All faculty, staff and students are invited to the inauguration of Brother President William Mann, FSC, on Friday, Sept. 26. All faculty and staff are reminded to turn in their RSVPs by Sept. 1, so that catering accommodations can be made. For more information, go to www.smumn.edu/inauguration.
The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts invites area students in grades three through six to participate in a new youth choir, the Winona Area Youth Singers (WAYS).
Young people who have been introduced to choir and music in their elementary or middle schools and are seeking additional educational and performance opportunities are encouraged to audition. WAYS is dedicated to providing quality, artistic, and educational programs for all young people, regardless of their financial circumstances.
WAYS will produce two concerts per year (an inaugural concert Nov. 23 and a spring concert second semester). Additionally, WAYS will perform in conjunction with MCA’s Dance Repertory Company in “The Nutcracker” (Dec. 3-7) as well as with Saint Mary’s choirs in a special mentorship program second semester. WAYS members will also participate in community outreach by performing at nursing homes and for other charitable events.
WAYS will be directed by Lindsy O’Shea, who holds a Masters of Arts in Instruction and a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music Performance from Saint Mary’s. She is also currently adjunct faculty with Saint Mary’s, where she directs the women’s choir and teaches private voice lessons.
Financial need-based scholarships are available for WAYS participants through MCA’s scholarship fund, provided by the Hiawatha Education Foundation.
Placement Auditions for WAYS will be held Thursday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m. WAYS will meet weekly on Thursdays, 6:30–8 p.m. throughout the MCA first semester (Sep. 8 – Dec. 7). Tuition for participation in WAYS is $150.
For more information, visit www.smumn.edu/mca or e-mail dance@smumn.edu or call Ext. 5501.
Wisconsin photographer Rus Hurt will display photography, including “Harris Johnson Mending Nets” (above) and “January Ice” (below) Aug. 20 through Sept 18 at Saint Mary’s University.
Wisconsin photographer Rus Hurt is featuring a variety of documentary and nature work through Sept. 18 at Saint Mary’s. The show, titled, “In Suspension: Photographs from the Upper Great Lakes” is divided into two sections:
• “Observations of a Lake Superior Fishery Past & Present” — a series of documentary photographs spanning a 35-year period of a Lake Superior fishery; and
• “Moments in the Wake” — a two-part glimpse into special moments on the Upper Lakes. Some of these photos are from the shipside view of a merchant seaman during the “Winter Runs of 1974-76.” Additionally, Hurt, a native of Port Wing, Wis., will display a collection of colorful nature-based seasonal shots, taken along Lake Superior’s south shore, where he lives.
A closing reception is planned for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at SMU’s Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.
Admission is free and open to the public, and gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call Ext. 1652.
This summer, SMU was notified that it was one of 159 schools receiving the “Best in the Midwest” designation for 2009 from the Princeton Review, a national college guide and ranking program.
Each year, the Princeton Review profiles colleges and universities that “uphold the standards of the Best Midwestern College distinction and provide students with a wide breadth of excellent schools to consider.”
The 630 colleges named regional bests (212 in the Northeast, 139 in the Southeast, 159 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.
SMU students will perform "Radium Girls" in London Oct. 14-18.
Saint Mary’s theatre students will stage the compelling drama “Radium Girls”Oct. 14-18 at the New Wimbledon Studio in London as part of the Stefannié Valéncia Kierlin Theatre in London Program.
“Radium Girls,” written by D.W. Gregory, takes place in the late 1920s, when radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie was an international celebrity and luminous watches were the latest rage — until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. The courageous story traces the efforts of Grace Fryer, a dial painter, as she fights for her day in court. Fryer must battle not only the U.S. Radium Corporation, but also her own family and friends who fear her campaign for justice will backfire. Written with warmth and humor, the show has been described as fast-moving, engrossing and powerful. “Radium Girls,” under the direction of Dr. Gary Diomandes, is produced by special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing.
Qualified theatre majors at Saint Mary’s are studying theatre in London, England, this semester through the Stefannié Valéncia Kierlin Theatre in London Program. Under the guidance of Saint Mary’s faculty, the program will include a variety of classes in theatre, as well as courses focusing on broader enrichment.
Each year the Fine Arts Commission selects three local artists or art organizations to receive special recognition. The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts was selected this year (along with Winona artists Emilio Degrazia and David Echelard's Blue Heron Consort ). The MCA will be presented with a plaque by the mayor and the Fine Arts Commission at a city council meeting on Sept. 15 at 7:30 pm.
Robyn Wangberg, Department of Physics, competed in the Ironman Canada Triathlon competition in Penticton, British Columbia on Aug. 24. This event consists of a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, and capped off with running a marathon (26.2 miles). Wangberg finished in a time of 10:42:28, placing fourth in her age division; 24th of the 717 women; and 207th of all 2,211 participants in the competition. Her results qualified her to compete in the World Championship Ironman Triathlon competition in Hawaii in October.
Kevin Dennis and Paul Weiner attended and presented at MathFest, the national summer math meetings of the Mathematical Association of America, in Madison Wis., in August. Dennis presented (coauthored with Chad Kjorlien) “Capturing a Class: Adventures with Tegrity.” Weiner’s talk was titled “Viewing the Hamming Code in its Natural Habitat.”
During the summer, Sister Judith Schaefer, Theology Department, had two articles published in Horizon magazine. The first article, titled “Lessons Learned from Letting Go,” was a review of Patricia Wittberg's book, “From Piety to Professionalism — and Back?". The second article was on a Saint Mary’s program for women, called Women of Faith.
Sister Judith also submitted for publication a book titled “The Evolution of a Vow: Obedience as Decision Making in Communion.” The book is due out in the fall and is being published by LitVerlag, Munich, Germany, and will be one in a series titled, “Communicative Theology - Interdisciplinary Studies.”
A hotdog fundraiser on the Twin Cities campus raised money for San miguel students.
Twin Cities campus students, faculty and staff generously donated and stopped by at the first Dog Days of Summer Event, sponsored by the Campus Spirituality Team, held Wednesday, July 30, in the LaSalle Hall parking lot.
The fundraiser, coordinated by Melissa St. Aubin, was a success as CST members dished up hot dogs, snow cones and nachos to hungry students, faculty and staff to benefit San Miguel Middle School. Sister Mary Willette, principal; Ben Murray, president; and Bill Coughlan, board member and volunteer, stopped in to personally thank the team, staff and visitors, and to sample the tasty fare, as the pictures reveal.
San Miguel students are in need of back-to-school supplies, so the donations will be especially appreciated at this time of year. Val Fitzgerald won the Barnes & Noble gift card.
Since 1995, the Saint Mary’s Department of History has awarded book prizes to recognize students for outstanding work. The following students were chosen for their work during last year’s spring semester:
• H125 Europe and the World sections — Jordan Fetcko and Benjamin Eirikson.
• H150 American Experience — Caitlin O'Connor and Maria Biebel.
• H211 Modern America — Laura Holupchinski.
• H308 Constitution/New Republic — Christina Massee.
• H315 American-East Asian Relations — Mary Moses.
• H355 U.S. Women’s History — Elizabeth Therneau.
• H381 20th Century Russia — Anne Leckenby and Nicole Haese.
Congratulations to the SMU Goodview Gallop team for placing second out of 25 teams on Saturday at the 29th annual Goodview Gallop 5-K run in support of the American Cancer Society. The following 13 SMU employees (along with family members) participated including: Bob Fisher, Robyn Wangberg, Adam Stasica, Elissa Hall, Stacy Popp, Jim Vogel, Jaime Mueller, Karen Hemker, Stacey Swanson, Lisa Thorsell, Paul Weiner, Vicki McDonald, Sandra Beth.
Extra congratulations go out to the top five finishers: Robyn Wangberg, 18:19.0; Adam Stasica, 22:45.0; Elissa Hall, 22:49.0; Lisa Thorsell, 22:51.0; Jaime Mueller, 23:08.
Last year the SMU team placed fourth out of 20 teams and the year before that fifth out of 22 teams.
Thanks go to Cindy Marek for sponsoring the team again this year. Everyone is invited to join the team next year in supporting this worthy cause of battling cancer.
New:
• Nancy Wiltgen, Sept. 1, Major Gifts & Planning, Development
• Margaret Winters, Aug. 22, director, Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute
• Judi Becker, Aug. 18, director, PACC
• Patricia Calton, Aug. 18, assistant professor, philosophy
• Jane Cyrus, Aug. 18, DeLaSalle Language Institute
• Michael Donahou, Aug. 18, assistant proffessor, theology
• Melissa Dybas, Aug. 18, Academic Skills/Writing Center
• Casey Finnerty, Aug. 18, assistant professor, biology
• Robert Gordon, Aug. 18, assistant professor, computer science
• Todd Iverson, Aug. 18, assistant professor, math
• Diana Kirby, Aug. 18, assistant professor, theology
• Jaime Mueller, Aug. 18, assistant professor, chemistry
• Lawrence Price, Aug. 18, assistant professor, business
• Tammy Schmidt, Aug. 18, assistant professor, dance
• Jana Schrenkler, Aug. 18, assistant professor, business
• Jennifer Severson, Aug. 18, administrative assistant, Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts
• Chris Stromberg, Aug. 18, instructor, math
• Robyn Wangberg, Aug. 18, assistant professor, physics
• Kevin Stark, Aug. 15, analyst, GSS
• Charles Cicallello, Aug. 11, assistant baseball coach, athletics
• Brendan Dolan, Aug. 4, hall director, New Village
• Timothy Fredrickson, Aug. 4, hall director, Pines
• Bethany Jorgensen, Aug. 4, hall director, Skemp
• Jason Flanders, Aug. 8, counseling AOD
• Jamie Herrick, Aug. 1, strength/condition coach, PE instructor
• Kevin Landrum, Aug. 1, assistant men’s basketball coach
• Todd Landrum, Aug. 1, men’s basketball coach
• William Moore, Aug. 1, men’s hockey coach
• William Rossini, Aug. 1, assistant athletic trainer
• Jeffrey Stangl, Aug. 1, men’s/women’s golf coach
• Tessa Stranik, Aug. 1, assistant volleyball coach
• Lynn Streefland, Aug. 1, assistant director, Campus Ministry
• Lance Thompson, Aug. 1., assistant director, Residence Life
• Eric Zimmerman, Aug. 1, women’s soccer coach
• William Oatis, July 29, Twin Cities security guard
• Richard Callaway, July 7, Twin Cities assistant director, MBA
• Donna McKenna, June 30, Twin Cities admin. assistant, Financial Aid
• Erin Hendricks, June 23, Twin Cities receptionist
• Lee Offutt, June 23, Twin Cities program coordinator, graduate management programs
• Matthew Bluem, June 17, Twin Cities assistant director, BS completion
• Jan Dimmitt-Olson, June 16, associate director, MAI
• Rachel Thomas, June 16, interlibrary loan librarian
• Karen O’Reilly, June 9, evening circulation supervisor, library
• Kathryn Trnka, June 6, assistant director, admissions
• Christina Mart, June 2, development database manager
• Jessica Bare, June 1, assistant director, Res Life
• Brother William Mann, June 1, president
• John Reszka, June 1, rink manager, athletics
• Jeffrey Wanger, June 1, Twin Cities web development specialist
• Jennifer Fanello, May 27, assistant to director-box office
• Kristina Koecheler, May 27, Twin Cities financial aid coordinator
• Kristin Branlund, May 21, Twin Cities admission coordinator
• Brian Bedard, May 19, web development, M.Ed.
• Laurie Robertson, May 12, administrative assistant, natural science
• Steve Kremer, May 1, Twin Cities faculty, nurse anesthesia
• James Laumeyer, May 1, Twin Cities Duluth site coordinator