Benefit for SMU faculty, staff flood victims set for Oct. 28

Mark your calendars for a fun-filled evening of music, food and festive bidding that will raise money for the SMU faculty and staff who have suffered severe damage due to the August flood. Several of our own SMU community members have lost their homes and many — if not all — of their personal belongings. Come and support them!

The event, “A Recipe for Relief,” will be held 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, in the dining room. All faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university are invited to attend. Admission will be $25 or $15 for students.
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Several celebrity SMU “chefs” will be preparing a huge variety of tasty hors d’oeuvres, and the master chef himself, Brother Chancellor Louis DeThomasis, will give out a special recipe — as well as a live (and lively!) demonstration of how to prepare it. Many secret recipes will be revealed.

Come and enjoy music by our own talented musicians, including Eric Heukeshoven, Dr. John Paulson and students, as well as Chris Kendall, and peruse items in a silent auction. We’re hoping the time and talents of our SMU community will fill our display tables.

Some auction items donated so far include homemade jewelry, a guided canoe trip, a dinner from Gary Diomandes, a ticket basket from the SMU box office and much more! If you would like to donate an auction item, please contact Deb Nahrgang at Ext. 6966 or Nikki Richmond at Ext. 1634.

Center for Innovation Support Services established

The chancellor has established a Center for Innovation Support Services at Saint Mary’s. The Center will help to build support for innovation by functioning as an incubator for new projects and by providing professional consultation services relating to finance, budgeting, grants, marketing, and promotion to individuals with innovative proposals.

The Center is directed by David Ansell, who will focus on the areas of finance and budgeting. Other Center professionals include Diana Miller (grants), and Clay Tenquist (marketing and promotion). Center staff welcome ideas from colleagues in all areas of the university and will provide services at the time of initial development, as well as at the time of implementation. The Center is located on the Winona campus in Heffron Hall, Room 142; the telephone extension is Ext. 1417.

Brother Louis addresses Ethics Conference

Brother Chancellor Louis DeThomasis, FSC, Ph.D., presented “Doing it Right in a Shrinking World: The Balance of Ethics and Profit” at the 2007 Ethics Conference.

The conference, presented by the Foundation for Accounting Education, was held Tuesday, July 31, in New York. Conference topics explored the world of business ethics, where religion, ethical codes and historical perspectives are challenged.

Brother Louis addressed the relationship of global dynamics in financial networks, the role of business in “doing good,” and the question of “Who should do ethics: businesses or the people”? He also discussed the importance of imagination and the role of faith as they relate to doing ethics in today’s rapidly changing and pluralistic economy.