Public invited to MLK Day events at Saint Mary’s

The public is invited to join the Saint Mary’s University community in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 20.

The remembrance begins Sunday, Jan. 19, with a 9 p.m. Mass in Saint Thomas More Chapel. Guest musicians will be vocalist and pianist Scott Patterson of Baltimore and vocalist Adia Dobbins of Detroit.

On Monday, Xavier Wilson, a 1998 Saint Mary’s alumnus and assistant director of housing and residence life at Winona State University, will present Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in the Toner Student Center Dining Room at 12:45 p.m.

Students, faculty and staff are then invited to attend two discussions:

• The Solidarity Council will discuss “Emerging Leaders Among the Millennials: MLK’s Impact on Young Leaders Today” at 3:30 p.m. in the Cardinal Club. Facilitated by leaders of student organizations and Student Senate, Solidarity Council discussions provide space for dialogue on the gifts and challenges of multiculturalism and diversity at Saint Mary’s.

• An academic panel will discuss “MLK Day and the Legacy of Black Leadership: When Commemoration and History Collide” at 4:30 p.m. in the President’s Room. Dr. Erin Mae Clark (English) and Dr. Tycho de Boer (history) will lead a discussion about the ways in which the commemoration of black public figures in the United States tends to serve nationalistic, patriotic, post-racial, and other political agendas and thereby obscure the complexity of history and culture — and the role these people played and play in it.

At 7 p.m. Monday, the public is invited to attend an ecumenical prayer service, hosted by the Office of Campus Ministry, in the Toner Student Center Lounge. A reception is planned for 7:45 p.m. in the lobby of the Performance Center.

Everyone is invited to a “Freedom Day Concert” at 8:15 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall, also located in the Performance Center. Guest musicians Patterson and Dobbins will again perform. This event is hosted by the Office of Student Life.

McCourys bring bluegrass to SMU stage Jan. 21

The Travelin’ McCourys are bringing both traditional and progressive bluegrass to Page Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.

With Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Rob McCoury on banjo, Jason Carter on fiddle, and Alan Bartram on bass, this group is the latest incarnation of the most awarded band in the history of bluegrass — The Del McCoury Band. As the sons of bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Ronnie and Rob continue their father’s work — a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass music to bring joy into people’s lives.

Based in tradition, the ensemble is loved and respected by the bluegrass faithful but they also bring something fresh and rejuvenating to the stage. The band has a confidence that comes with having paid their dues with 20 years on the bluegrass road. They are known not only for their individual prowess on their instruments but also the tight rhythm, the soulful material and the confidence in taking bluegrass from the safety of the shore into uncharted waters. The Travelin’ McCourys are quickly becoming known among fans and musical icons alike, collaborating with the likes of Vince Gill, The Allman Brothers, Phish, Warren Haynes, Steve Earle, Dierks Bentley, Yonder Mountain String Band and many more.

Tickets are $24 for adults, $22 for seniors and students and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Page Series event Jan. 28 brings favorite stories to life

Theatreworks USA will perform “Teacher From the Black Lagoon and Other Storybooks” Tuesday, Jan. 28, as part of the Page Series.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Page Theatre.

Introducing children to the wonderful world of live theatre is something Theatreworks USA knows about. For 50 years they have brought together some of the finest young talent and seasoned professionals to tour the country, bringing literature to life on stage.

This production is a new musical adaptation of seven story books including “The Teacher From The Black Lagoon,” “Dogzilla,” “Grumpy Bird,” “I Want My Hat Back,” “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse,” “Love Splat (Splat The Cat),” and “The Grasshopper And The Ant.” These classics are on every child’s must-read story list.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

A gathering at the Winona Public Library is planned for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25. Everyone is invited to a reading of the seven storybooks to be featured in the Jan. 28 performance. Tickets to the Page Series performance will be given away.

Leung conducts televised concert in Kenya

Dr. David Leung (Music Department) was in Nairobi, Kenya, in mid-December to conduct a nationally televised Christmas concert with St. Paul’s chapel choir and the Kenya conservatoire of music orchestra at the University of Nairobi. The event, held Dec. 22, drew an audience of 2,000 people including the Kenyan President’s family and the chief justice. The evening was hosted by former CNN reporter Jeff Koinange.  Dr. Leung also visited Tangaza College and met with the faculty, staff and music certificate students there.

Admissions to host prospective students in ‘Simply Seniors’

The Admission Office will host “Simply Seniors” — an event designed for seniors who are admitted, applied or still considering, and their family and friends.

Participants will explore Saint Mary’s, learn about financial aid, spend a night on campus, go to classes and experience life at SMU Sunday and Monday, Jan. 19-20. Please welcome these families to campus. More than 70 families and 150 participants are expected to attend.

Conservatory news

Auditions for the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts’ Dance Repertory Company 40th anniversary spring concert will be Saturday, Jan. 18. Male and female dancers ages 8 through adult are invited to audition and should bring a photo, dance shoes and attire. Female students en pointe should bring pointe shoes. Dance forms include tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical, pointe and freestyle. Auditions are 3 p.m. at the Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 W. 10th St. For more information, call 453-5500. The spring production will be April 25-26 at SMU’s Page Theatre.

Additionally, the new winter semester 2014 catalog is now available! Classes run from Jan. 13-March 29, 2014. Registration is now being accepted. Some of the offerings include:

•    SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY! Teen and adult ballet will be taught by Director of DanceTammy Schmidt this semester.
•    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 including Mindfulness, Introduction to Guitar, Teen and Adult Tap, and Belly Dancing for Beginners!

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.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

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.

Faculty display works at current art exhibition

Faculty members of the Department of Art and Design have joined talents for the current art exhibit, on display through March 8 in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

The show will feature new works — ranging from sculpture to photography — by Lisa Truax, Matt Winkler, Preston Lawing, Rob McColl, Rod Robertson and Tony Calabrese.

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

SMU 10K event scheduled for Jan. 26

This year’s SMU 10K cross-country ski races will be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, at Saint Mary’s.
The public is invited to the classic-style citizens’ ski event at 11 a.m., while the skate race will begin at 1 p.m.

Participants can register in competitive or recreational classes.

Both races wind through the beautiful and challenging bluffs and valleys surrounding the Saint Mary’s campus. The cost to participate is $10 for one race or $20 for both races.

Registration, the starting line and the finish line will be near Saint Yon’s Hall, located on the back east portion of campus.

For more information, or to pre-register online, go to www.saintmaryssports.com.   

Students to stage ‘Monsters’ play written by peer

Saint Mary’s will present “Monsters,” an original play written, performed and designed by members of the senior class, Jan. 17-19.

“Monsters” — written by Alex Green and directed by Lydia Munroe — explores the absurdities surrounding the development of mental health care at the turn of the last century. The institution, run by an unsavory physician and his lovely assistant, welcomes a visiting member of the certification board. As the visitor meets the “crazy” patients, each one reveals their story.

Admission is free, but seating is limited in the studio theatre of the Performance Center. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17-18, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19.

Saint Mary’s invites area students to submit business ideas for contest

The Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Business Department of Saint Mary’s University are offering an Elevator Pitch Business Idea Contest.

All high school students who have ideas for starting a new business are encouraged to enter.

Winners will receive $1,000 in prize money, Saint Mary’s University scholarships and many other prizes.
Contestants will create an idea for a new business and answer a brief series of questions about that idea. Entries must be submitted online by Feb. 15. For complete information and a contest entry form, go to www.smumn.edu/businessidea.

Winners will be announced before March 1. For more information, e-mail Dr. Tom Marpe at tmarpe@smumn.edu or call Ext. 6963.

Cardinal Plunge Feb. 8 to raise money for Ellinghuysen family

Brave souls and warm hearts are invited to join Saint Mary’s University for the fifth annual “Cardinal Plunge” 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Lake Lodge Recreation Center, in coordination with the Winter Carnival Goose Bump Jump.

This year, Cardinal Plunge participants will be freezin’ for a reason. Proceeds will be given to SMU junior Conner Ellinghuysen’s father, Robert Ellinghuysen of Winona. Robert was hit head on in a collision in June 2012 along Highway 14 in Stockton. He underwent numerous surgeries and lengthy hospital stays. Proceeds will help the Ellinghuysen family with ongoing medical expenses and other family needs. A silent auction will also be held. Cash donations and items can be brought to the SMU Alumni Office.

The cost to plunge is $20 ($15 for the SMU community). This event is sponsored by the Saint Mary’s Future Alumni Committee.

Pre-register online at www.mysmumn.org/plunge2014. For more information, contact Kenzie Corrow at (507) 995-4863 or Conner Ellinghuysen at (507) 429-7960.

SMU news

Here are just some of the ways SMU has made headlines recently:

• Patrick Grace was interviewed on HBC’s “Community Connection” about January events at the Page Theatre. View the show at http://youtu.be/HV3Mcsyhzmg.

• Eric Heukeshoven was also featured on HBC about the December trip he and Dr. John Paulson took to Cuba. Their story was also featured in the Winona Daily News Dec. 16 in “Havana nights: SMU jazz professors hope to use one-of-a-kind trip to Cuba to learn the rhythms of a new country.”

• The Winona Daily News also featured stories about Doktor Kaboom, “Science is for everybody” on Jan. 15; Barry Drazkowski in “Assessing a legacy: SMU professor leads digital mapping projects for BP, National Park Service” on Jan. 4; and the new trail lighting in “Lighting the Path” Dec. 21.

• The Winona Post also featured SMU’s new lights with “First lighted ski trail illuminates winter nights” Dec. 15.

Sympathy for Moore, Boynton families

William Charles Moore Sr. died in Mesquite, Nev. on Tuesday, Dec. 24.  William (Bill) is father to Bill Moore (head men’s hockey coach and Cardinal ‘M’ Club co-director), father-in-law to Andrea Moore (Admission Office), and grandfather to Greg Moore ’10 (assistant women’s hockey coach), Brian Moore ’12 and Patrick Moore ’14.

James H. Boynton, father of Daniel J. Boynton ’83, father-in-law of Sherry Boynton, (Development and Alumni Relations), and grandfather of Emily Boynton '08 died Saturday, Jan. 4.

The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Moore and Boynton families.

Congratulations to Baker family

Cory and Jackie (Internships and Career Services) Baker had a daughter, Brooklyn Rose, on Jan. 8. The Saint Mary’s community extends its congratulations to the Baker family.

Sights of the season

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.

Christmas dinner is Dec. 17

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.

Saint Mary’s music professors travel to Cuba

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.

Explore the comedic side of science with Doktor Kaboom

Audiences will explode with laughter as Doktor Kaboom takes the stage during the Page Series offering Thursday, Jan. 16.

The event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in Page Theatre, creatively blends theatre arts with the wonders of scientific exploration. Doktor Kaboom keeps his crowds riveted with interest and rolling with laughter. Join him for a sidesplitting journey of increasingly spectacular, and often successful, experiments and demonstrations. Using masterful improvisational skills, the artist takes his audience on an amusing tour of the modern scientific method while demonstrating spectacular applications of the physical sciences.

Doktor Kaboom is the creation of actor/comedian David Epley, who says he has been fortunate enough to discover two passions in his life. His first, science, took him to studies at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. His second, performing, became his career, and for 20 years Epley has made his living writing, performing and directing original interactive comedy across the U.S. and Canada. He now brings his passions together with an explosive style that refuses to allow his audiences time to catch a breath.

Tickets are $14 for adults, $6 for seniors and students and are available at the SMU Box Office Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 457-1714, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Reception for Brother Paulos is Friday

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.

Cardinal Corner completes record semester

Members of "Team Hats" describe their experiences selling stocking caps in the Cardinal Corner.

It was a real-life lesson in profit margins as well as the spending habits of target consumers … fellow college students.

On Dec. 11, students from MG315 Entrepreneurship summarized the incomes and expenditures of their semester projects. These students, broken into smaller groups, had chosen five new products to sell at the Cardinal Corner, a small not-for-profit retail shop located in the basement of the Toner Student Center. The students chose to sell a vintage-style Saint Mary’s College shirt, stress footballs, stocking hats, tote bags and cancer awareness shirts.

Their goal was simple: Make money.

This semester, the cohort not only broke even on their inventory investment of $2,000, but Michael Ratajczyk, assistant professor of business, also announced that this semester’s cohort also broke records in both revenue generated and profit margin from their products. The Cardinal Corner brought in over $2,300 in revenue and had a profit margin over 40 percent, breaking records by over $1,000 and 800 basis points of margin.

The students were assessed based upon two commonly used financial metrics within industry:  GMROI and Inventory Turns.  GMROI stands for Gross Margin Return on Inventory and is used to study cash flow performance.  It is commonly used to protect companies from spending too much cash on a particular product.  Inventory Turns is a metric that reports how many times per year a product would sell out if it was sold throughout the year.

The team that won the Inventory Turns performance was “Team Hats,” which sold a red, black, and white stocking cap. Their “turns” score was 10.4, which means that the hats would sell out 10 times per year.  Ratajczyk explains that a score of 10 is highly desired by any business because it essentially means a business is selling out of all its inventory every five weeks. Team members include: Michael Burfeind, Ron Enrooth, Jakub Koziuk, Jen Tobroxen and Jamal Arnold.

The team that won the GMROI performance was “Team Shoot Pass Cure Shirts,” which sold a stylish pink shirt that brings awareness to breast cancer. Their GMROI score was 0.43, which means that for every $1 of cash invested in inventory, the team not only earned back that dollar, but also earned an additional 43 cents. Team members include: Sarah Mills, Lucas Kubic, Otto Holzer, Cody Sprague and Tyler Krysiak.

“I am very pleased with the results of this semester and I am proud of the students.  They worked hard,” Ratajczyk said. “The students learned firsthand how difficult it can be to start a business and break even. They not only broke even, but did so by breaking sales and profit records with style.”

Jennifer Tobroxen of “Team Hats” said, “It was a great hands-on experience in learning about what types of target markets buy what kinds of products. I enjoyed the opportunities that the Cardinal Corner gave me as a business major.”

Funds from this semester will be donated to the First-Generation Initiative at Saint Mary’s.