M.Ed. annual conference to be held April 2-3

“Learning to Create Our Future Together” is the thematic focus for the Master of Education in Teaching and Learning’s annual conference at Champlin Park High School April 2-3, 2011. Approximately 450 learners in the M.Ed. Program and GPDE participants from across the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin will come together for two days of shared learning. Jamaica 2 learner’s who are currently enrolled in the M.Ed. program will also be sharing their research at a M.Ed. Conference at the Catholic College of Mandeville (CCM) campus in Jamaica.

Participants will be given the opportunity to explore the fruits of applied inquiry into the use of strategies that support student learning and development. The conference provides an opportunity to deepen participants’ understanding of their practice, explore ways to use classroom-based action research, and to develop instructional habits of mind that improve student learning and promote the well being of all learners.

Anyone who may be interested in more information about the conference or who may wish to attend should contact Suzanne Peterson, Program Director, at Ext. 6615 or at speterso@smumn.edu.

Students, faculty member to present at ASCD conference

SMU seniors Hilary Ethen, Jackie Heintz, Erin Morgan and Erica Rubenzer, along with Dr. Scott Sorvaag of the School of Education, were accepted to present “Teachership: Collaborative Dialogues for Enlivening Leadership” at the ASCD annual conference in San Francisco in March 2011.

Their presentation is based on student leadership experiences and collaborative dialogue between faculty and students in preparing the next generation of teachers for enhanced professional leadership in teaching and learning.

These four students served as officers of SMU’s ASCD student chapter in 2009-2010.

ASCD, formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing the best practices and policies for the success of every learner. ASCD has 160,000 members in 148 countries who are professional educators from all levels and subject areas.

Residence Life staff attend national conference

Tim Fredrickson, Stephen Craig, Brendan Dolan, Marc Hartmann, and Jenny Schmidt (not pictured: Nikki Peters)

Residence Life staff members Jenny Schmidt, Stephen Craig, Marc Hartmann, Brendan Dolan, Tim Fredrickson and Nikki Peters attended the Association for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities national conference at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University from July 28 to July 31.

While in attendance, they had the opportunity to promote an understanding of the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and its relevance for student affairs professionals.

Attendees shared tools, resources, best practices and challenges of their work, with relevance for student affairs professionals at all levels and career stages. They also celebrated the mission of Catholic higher education and the vital role of student affairs in that mission.

Dolan and Peters shared information about SMU’s rich heritage in a presentation titled “Looking at Student Development through a Lasallian Lense.”

SMU hosts Lasallian Youth Gathering July 11-16

The Midwest District Lasallian Youth Gathering, “Together in Faith ... Service to Others, will be held July 11-16 at Saint Mary’s.

This marks the event’s 22nd year. This year there will be 175 participants at the gathering, including current high school students from Lasallian high schools in the Midwest District. The gathering focuses on the Lasallian Youth tenets of faith, service and community — and the students will engage in a week of activities focused on these themes.

Rickert, Tadie present papers

Dr. Kevin Rickert and Dr. Joseph Tadie from the Department of Philosophy each presented papers at A Conference on the Cardinal Virtues: Wisdom, sponsored by the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University on April 15-17. Rickert delivered a paper called “Gullibility is Not a Theological Virtue: The Integration of Faith and Wisdom” and Tadie delivered a paper called “Aquinas and Lonergan on Wisdom as a Virtue and its Many Humble Methods.”

Tadie attends CUR conference in Washington, D.C.

Joseph Tadie of the Department of Philosophy attended the the Council on Undergraduate Research’s annual CUR Dialogues Program Feb. 25-27 in Washington, D.C. The dialogues are a way of bringing together faculty and staff from universities involved with research with funding officers from the NSF, NEH and other national granting institutions.

Faculty members attend social responsibility conference

Dr. Elizabeth Throop, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, Dr. Dorothy Diehl, Modern/Classical Languages Department chair, and Dr. Daniel Bucknam, assistant professor of psychology, will attend the Association of American Colleges and Universities conference, “Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility: Deepening Student and Campus Commitments,” from Oct. 1-3 in Minneapolis.

Heukeshoven to present at band director conference

At the regional CBDNA conference held at the University of Nebraska, Omaha March 13-15, Dr. Janet Heukeshoven will present a session titled “Harmoniemusik: Teaching Sedlak’s Barber of Seville for Winds” with the assistance of musicians from Northwestern University, Illinois.

The Harmoniemusik genre flourished from 1760-1840 in Germany, Bohemia and Austria. These popular wind ensemble transcriptions of opera, ballet and symphonic works were widely performed in the courts, and have been re-discovered in recent years.

CBDNA Conference

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.

M.Ed. conference is March 31-April 1*

“Shared Learning … Bringing Knowledge to Life” is the theme for the Master of Education in Teaching and Learning annual conference at Champlin Park High School March 31- April 1.
Approximately 900 learners in the M.Ed. program from across the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin will come together for two days of shared learning.

Anyone interested in more information about the conference or who may wish to attend can contact Suzanne Peterson, program director, at Ext. 6615 or at speterso@smumn.edu.

Kowles attends genetics conference, presents research*

Dr. Dick Kowles, Biology Department, attended the 49th annual Maize Genetics Conference on March 22-25 at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill. The research that Kowles, Dr. Jeanne Minnerath, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota have amassed on oat-maize plants and photosynthesis was presented.

Matt Walch, an SMU alumnus and graduate student at the University of Minnesota, gave the presentation. Only 36 research projects were selected for oral presentations out of over several hundred applications. Also attending the conference were a number of former SMU students including Ruth Swanson Wagner, Iowa State University; Sherry Flint-Garcia, University of Missouri; and Teresa Miller, Marquette University. Wagner and Miller displayed posters of their research. All are alumni who found their way into maize genetics.