations Center for the Northwest Research and Outreach Center, as well as other recent office changes.  Printed versions of the new maps have the copyright date 2009 and are printed on goldenrod paper.  Copies have been distributed across campus, and the online PDF versions have also been updated at www.umcrookston.edu/info/tours/.  If you have outdated print copies of campus maps (most of the 2006 maps were printed on buff paper and show Brink Hall), please send them to the recycling bin.  If you need additional copies of the new map or have other questions, contact John Zak at 218-281-8394.

Athletics –

Hunt seat equestrian rider Paige Marek, a freshman from St. Croix Falls, Wis., competed in the American Polocrosse Association (APA) National Tournament October 2-4.  Polocrosse is a mixture of lacrosse and polo.  It has the same general rules of polo but the racket and play work of lacrosse.

The Athletic Department recognized its 2008-09 Newcomers of the Year on Saturday, October 3, during halftime of the Golden Eagle Football Homecoming game against Northern State University. Earning the honors were Megan Eul and Casey Woodside.  Megan Eul, a sophomore from Rosemount, Minn., started in 16 of 27 games played during the 2008-09 women’s basketball season.  She averaged 10.8 points in 25 minutes per game, shot 46 percent from the field, and averaged five rebounds per game. She was an 85 percent free-throw shooter and was recognized by the NCAA as the top free-throw shooter in Division II Women's Basketball in games through January 4, 2009.  Casey Woodside, a sophomore from Albert Lea, Minn., started in 43 of 45 games during the 2009 men’s baseball season and had a batting average of .277 (39 for 141) with eight doubles, three homeruns, and 29 runs batted in (RBI).  He also scored 22 runs for the Golden Eagles.

The Women’s Volleyball Team will host Faculty and Staff Appreciate Night Tuesday, October 13, as they face the University of Mary at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, October 17, the team will “Dig Pink” for Breast Cancer Research as they face Minnesota State University Moorhead at 7 p.m.

Accolades

U of M, Crookston faculty and staff presented sessions at the 2009 annual conference of the Health Care Auxiliary of Minnesota (HCAM), held Thursday, September 17, at the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center in Alexandria, Minn.  Kevin Thompson, Ph.D., assistant professor, communication, presented “Enhancing Involvement and Motivation Through Communication”; Kenneth Johnson, M.B.A., instructor, business, presented “How to Leverage a Small Investment in Customer Service into Big Gains”; Jan Aamoth and Deanna Patenaude, RSVP, presented “It Starts With You...How to Initiate, Innovate, and Invigorate Your Volunteer Program.”  Barbara Muesing, spouse of Chancellor Casey, served as a conference committee member for the annual conference.

Alvin Killough, Ph.D., assistant professor, psychology, has agreed to serve as co-investigator for a grant application submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership (MMEP).  The MMEP seeks funding to establish a national research center to examine the links between instructional strategies and the academic proficiency of newer immigrant students of color enrolled as English Language Learners.

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