Saint Mary’s receives ‘Best in Midwest’ honors from Princeton Review

Saint Mary’s is one of 152 schools receiving the “Best in the Midwest” designation for 2011 from the Princeton Review, a national college guide and ranking program. Results were announced this week.

Each year, the Princeton Review profiles colleges and universities that “stand out as academically excellent institutions of higher learning.” The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their own schools on a variety of issues — from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food — and to answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life. The Princeton Review is a New York City-based company known for test-preparation courses, education services and books; it is not affiliated with Princeton University.

Other Minnesota schools included on Princeton Review’s 2011 “Best in the Midwest” list are: Augsburg, Carleton, Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, Macalester, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, St. Catherine, St. Olaf, St. Scholastica, St. Thomas, University of Minnesota (Twin Cities and Crookston campuses) and Winona State University.

The 623 colleges named regional bests (218 in the Northeast, 133 in the Southeast, 152 in the Midwest, and 120 in the West) represent only about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.

For more information, go to www.princetonreview.com/best-regional-colleges.aspx.

The website gives a profile of Saint Mary’s, along with useful college selection features.

Countdown to College blog details program’s success

Dr. Jane Anderson, Brother Ed Siderewicz and Edith Galvez pose with two of this summer's Countdown to College participants.

Saint Mary’s hosted its first Countdown to College July 24-Aug. 7 in Winona. To view photos and read articles written by students and educators of the Countdown to College program, go to http://countdown-to-college.blogspot.com.

Countdown to College, a two-week program for students from economically underprivileged communities, will be offered to students each year for four years — beginning just after they complete eighth grade and continuing until they reach college age — helping to assure each student is prepared for a successful college experience.

The 25 participants in Countdown to College attend schools in the Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Tucson metropolitan areas. Preference is given to graduates of Saint Mary’s middle school partners in the NativityMiguel Network of Jesuit and Christian Brothers’ schools, which are located in these cities.

Next gallery show highlights wood type, printing museum

A case of wood type from the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.

Workers at Hamilton Wood Type @1880

WINONA, Minn. — From Aug. 14 to Sept. 26, Saint Mary’s University will present an exhibit of 27 prints that were created as part of the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum’s 10th anniversary.

The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum of Two Rivers, Wis., is the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production and printing of wood type. With 1.5 million pieces of wood type and more than 1,000 styles and sizes of patterns, Hamilton's collection is one of the premier wood type collections in the world. These letters are not behind glass or partitions, but are instead organized and available for the layperson or artist to touch, and if they attend a workshop, use for printing. Prints from the wood type blocks are created during workshops conducted at the museum throughout the year.

The show, free and open to the public, will be on display at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries, located in the Toner Student Center. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

A reception for the artist printmakers will be 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Galleries. The film “Typeface” will be shown at 8 p.m.

“Typeface” by Kartemquin Films — a documentary about the Hamilton Museum — details how, one weekend a month, the quiet of Two Rivers is interrupted as carloads of artisans drive in from across the Midwest. The place comes alive as printmaking workshops led by, and filled with, some of the region’s top creative talent descend on the sleepy enclave. The museum is significant to the town’s history, but more importantly, its existence is critical to the worldwide design community who are passionate about the history of their craft and its function in the contemporary field. They believe the future of their industry may lie in the past.

For more information, call (507) 457-1652.

Saint Mary’s hosts Tegrity event for regional higher eds

Discussing the benefits of Tegrity, a leading provider of lecture capture technology, are, from left: Jason Spartz of Saint Mary’s University, Mohamed Elhindi of Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, and Bryan Arvinson from Tegrity.

WINONA, Minn. — Tegrity, a leading provider of lecture capture technology, hosted an executive luncheon at Saint Mary’s University on Wednesday, July 28. Invitations were extended to regional institutions of higher education to learn how Saint Mary’s University, Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, and Winona State University are using Tegrity.

All three institutions presented and discussed their deployment strategies, Tegrity’s impact on student populations and best practices as an instructional technology. In total, 11 colleges and universities from Minnesota and Wisconsin attended the event.

Tegrity Campus 2.0 makes class time available all the time by automatically capturing, storing and indexing classes on campus for replay by students. With patented Tegrity “search anything” technology, students instantly recall key class moments for replay online, or on iPods and mobile devices.

Gostomski Fieldhouse improvements underway

Major changes are happening in the aerobic and weight areas of the Gostomski Fieldhouse. The weight room is newly painted, three new flat screen TVs have been mounted in the aerobic area, and new equipment for both areas will be delivered soon. The aerobic area will have a slightly more limited amount of equipment in the next week before new equipment arrives.

Last ‘Let’s Do Ice Cream’ is Aug. 12

The last “Let’s Do Ice Cream” — hosted by the Volunteer Committee — will be Aug. 12 with rootbeer floats. Money raised will be used for scholarships for Christ the Teacher Institute for Education in Nairobi.

Spots still open for Minnesota State Fair

It’s time to look ahead to the Minnesota State Fair (Aug. 26 - Sept. 6 in St. Paul).

Every year, Saint Mary’s sponsors a booth in the Education Building to raise visibility, greet alumni, and talk to prospective students. The Fair is a relaxed, fun way to connect with people from all over the state.

Volunteers staff 72 shifts over the 12-day event. As in the past, fair tickets are free and volunteers will be reimbursed for travel and parking.

Volunteer signup is easy at www.smumn.edu/fair:

1. View the available 4-hour booth shifts.
2. Click on the signup link to reserve your spot.

The SMU State Fair website has information on driving directions, parking, entrance tickets, FAQ, SMU attire etc.

If you have any questions, contact Bob Conover on the Winona campus or Julia Jenson on the Twin Cities campus (jjenson@smumn.edu or bconover@smumn.edu).

River Arts Alliance partners to present workshop

The River Arts Alliance partners will present a day-long workshop titled “Winona’s Creative Potential: A Workshop to Examine Creative Community Building Strategies for Winona with Tom Borrup” Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Performance Center.

The event, which will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., will address the questions, “How does the new creative or knowledge economy impact Winona?” and “Does the city have assets that position it for success?”

Guest speaker Borrup will present a “creative community building strategies” process, which will include identifying Winona’s cultural assets, recognized and hidden. During a working lunch, participants will answer questions posed during the morning’s presentation. A synopsis of the lunchtime conversations will then suggest action steps for the community.

Borrup has been a leader and innovator in non-profit community and cultural work for more than 25 years. His work explores the intersections between culture, community building, and economic development. He consults with foundations, nonprofits and public agencies across the U.S. in strategic planning and program evaluation. Borrup has written articles for publications in the arts, city planning and philanthropy. His book, The Creative Community Builders’ Handbook, was released in July 2006, by Fieldstone Alliance (formerly Wilder Publishing). It tracks communities that have transformed their economic, social, and physical infrastructures through the arts, and includes a step-by-step planning guide.

More information about Borrup is available at: http://communityandculture.com.

The workshop is free to community members. Although pre-registration has ended, walk-ins are welcome; please bring your own lunch as the deadline has passed to purchase a lunch.

Support for this day-long workshop is provided by the Saint Mary’s School of the Arts, The City of Winona Fine Arts Commission (pending), and (SEMAC) Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council in cooperation with the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, Inc. through funding from the Minnesota State Legislature.

Benefit walk for Bronk’s grandson is Aug. 7

Leon Bronk’s (Maintenance) grandson Cole has been diagnosed with leukemia. Cole is 7 years old. A walk for Cole will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 7, at the Jaycee Pavilion at Lake Park; all proceeds will help with his medical expenses.

The luminary walk for the American Cancer Society will be held Friday, Sept. 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Jaycee Pavilion. If you sponsor Cole, you will receive a T-shirt for $15 or sponsor a luminary for Cole for $5 to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Checks are payable to “Cole’s Medical Fund and can be sent to Diane Spalding, 23297 Garvin Heights Rd., Winona, MN 55987

Forms for the walks can be picked up at the Maintenance Department.

Spartz appointed director of Instructional Technology

Jason Spartz has been appointed the new director of Instructional Technology, replacing Dr. Chad Kjorlien. He began working in his new position on July 15 and is now located in Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 126B.

Please welcome Spartz in his new position and feel free to visit with him about needs and ideas for improving instructional capacity at the university.

Don Cisewski has taken over Spartz’s responsibilities. Please contact the Helpdesk for audio and video technology requests.

Dancing with the Winona Stars is Aug. 14 at SMU

On Saturday Aug. 14, 13 of Winona’s most talented stars will compete in the second annual Dancing with Winona Stars Charity fundraiser at Saint Mary’s Fieldhouse — a new, bigger venue to accommodate demand. Get your tickets in advance before they sell out! A $20 ticket includes early admission, between 5 and 6:30 p.m., plus hors d’oeuvres. Table selections can be made at that time. A $10 ticket includes general admission to the show itself.

If tickets are still available, general admission tickets will be sold for $15 the day of the event. VIP Reserved tables are available for purchase until Aug. 7 for $200 and include 5 p.m. admission, reserved seating for eight and hors d’oeuvres.

Half of the stars overall score is determined by votes collected! Votes are obtained by paying $1 per vote for a designated star or charity. You can cast your vote with the star, charity, or with a Gotta Dance competition student or parent, or send your vote into Gotta Dance/DWWS 1733 Service Dr, Winona, MN 55987.

Checks for both tickets and votes should be made out to “Gotta Dance.” To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Jamie Spitzer at jspitzer@smumn.edu.

Sympathy to Radke family

Roberta “Berde” Radke, mother of Megan Radke '05, assistant director for Admission, died on Monday, July 26. Messages of condolences may be sent to Megan via the Office of Admission or at her family home, 104 Hague Avenue, Hollandale, MN 56045.

The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Radke family.