Saint Mary’s breaks ground on new residence hall

Breaking ground are, from left: Gary Hay, principal, Hay Dobbs; State Senator Jeremy Miller; SMU Trustees Joe Ross and Jim Coogan; Connie Budin, SMU student activity president; Brother William Mann, SMU president; Michael Gostomski, SMU Board of Trustees chairman; Bob Rousseau, SMU Student Senate president; SMU Trustee Celeste Suchocki; Father Andrew Beerman, rector, Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary; Winona Mayor Jerry Miller; and Mike Hansen, president of Schwab LLC.

Brother William Mann, president, Saint Mary’s University

Saint Mary’s broke ground Friday, Oct. 7, on an innovative new residence hall at the Winona campus.

The Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees recently approved final plans and funding for the four-story facility. Construction has begun this week and the hall should be complete by August 2012, for use in the 2012-2013 academic year.

The cost of the project is estimated at $6.5 million. Hay Dobbs is the architect and Schwab LLC of Winona is general contractor.

The new residence hall will be located near the university’s high ropes course and track/soccer complex. It will be open to sophomore, junior and senior undergraduate students during the academic year, and serve conferencing, camps and educational program needs in the summer.

To view more pictures from the day's event, go to www.smumn.edu/photos.

Halloween Fun Night is Oct. 24 at Saint Mary’s

Elementary and preschool children from the Winona area are invited to attend the 12th annual Saint Mary’s Halloween Fun Night from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24.

Participants should stop at the guard booth at the main entrance of the Winona campus for directions on where to park.

Young trick-or-treaters should start out the evening at the Hall of Fame Room, where tattoos and stickers, a coloring station, and other fun games will be offered, and the Cardinal mascot will greet pint-sized ghosts and goblins.

From there, SMU students will lead groups of trick-or-treaters through the residence halls of the university, where they can go door to door for candy.

Last year more than 700 youth participated in this free, safe and fun event, sponsored by the Office of Residence Life.

Page Series hosts Luna Negra Dance Theatre Oct. 22

Saint Mary’s will come alive with colorful costumes and spirited dance as the Luna Negra Dance Theatre takes the stage Saturday, Oct. 22.

A representative from the Latin dance company will present a free pre-show at 6:30 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall, just prior to the 7:30 p.m. performance in Page Theatre.

Founded in 1999 by Cuban-born dancer and choreographer Eduardo Vilaro, Luna Negra Dance Theater makes its home in Chicago. Luna Negra offers its audiences effervescent, energetic and passionate contemporary Latino dance that blends the discipline of ballet with the fiery energy of Latin and Afro-Caribbean forms and rhythms.

Tickets for this Page Series performance are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students. To order, go online to www.pagetheatre.org or call the box office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This visit is supported, in part, by Arts Midwest.

Saint Mary’s is a fiscal year 2011 recipient of an Institutional Presenter Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008.

Get set to scream at annual Saint Mary's Walk of Horror

This year’s Walk of Horror is again guaranteed to give you goosebumps. New scares are planned around every corner.

The 15th annual hair-raising fundraiser for the SMU Cardinal fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21-22 and 29-31 in the SMU bluffs. Walkers meet on the lighted path between the SMU baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.

Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs surrounding the SMU campus for approximately 20 minutes.

The cost is $5 for adults, $4 for students with ID, and $4 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate.

SMU head fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller said the event is fun for all ages. The scare level is toned down for younger children and turned up for groups bold enough to face their fears. Last year more than 1,100 brave souls took SMU’s Walk of Horror.

Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses. For more information, contact Miller at Ext. 457-6923.

Oktoberfest lunch is Oct. 20

The SMU Volunteer Committee is planning an Oktoberfest lunch, just in time for the next Packers vs. Vikings game.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to SMU’s Oktoberfest on Thursday, Oct. 20, from 11:30 to 1 p.m. in the Plaza (or Hall of Fame Room in case of inclement weather). Enjoy some warm food as we usher in the colder weather: brats ($3), beer cheese soup ($3), hot dogs ($2) and root beer ($1). Or enjoy three items for $5. All proceeds will benefit Christ the Teacher Institute for Education in Nairobi.

In honor of the weekend’s rivalry game, wear your team colors and donate to “jerseys for a cause” at the Business Office windows.

Get creative with your team spirit; a prize will be given for the “best dressed fan.” And, join in for a rousing game of tug-of-war between Packers fans and Vikings fans to see who’s got the “stronger” loyalty!

Michigan artist displays work in ‘These Things Happen’

Unique paintings by Michigan artist Andrew Rieder depict human struggles in the upcoming art show “These Things Happen” on display through Nov. 13 at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

Rieder, a stencil artist, describes his work as visual metaphors for ongoing human struggles.

Rieder is an art instructor at Delta College in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay Region.

The Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries are open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and are free and open to the public.

Chemistry Nights are Oct. 27, Nov. 3

Many area high school juniors and seniors will perform hands-on chemistry projects during upcoming Chemistry Nights at Saint Mary’s University, which will run 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.

Chemistry Night, sponsored by the SMU Department of Chemistry and the La Crosse-Winona section of the American Chemical Society, is an annual event designed to help students explore the discipline of chemistry and appreciate the positive role that chemistry plays in our everyday world.

Each year students solve a challenging but fun chemical problem, based on the National Chemistry Week (Oct. 16-22) theme. This year happens to mark the International Year of Chemistry, and coinciding with National Chemistry Week is the unifying theme of “Chemistry – our life, our future” — exploring the positive impacts of chemistry as it relates to health, energy, environment and materials.

Students will work in small teams, using wet chemistry and working with chemical instrumentation in the SMU Department of Chemistry, under the guidance of SMU chemistry majors.

Prizes will be awarded to the teams that have the greatest success in solving the chemical problems. Prizes will include SMU scholarships of $2,000 and $1,000.

Eight area schools and approximately 50 students are participating this year.

For more information, contact Dr. Brett Bodsgard at Ext. 6972.

First SMU mock trial is Oct. 27

The Business and Social Science Departments are hosting the first SMU Mock Trial from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Common Room.

SMU pre-law students will act as the attorneys in a hotly contested case which mirrors an actual trial. Students will also participate as jurors and witnesses. Attendance is open to everyone — those interested in learning more about our legal system are especially encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Larry Price at Ext. 1533 or lprice @smumn.edu.

Saint Mary’s theatre students to perform in London

Saint Mary’s theatre majors will stage the comedic satire “Greater Tuna” Oct. 18-22 at TARA Studio in London.

In this hilarious satire of small-town American morals, audiences will meet the upstanding citizens of rural Tuna, Texas (the state’s third smallest town). The long-running Off Broadway hit features eight actors creating the entire population of Tuna — men, women, children and animals — in a tour de farce of quick-change artistry, changing costumes and characterizations.

It’s eight actors, 20 characters and a barrel of laughs, y’all.

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. Students will have the unique opportunity to attend numerous performances at London’s West End, Off-West End, and Fringe theatres.

Blue Angel 2011 : Time to get your act together

The SMU annual music variety show Blue Angel is planned for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5. Auditions for the show will be held Oct. 21-23 and are open to the entire SMU community (students, faculty and staff). Look for a signup sheet on the Phi Mu Alpha room door in the basement of the Toner Student Center. For more information, contact Tyler Ringeisen at tjring08@smumn.edu or Andy Bauer at atbaue08@smumn.edu.

Blake to offer special-effects makeup workshop

Just in time for Halloween, Kirstin “Fluffy” Blake (Performance Center production manager) and her husband Justin Vann are offering a special tuition-free workshop for middle and high school students titled, “Wicked Halloween Special Effects Make-Up Workshops” at the Winona Arts Center. Participants can learn and practice techniques to turn themselves and their friends into disgusting zombies, awesome animals, terrifying monsters or anything else!

On Oct. 15, middle school students are welcome at 10 a.m., and high school students at 2 p.m. Only 20 spots are available for each workshop session. All materials will be provided; bring a clean face and an old shirt.

To register, go to http://winonaarts.org/workshops/register_Make-up.html.

‘Make a Difference Day,’ Lasallian Day of Service is Oct. 22

Saint Mary’s students will be out volunteering in the community for ‘Make a Difference Day’ between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday, Oct. 22, through the Office of Campus Ministry.

“Make a Difference Day” is the most encompassing national day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Created by USA WEEKEND magazine, this annual event takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October.

Also on Oct. 22, Saint Mary’s alumni in Twin Cities, Chicago, Winona and all over the country are organizing volunteer sites in their local communities for the third annual Lasallian Day of Service.

All area alumni and friends are invited to participate in the Winona-area Lasallian Day of Service (from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) with Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers will assist in the construction of a new Habitat Home in the Winona area. Alumni will be volunteering with current SMU students.

Register for this event by going to www.smumn.edu/lasalliandayofservice.

Alum to give biology seminar

Brendon Panke ’05, associate research specialist in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present the second of a two-part seminar, “On Japanese Knotweed,” a field exercise, at 2:55 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at Gilmore Creek. Meet at Hoffman Hall.

Kowles to give seminar at WSU

Dr. Dick Kowles, professor emeritus in biology, will give a presentation at Winona State University on Friday, Oct. 21. The title of his talk is “Fortuitous Events in Researching Amazing Maize.” Kowles will discuss two large research projects conducted at Saint Mary’s with a number of biology student researchers. He will emphasize that capitalizing on fortuitous events can lead to important results.

Disc replacement is topic of next biology seminar

Joe Cochran, resident of neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, will discuss “Cervical Artificial Disc Replacement in Military Patients” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in Room 112, Hoffman Hall.

Elevator Pitch Competition winners announced

The Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies has announced that Sheree Haslemore and Jennifer Schrankler were awarded the top two prizes in the recent Elevator Pitch Competition. Contestants created an idea for a business or an event and had 90 seconds (the length of an average elevator ride) to convince a panel of judges that the idea was a worthwhile investment. Judges considered the feasibility and creativity of the idea and the enthusiasm and professionalism of the presentation when awarding the prizes.

The Kabara Institute will be sponsoring another Elevator Pitch Competition early in second semester. Watch for details or contact Trevor Hall, director of the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, for more information.

Cancer benefit for Jim Klinger is Oct. 22

A cancer benefit will be held for Jim Klinger, (Maintenance Department) at 4 p.m. Saturday Oct. 22, at the Witoka Ballroom. Klinger was diagnosed with primary liver cancer in March. The event will include a live and silent auction, bake sale and chicken dinner. If you would like a ticket for the dinner, call Sandy at Ext. 1436. Tickets are selling quickly.

If you would like to help with the benefit by volunteering that day, baking for the bake sale or by donating items, contact Nikki Richmond Ext. 1643 or Sandy Moger at Ext. 1436.