The past few weeks have been filled with holiday festivities. Check out a few pictures of our students, faculty and staff enjoying this joyous season from the Christmas Light Service, the pre-finals breakfast, and Lessons and Carols at www.smumn.edu/photos.
The annual faculty and staff Christmas dinner will be Tuesday, Dec. 17. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will begin at 6 p.m. in the dining room, followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
The former and current directors of jazz studies will travel to Havana, Cuba, along with a delegation of musicians, composers and educators to interact with the contemporary Cuban music scene.
Dr. John Paulson, professor emeritus, and A. Eric Heukeshoven, assistant professor of music, will join a group sponsored by the American Composers Forum from Dec. 15-22 for a one-week research program to Cuba. The trip marks the first time a group of this type will be allowed to study with renowned Cuban musicians. Of special interest to the two SMU professors will be full access to the Havana International Jazz Festival.
During the intensive weeklong visit, the delegates will attend concerts, workshops, open rehearsals, and networking events, as well as tour Havana to enjoy its rich cultural history.
For more information, contact A. Eric Heukeshoven at Ext. 7292 or eheukesh@smumn.edu.
Faculty and staff are invited to an informal reception for Brother Paulos Mesmer, FSC, director of Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, Nairobi, Kenya, will be 2 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, in Saint Mary’s Hall, Rooms 115 and 123. Hors d’oeuvres and hot apple cider will be served. African art and jewelry will be available at huge discounts.
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| Members of "Team Hats" describe their experiences selling stocking caps in the Cardinal Corner. |
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, from 4 to 6 p.m., the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts will conduct its winter 2014 registration open house.
Here are five great reasons to attend:
• It’s a great opportunity to visit the facility, tour the studios and classrooms, and meet the talented instructors and staff.
• The dance attire boutique will be open and staff will be fitting students and taking orders for all of the dance classes.
• Visitors can learn more about programming including some great new opportunities.
• Guests can learn more about hands-on volunteer opportunities.
Additionally, the new winter semester 2014 catalog is now available. Classes run from Jan. 13 through March 29. New programming is offered, and registrations are now being accepted. Some offerings include:
• Teen and Adult Ballet will be taught by director of dance Tammy Schmidt this semester.
• There are new Art Division classes including Drawing 102 for Children and Drawing 101 for Adult Workshops.
• Dance programming in Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Tap with new course divisions.
• Private music lessons with talented teaching artists.
• New adult wellness class discounts and packages.
• Advanced training for those serious about dance with an additional Ballet V/VI/VII class.
• New adult wellness classes include Mindfulness, Introduction to Guitar, Teen and Adult Tap, and Belly Dancing for Beginners!
Interested students may registration online, by mail, or in person at MCA’s Valéncia Arts Center.
Class days, times and tuition vary. Financial need-based scholarships are available. For a brochure and a complete listing, visit www.mnconservatoryforthearts.org, e-mail mca@smumn.edu, “like” them on Facebook, or call 453-5500.
Interested students may register online, by mail, or in person at MCA’s Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 W. 10th St.
The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts offers programming in Dance, Music, Visual Art, and Theatre, year-round. Classes, lessons, workshops, and camps are offered for ages 3 to adult at the Valéncia Arts Center located at 1164 West 10th Street, Winona.
The eighth annual Breast Cancer Silent Auction continues until 3 p.m. today in the Admission Office.
Contact Suzanne Deranek with any questions.
The All-Campus Undergraduate Art Exhibition is on display in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.
This juried exhibition is always highly anticipated by both students and faculty, as entry is open to all students, not just art and design majors. This year there are more than 75 entries from students majoring in human services, computer science, education, music industry, literature, theatre arts, Spanish, biology, chemistry, English, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, psychology, art studio, business, graphic design and environmental biology.
Christopher Vondracek, English Department, had a story titled “My rural Minnesota childhood with cats named Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach” published on MPR Classical’s website: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/12/05/classical-cats.
The fifth annual Dancing with the Winona Stars will take place Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Winona State University’s McCown Gymnasium. The New Year’s Eve event will feature seven individual stars, eight groups of stars and The Dweebs.
Terri Lieder, Marketing and Communication Office, and Dr. Joe Tadie, Philosophy Department, will be performing. Lieder is dancing with M.P. and the History Hotties, raising money for the Winona County Historical Society, and Tadie is dancing for Project FINE. They have been training with professional dance instructors for several months.
There will be a panel of judges who will critique each performance. Each will be scored on several criteria. The winner is determined based upon a combination of 50 percent dance score and 50 percent votes raised.
Votes can be cast at any time, for $1 per vote, up to the end of the event. Checks for the votes should be made out directly to the charity.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person (which includes late night hors d’oeuvres, the show and The Dweebs’ performance.
Tables, which allow for reserved seating for eight, are $350 per table. For more information, go to www.dancingwithwinonastars.com.
Look ahead on your calendars. This is the last issue of “Campus Notes” for 2013. After break, the first issue will come out Jan. 17. The deadline for that issue will be Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Sandra “Sandee” Burt, mother of John Cada (maintenance), mother-in-law of Vickie Cada (development and alumni relations), and aunt of Tammy Vondrasek (financial aid), died Saturday.
Tom Healey, former director and administrator in the M.S. in Nurse Anesthesia program recently passed away in Arizona. Tom was one of the founding members of the Twin Cities campus in his role at the Abbott Northwestern Hospital system. He contributed to the establishment of 2500 Park Avenue as a home for SGPP in the early 1980s and continued to serve in many capacities until his official retirement a few years ago. In addition to his time with the M.S. in Nurse Anesthesia program, he served many SGPP roles including co-chair of the Curriculum Committee, director of the Surgical Technology Certificate, HLC Criterion Committee co-chair, a representative on several SMU strategic planning committees, and countless other task forces and committees.
The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Cada and Healey families.
The Patronal Feast Mass is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9, at Saint Thomas More Chapel.
The public is invited to join in the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Thursday, Dec. 12. Eucharist begins at 12:10 p.m. in Saint Thomas More Chapel. A simple Mass will be celebrated in both English and Spanish, including traditional music and an opportunity to reverence an original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. All are welcome.
The annual faculty and staff Christmas dinner will be Tuesday, Dec. 17. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will begin at 6 p.m. in the dining room, followed by dinner at 7 p.m. RSVPs are due to Campus Box 30 by Dec. 11.
Saint Mary’s is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best Colleges for Veterans.” This listing includes the top-ranked schools in the overall Best Colleges rankings that participate in federal initiatives to help veterans and active service members apply, pay for and complete their degrees.
The new rankings provide data and information on schools that offer federal benefits, including tuition and housing assistance, to veterans and active service members.
Saint Mary’s was ranked No. 44 for veterans in the “National Universities” category – and was the only Minnesota college in that category to be ranked as a “Best College for Veterans.” In total, there were 234 ranked schools across all U.S. News ranking categories: National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional Universities and Regional Colleges.
All of the Best Colleges for Veterans scored well in terms of graduation rate, faculty resources, reputation and other markers of academic quality in the 2014 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges. To qualify for the new rankings, the schools had to be certified for the GI Bill and participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program and Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium.
For more information, go to http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/veterans.
The women’s basketball team is partnering with the Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona program to collect toys.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the women’s team will play the College of Saint Benedict at 3 p.m. in the SMU gym. Attendees are encouraged to bring along a variety of new toys for girls and boys, which will be wrapped and distributed through Gifts for Winona.
The Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona program, now in its 12th year, helps more than 1,600 people in the Winona area have happier holidays.
Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona giving trees are still full of tags. This communitywide program is providing gifts to area children and seniors in need this holiday season.
Each tags is labeled with a different person’s holiday gift wishes. In addition to a tree in Saint Mary’s Hall, trees are located at the three Severson-Sinclair locations, Walmart, the Winona Public Library, the Winona Post, and Security State Bank of Lewiston. Additionally, grocery cards can be purchased for families at both HyVee and Midtown Foods.
The SMU community is invited to take a tag from the Saint Mary’s tree, shop for items on the gift list and return wrapped gifts by Dec. 12 to the Business Office. The recommended amount for holiday gifts is approximately $35 per person. Tags should be securely taped to the outside of the presents or the bag of presents.
As the gift distribution is early this year — mid-December — the community is asked to begin their season of giving early as well. The success of this program depends on the generosity of the Winona-area community.
For more information, call the Gifts for Winona line at Ext. 8719. Other community partners that join SMU to help make this program possible are the Winona Post, Winona Radio and Winona Volunteer Services.
The Dance Repertory Company II, the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts’ youth performing ensemble, will present its fall dance recital 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Valéncia Arts Center Academy Theatre, 1164 W. 10th St.
In addition to classes, a large portion of the learning experience for all MCA students is performing. Come support these talented students and choreographers. Dance forms included are tap, jazz, hip hop, and ballet with the second half of the concert highlighting the upper-level students. No reservations are needed; ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students, with children younger than 18 admitted for free.
For more information, e-mail mca@smumn.edu; visit them on Facebook or Twitter or call 453-5500.
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| Lexi Assimos and Ellie Niedbala |
Here are just some of the ways SMU is making headlines this week:
• Dr. David Lynch was interviewed Sunday, Nov. 24, by WCCO about President Barack Obama’s ratings decline.
• Dr. Janet Heukeshoven was interviewed on HBC this week about the upcoming music concerts. Her interview is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSH00fa5ew4&feature
• Eric Heukeshoven was on the Winona Radio morning show Dec. 2 to discuss tonight’s jazz concert.
• SMU volunteers have been on HBC and Winona Radio the past couple of weeks talking about the Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona program.
• Patrick Reusse (who covers sports at 1500 ESPN and the Minneapolis Star Tribune) just tweeted to his 20,000+ followers @1500ESPN_Reusse, “St. Mary's plays its first MIAC game vs. Bethel on Wed. night in Winona. SM's Jamison Rusthoven is first African-Am to coach MIAC game.”
• Governor Mark Dayton was at the Winona State University campus Wednesday afternoon, answering questions. Students from all three colleges attended. SMU’s Conner Ellinghuysen was quoted in a Channel 6 KAAL TV story. To read the story or check out the video, go to www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S3235566.shtml?cat=10151.
Lisa Truax, assistant professor for the Department of Art and Design, has an exhibition at the University of Minnesota Larson Gallery at the St. Paul Student Center. The show runs through Dec. 10 and is a two-person exhibit titled “The World is a Stage: The Natural Web of Artistry.” For more details, go to http://sua.umn.edu/events/arts/current-exhibitions.
The All-Campus Undergraduate Art Exhibition is on display in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.
This juried exhibition is always highly anticipated by both students and faculty, as entry is open to all students, not just art and design majors. This year there are more than 75 entries from students majoring in human services, computer science, education, music industry, literature, theatre arts, Spanish, biology, chemistry, English, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, psychology, art studio, business, graphic design and environmental biology.
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| Gavin Creel poses with theatre students |
Dr. Jim Rodgers, Social Science Department, gave the closing presentation to the Minnesota Political Science Conference at St. Cloud State University on Nov. 9 on “African Corruption, Instability and Counterterrorism.” The opening presentation at the conference was given by Saint Mary's alum Shoua Yang, who is currently an assistant professor of political science at St. Cloud. The conference was attended by political scientists from around the state, as well as state and local government officials.
Dr. Susan Windley-Daoust, Theology Department, recently published an article in Homiletic and Pastoral Review titled “The Sign of the Dying Body: How the Theology of the Body Helps Us to Die in Love.” The article is available online at http://bit.ly/18mqcXA.
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| The Honorable Teresa Warner '81 |
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| Being questioned |
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Look ahead on your calendars. On Dec. 13 the last issue of “Campus Notes” for 2013 will be published. The deadline for that issue is Wednesday, Dec. 11. After break, the first issue will come out Jan. 17. The deadline for this issue will be Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Bonnie Merchlewitz died Tuesday, Dec. 3. She is the mother-in-law of Ann Merchlewitz (executive vice president), grandmother of Emily Merchlewitz '10 and sister of Bud Paape, who works on the Twin Cities campus.
Funeral services will be today, Friday, Dec. 6, at 1 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus. Visitation will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013 at Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home in Winona and on Friday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus.
Ann Schultz, mother of Mary Schultz (Institutional Research), died Wednesday, Dec. 4.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Winona. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at Watkowski-Mulyck Funeral Home and one hour prior to services Saturday.
The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Schultz and Merchlewitz families.
The senior class gathering Thursday, Dec. 5, will be held 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Toner Student Center lounge. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
This event is intended to honor all senior students, with special recognition for mid-year graduates of the College.
The Saint Mary’s women’s basketball team is partnering with the Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona program to collect toys.
On Dec. 7, the women’s team will play the College of Saint Benedict at 3 p.m. in the SMU gym. Attendees are encouraged to bring along a variety of new toys for girls and boys, which will be wrapped and distributed through Gifts for Winona.
The Saint Mary’s University Gifts for Winona program, now in its 12th year, helps more than 1,600 people in the Winona area have happier holidays.
The men’s hockey team will hold the fourth annual Toys For Tots Teddy Bear Toss today, Friday, Nov. 22, during the Cardinals’ 7:30 p.m. home game against Saint John’s at the SMU Ice Arena.
Fans attending are encouraged to bring a teddy bear or stuffed animal — preferably new, but those in good used condition will also be accepted and appreciated. Teddy bears will also be available at the arena for a donation of $1. Drop off your stuffed animals at Campus Ministry or the first floor of Saint Mary’s Hall.
After the first SMU goal in the first period — or at the end of the first period — fans will have an opportunity to throw their teddy bears and/or stuffed animals onto the ice. They will then be collected and distributed to children in the Winona area for the holidays.
The men’s hockey team will also have a collection bin in the SMU Ice Arena lobby for anyone wishing to donate a toy other than a teddy bear for Toys For Tots.
The U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots Foundation was formed to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year and then distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in their local communities.
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| Student conductors include Katy Kosiek and Marilyn Yennie |
A bake sale Nov. 15, raised just over $1,000 for student scholarships for the M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning program in Jamaica, offered by SMU in collaboration with the Catholic College of Mandeville.
Here are just some of the ways SMU is making headlines this week:
• Dr. Scott Sorvaag, Dean of the School of Education, was interviewed Wednesday on Winona Radio in honor of National Education Week.
• The Winona Daily News did a story about the students who designed a scale model of Winona National Bank. Go to http://bit.ly/1ek2e3P.
The annual Psychology Symposium will be held Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the President’s Room. The symposium will feature 11 student presentations on original research projects; an alumni panel where recent graduates will discuss their post-graduate experiences; and a poster session that will highlight the research of the department’s collaborative laboratories. Students’ families often come to this event, in addition to their underclass student peers.
The All-Campus Undergraduate Art Exhibition is on display in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.
This juried exhibition is always highly anticipated by both students and faculty, as entry is open to all students, not just art and design majors. This year there are more than 75 entries from students majoring in human services, computer science, education, music industry, literature, theatre arts, Spanish, biology, chemistry, English, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, psychology, art studio, business, graphic design and environmental biology.
Today everyone can support scholarships for CTIE students in Nairobi, Kenya and the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.
To be a part of this effort, go to lunch in the cafeteria today, Friday, Nov. 22.
This event is sponsored by Mission Awareness, a student ministry in partnership with the Office of Campus Ministry. Special thanks to Chartwells for the support of this event and its benefactors.
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no ‘Campus Notes’ next week. The next edition will be Friday, Dec. 6. Look ahead on your calendars. The deadline for that issue is Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Veikko Jokela, father of Cindy Jokela and father-in-law of John Poling (philosophy), died Sunday, Nov. 17. The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Poling family.
In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Business Department are hosting several activities.
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a celebration of innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.
On Tuesday, a state representative of the Small Business Development Center will make a presentation on the support services available from the Small Business Administration.
On Wednesday, a group of students will tour an area nursery that is diversitying into hydroponics and growing vegetables during the winter months.
On Thursday, the Kabara Institute is sponsoring a new-business elevator pitch competition for students from all departments.
And on Friday, Dan Skogen, chairman of Festival Foods, will present to students at 12:30 p.m. in the Common Room. The SMU community is invited to this presentation.
Jim Bedtke, executive director of the Kabara Institute, quotes the Department of Labor Statistics Report which states that startups in their first year of existence currently create around 2.5 million new jobs in the U.S.
The Huffington Post adds, “What you’ll find is that some of the coolest and most rewarding ‘job-jobs’ on the planet are the ones in startups and small businesses. Why? Because the folks running these enterprises tend to take the social contract with their employees more to heart than do the typical huge organizations run by professional executives and quarterly results. They appreciate the value of hard work. And the small-business owners will do just about anything to keep the business on an even keel and protect their loyal people.”
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Students from the Towards the Inculturation
of Religious Life in Africa class perform a skit during the pastoral reflection.
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