Public invited to SMU 10K classic ski Sunday, Jan. 31

The public is invited to the annual “SMU 10K” classic ski event on Sunday, Jan. 31.

“We’re very fortunate to have an excellent trail system here that is both scenic, as well as challenging," said Chris Kendall, vice president for Student Development. “And this year we can be sure we will actually have snow, thanks to our new snow-making capabilities as a result of a partnership with the Winona Ski Club.”

The event is open to all individuals, with a mass start slated for 1 p.m. On-site registration will begin at 11 a.m. at the Toner Student Center. The cost is $10, which includes a souvenir race bib. Medals will be awarded for men and women in open and recreational classes.

For more information or to receive a registration form, call Davey Warner at Ext. 8740 or e-mail drwarn03@smumn.edu.

SMU forms team for Habitat Women Build

It’s time to start raising the roof! Saint Mary’s is one of 16 teams helping to build Winona County’s first Habitat for Humanity Women Build home.

Nationally, more than 1,500 Habitat homes have been built by crews of women. This next year, Winona County’s 41st Habitat Home will be added to this list. It’s important to note that Women Build is not about excluding men (who will help in many supportive roles); it’s about including women.

Terri Lieder and Deb Nahrgang from the Office of Communication and Marketing, invite any faculty, staff or students who are interested in learning more about the project, to attend an upcoming kickoff event on Thursday, Jan. 21.

The kickoff will run from 5 to 7 p.m., and participants are invited to drop in anytime to the Winona Knitting Mills Building, 909 E. 2nd St. Informal presentations about the Women Build are scheduled for 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

Light refreshments will be served, and Women Build merchandise and information will be available. Habitat will also be hosting some fun hands-on learning titled, “Home Building 101.”
If you’re already on the team, come meet the others who will be involved in the build. If you’re not yet on our team, come and find out how you can join.

Come hear more about how you can make home ownership possible for a family in Winona — and about how women can really make a difference. Additional information can be found at www.habitatwinona.org.

Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Service is Monday

A Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Prayer Service is planned for Monday, Jan. 18. This event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Saint Thomas More Chapel and is sponsored by the Inter Cultural Awareness Association and the Office of Campus Ministry. This event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact the Office of Campus Ministry at Ext. 1643.

SMU, WSU poets offer evening of poetry Jan. 29

Winona’s Poet Laureate Ken McCullough from Saint Mary’s and former Poet Laureate Jim Armstrong from Winona State will co-host “A Confluence of Voices” on Friday, Jan. 29.

Several poets from both Saint Mary’s and Winona State will read their work in round-robin fashion, followed by an open mic.

This event, part of the Frozen River Fringe Fest, will run from 4 to 6 p.m. at Mugby Junction, located at 451 Huff St.

For more information, call McCullough at Ext. 8737.

Mear’s work highlighted at faculty art show

Seven Saint Mary’s faculty members from the Department of Art and Design will display a variety of artwork through Sunday, Feb. 14, in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

The show, “Seven Point Perspective,” will include a retrospective of retiring faculty member Sister Margaret Mear’s work. Sister Margaret will be honored for her tireless contributions to the university for the past 33 years. Also displaying works are Brother Roderick Robertson, Preston Lawing, Rob McCall, John Whelan, Charlie Campbell and Kathy Greden Christenson.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and the exhibit is free and open to the public.

SMU Page Series event to highlight Harriet Tubman

Shadow puppets and illuminated scenery will bring the story of Harriet Tubman to life in the next Page Series performance today, Friday, Jan. 15. The Underground Railroad Theatre will present, “Are You Ready my Sister?” at 6:30 p.m. in Page Theatre.

This historical adventure story of Harriet Tubman, the “great conductor” of the Underground Railroad and the Quaker women who helped her bring 300 slaves to freedom, features live music based on spirituals of the time, dramatic scenes and audience participation. The set, a giant patchwork quilt, unfolds the story; each square of the quilt is brought to life with shadow puppets and illuminated scenery.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave but later became a fugitive from slavery, fleeing from southern states where slavery was practiced to the northern states where it was not. She then became a “conductor” on the so-called Underground Railroad, returning to the South to bring other fugitives out of slavery.

For over 25 years, Underground Railroad Theatre’s artistry has delighted audiences, young and old, through the combination of acting, puppetry and music that explores community concerns. The company is committed to presenting theater that provokes discussion, builds bridges between people and reflects cultural diversity.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

In conjunction with this event, the Winona County Historical Society will present an exhibit titled “Fight for Freedom,” which will explore Winona County’s link to the struggle to end slavery. The exhibit will feature Company K (the men of this region who fought with the 1st Minnesota during the Civil War), Fredrick Douglass’ visit, and case studies of successful African Americans who found new lives in Winona County. This exhibit, free and open to the public, will be on display in the lobby of the Performance Center through Feb. 12.

SMU to host Moscow Festival Ballet Jan. 26

The Moscow Festival Ballet will present “Giselle” — a story of love, betrayal, madness, revenge and forgiveness — at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, at Page Theatre.

The Moscow Festival Ballet, under the direction of former Bolshoi principal dancer Sergei Radchenko, has amassed a loyal following across the United States for its technically precise and respectful interpretations of grand ballet in the admired Russian tradition.

“Giselle” is the story of a pure and innocent peasant girl who is jilted by a rich nobleman. Driven insane by the ending of their relationship, she dies and enters the graveyard world of ghosts of vengeful brides betrayed by undeserving suitors.

The Moscow Festival Ballet was founded in 1989 when Radchenko sought to bring together the highest classical elements of the great Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet companies in an independent new company within the framework of Russian classic ballet.

Tickets are $27 for adults, $25 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Make it dinner and a show! Pre-show dinners, provided by Chartwells Catering, will be available, beginning at 6 p.m. in the President’s Room. Orders will be accepted up to one week prior to each event. Reservations can be made online or through the box office. Adult dinners are $22 and include chicken, beef and vegetarian options. Children’s dinners are $14.

‘Our Story’ on display in McEnery Lounge

Everyone is invited to come to the McEnery Lounge to view “Our Story” — a photo exhibit of 61 photo boards and 21 text boards with titles and text of the past 60 years of the Palestinian Nakba, “the catastrophe.” This exhibit was originally created in 1998 by Sabeel, an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians, and updated in 2008 by Sabeel Canada. The exhibit is on loan for the month from Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel.

Campus invited to join Relay for Life teams

The 2010 Relay for Life at Saint Mary’s will be held April 9-10. Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. It offers everyone in the community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length. To learn more about SMU teams, go to www.relayforlife.org/smu.

Students invited to submit ideas for next Kabara contest

The Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies is offering students a second chance to win the Business Idea Elevator Pitch Competition. A total of $500 in prizes will be awarded to the winners and others selected at random.

Any undergraduate SMU student of any major who has an idea for a new business should enter. This competition also gives students a chance to enhance their presentation skills and the opportunity to explore the idea of starting a business. Participants will present their business ideas on Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. in Saint Mary’s Room 409. After the presentation, participants will submit a written script of the short speech.

This is not a PowerPoint presentation, but rather an explanation of a business idea similar to what you would give in a 60-90 second elevator ride. Anyone interested in participating should contact Teresa Speck by Jan. 15. E-mail your name, e-mail address and the name of the business to tspeck@smumn.edu.

Job and Internship Fair to be held Feb. 16-17

The Minnesota Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair will be held Feb. 16-17 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Students are invited to meet employers, explore possibilities and possibly land a job or internship. Pre-registration is required by Feb. 12. The cost to attend is $14. Contact the Career Services & Internships Office, Ext 6996, at Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 136 or go to www.smumn.edu/careerservices and click on the “Job and Internship Fairs” graphic.

In past years, over 150 organizations have participated in the Fair including: 3M, Cargill, Ecolab, Hennepin County, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Life, Minnesota Public Radio, Ordway Center, Padilla Spear Beardsley, Peace Corps, Target Corporation, Teach for America and West Group. For a complete list of companies attending, visit: www.mnpcfair.org.

Tegrity users, ‘hits’ increasing

Dr. Chad Kjorlein, director, Instructional Technology, has completed a mid-year update on Tegrity.

Two important data points emerge: 1) we are growing our base of users and 2) they are using it more frequently (measured in hits to the Tegrity server) and for longer durations (measured in hours). The most important data point emerging from the data is the fact that 1,128 unique individual utilized Tegrity this past semester. While there are small amounts of growth in our graduate and alternative Tegrity content areas, the primary growth continues to be in undergraduate courses.


He invites faculty to drop him a line with successful examples from the past semester.

Another important data point is the top student-viewed faculty. These are last semester’s “Top 5 Faculty” on the duration and frequency variables for highest student use.

Duration in hours: 1. Deb Martin (327 hours) 2. Jeff Hefel 3. Jaime Mueller 4. Randy Krainock and 5. Larry Price. Frequency (hits) 1. Henry Leckenby (676 times) 2. Jeff Hefel 3. Larry Price 4. Debra Martin 5. Kevin Dennis

International Showcase to be held Saturday

The SMU International Showcase will be held 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, in the dining room of the Toner Student Center. The evening will include international music and dance, performed by many SMU international students. Tickets are $5. For tickets or information, call Jason Richter, Ext. 1648. Proceeds will go to the Haiti Victim Relief Fund.

Gaut, Neff published in historical journal

Greg Gaut, Department of History, and co-author Marsha Neff, have published the article “Red Stars over Minnesota” in the Winter 2009/2020 issue of Minnesota History, the quarterly journal of the Minnesota Historical Society. The article describes the visit of Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev to the Twin Cities on June 3, 1990.

They analyze the preparation, the day itself, and the aftermath, and argue that the entire episode reveals much about how optimistic many people were in 1990 about the possibilities for international cooperation, and how those hopes have mostly proved to be illusory. The article is a kind of snapshot about how much has changed in two decades. To read more, go to www.mnhs.org/market/mhspress/minnesotahistory/index.html. A link will be posted shortly.

Jazz notes

Swing Inc., including Eric Heukeshoven from the Department of Music, will perform Saturday, Jan. 16, at Signature’s, 22852 County Road 17.

Employee changes

Leaving
• Brenda Fischer, January, M.Ed. associate program director.
• Jennifer TeBeest, January, MCA administrative assistant
• Taiwo Adewale, December, Twin Cities security guard.
• Chet Heacox, December, iT - network administrator

New
• Brittney Wagner, January, Center International Student - Office Coordinator
• Julianna Piscitiello, January, MCA - administrative assistant
• Greta Bernatz, December GSS - GIS Analyst
• Candice LaPlante, December Twin Cities - Library Inter-Library Loan coordinator

Check out latest helpdesk newsletter

The latest helpdesk newsletter can be found at http://helpdesk-smumn.blogspot.com/ 2010_01_01_archive.html

Sympathy to McColl, Seibert, Stiever families

Donna McColl, mother of Rob McColl, professor in the Art Department, grandmother to Neil McColl, SMU sophomore, and Peter McColl, PSEO student, died Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Jerrie Seibert, former director of Campus Safety from 1998-2009, died Tuesday, Jan. 12. Services are scheduled on campus for Monday, Jan. 18. Visitation will be 1 to 3 p.m., with services from 3-4 p.m., both in the Saint Thomas More Chapel; a reception will follow in the Hall of Fame Room.

Mary Stiever, mother of Val Stiever (Maintenance), died Thursday, January 7. Notes of condolence may be sent to Val at Box 39.

The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to these families.