March 2008
Recent news releases
February 29, 2008 - Minnesota State College Faculty and system reach tentative labor agreement
February 22, 2008 - Three presidential finalists named for Minnesota West Community and Technical College
February 19, 2008 - Application Deadline Extended to February 28, 2008, for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees
February 5, 2008 - 2007 awards for excellence in management announced by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system
February 4, 2008 - State university faculty reach tentative labor agreement
News and notes
Presidential assistants’ conference recap
A conference, “Purpose and Excellence: Assisting the President in Our Higher Education Communities,” brought 24 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities presidential assistants to the Office of the Chancellor Feb. 6 and 7 in St. Paul.
Participants heard a presentation from Jessie Bethke Gomez, president of Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio. Highlights also included a panel on managing transition in the president’s office moderated by Bill Tschida, vice chancellor, human resources. The panelists were Roland Barden, president, Minnesota State University Moorhead; Joe Opatz, president, Normandale Community College; Sue Prout, presidential assistant at St. Cloud State University; and Gloria Robinson, presidential assistant at Normandale Community College.
Office of the Chancellor staff presented sessions on emergency preparedness, media communication, and understanding and implementing processes and procedures in the Office of the Chancellor. Speakers also included David Olson, chair, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees; Patrick Johns, president, Anoka-Ramsey Community College; Linda Baer, senior vice chancellor; and James McCormick, chancellor. At the conclusion of the conference, Martin Springborg, exhibit curator, led a tour of the faculty and student art exhibit in the Office of the Chancellor.
Conference planning committee members were Carol Freed, South Central College; Sharon Rebers, Bemidji State University; Gloria Robinson, Normandale Community College; and Nancy Lamden, Kathy Morgan, Vicki Schoenbeck and Colleen Thompson from the Office of the Chancellor.
System presents at ACT State Organization Conference
Several staff and faculty in the Minnesota Stare Colleges and Universities system participated in the annual ACT State Organization Conference Feb. 15. The conference theme was “Getting Minnesota Students Ready.” ACT is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides assessment, research, information and program management services in the areas of education and workforce development. The organization serves millions of people serving in positions in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies, nationally and internationally. For more information on ACT, visit http://www.act.org/stateorgs/index.html.
The program included nine sessions presented by 10 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ faculty, staff and administrators from five institutions and the Office of the Chancellor:
- Utilizing Current and Emerging Technology for Education by Landon K. Pirius, associate dean of students and director of enrollment and online services, Inver Hills Community College
- Identifying and Supporting College-Ready Writing Skills Among High School Students: A Vertical Alignment Model by Paul Carney, English instructor and project coordinator, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
- The Learning Potential of Games and Simulations by Landon K. Pirius, faculty, Inver Hills Community College
- ESL and Underrepresented Students by Karen Hynick, dean, and Jeff Hoover, faculty, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
- Retention Best Practices by Carrie Brimhall, director of enrollment, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
- Blurring the Boundaries: Opportunities for College-Level Learning by Cyndy Crist, Office of the Chancellor
- Bridging the Achievement Gap - The Power of You by Nafreen Mohammed, director, Power of You, and Beth Yeah, director of institutional research, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
- Treasure Your Laughter, Keep Your Perspective: Humor as a Survival Skill by Patrick J. Lair, director of admissions, Dakota County Technical College
- Hot Topics in Admissions by Rick Smith, director of admissions, Normandale Community College, and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and two high schools
System ads, publications win national awards
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities won 10 awards in the 23rd Annual Admissions Advertising Awards contest sponsored by Admission Marketing Report, the National Newspaper of Admissions Marketing.
Three gold awards were for the “I Make It Happen” ad that is part of the College Encouragement Campaign sponsored by the system, the University of Minnesota, the Private College Council, the Minnesota Career College Association, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the Department of Education; “Works for Me!” ad by Minnesota Online, and a radio ad for MyMilitaryEducation.org by Minnesota Online.
This year’s “Go Places” poster won a silver award, as did Minnesota Online for imprinted materials, the TV ad series, “Works for Me!,” the “Personal Experience” video/CD viewbook, and a “Works for Me” magazine ad. Minnesota Online also won merit awards for the Web site MyMilitaryEducation.org and a “Works for Me” direct mail ad.
Senate confirms Trustee McElroy
The Minnesota Senator has confirmed the appointment of Trustee Dan McElroy to the Board of Trustees by a vote of 59-3. Sen. Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, encouraged members to support McElroy’s confirmation. Pappas said that McElroy adds to the Board in a positive manner. Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, said his dual role as a commissioner and trustee is a perfect fit, and said that we need someone who understands both economic development and training workers. Gov. Tim Pawlenty had appointed him to the board in 2006.
Fourteen colleges, universities receive grants
In the latest round of Minnesota Job Skills Partnership grants, 14 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities received 21 of 24 grants amounting to 91 percent of the total funds awarded. The grants will support training and development in a wide range of industries, such as health care, precision machining, medical device and sheet metal manufacturing, construction and metal fabrication.
Luoma Leadership Academy alumni, participants gather
Nearly 100 staff and faculty attended the Luoma Leadership Academy annual gathering Feb. 7 and 8 at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Open to academy participants and alumni, the annual gathering provides a forum for participants to reconnect and build relationships across the system, to reflect on leadership challenges and to learn something new. This year, the gathering featured a welcome address from Chancellor James McCormick and a daylong session on managing conflict with author and speaker Anna Maravelas. A highlight was the senior leaders panel with presidents Ann Wynia, North Hennepin Community College; Keith Stover, South Central College; and Phil Davis, Minneapolis Community and Technical College; and Bill Tschida, vice chancellor, Office of the Chancellor. The panelists talked about their professional leadership journeys and offered career advancement advice.
in this issue
Recent news releases
News and notes
- Presidential assistants’ conference recap
- System presents at ACT State Organization Conference
- System ads, publications win national awards
- Senate confirms Trustee McElroy
- Fourteen colleges, universities receive grants
- Luoma Leadership Academy alumni, participants gather
- CareerOneStop supports regional development
- New IT Excellence and Career Development scholarship awarded
Upcoming events
Achievements
New employees
Submit an item to The Chronicle
CareerOneStop supports regional development
CareerOneStop recently released its Regional Economic Development Web site (www.careeronestop.org/RED) that offers labor market, economic and workforce data, and information in one convenient location. Economic developers, workforce developers, and business and education leaders can find information unique to their region and compare it with other areas. The site showcases the Federal Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development planning framework.New IT Excellence and Career Development scholarship awarded
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation has named the first 10 recipients of the Midwave Scholarship for Information Technology Excellence and Career Development. Midwave is a privately held Twin Cities-based IT consulting company that offers both IT advisory and integration services.
Criteria for the $1,000 award include declaration of a major or acceptance into a certificate program within the computer sciences and information technology field at one of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in the metropolitan area, St. Cloud State University or St. Cloud Technical College. Recipients must have a grade point average of 3.0 or greater, and preference is given to students who are involved in their community through volunteer experiences, campus leadership or other activities; Minnesota residency; and financial need. The scholarships are awarded by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation through the Center for Strategic Information Technology and Security.
“These scholarships will provide educational opportunities to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities students who intend to pursue a career in the high-tech industry in Minnesota,” said Bruce Lindberg, executive director of the Center for Strategic Information Technology and Security.
Upcoming events
Diversity Brown Bag
The Diversity Brown Bag on Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 1.B.1 Nondiscrimination Policy has been rescheduled to Thurs., April 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., conference rooms 3304 and 3306.
For more information, contact Ka Vang, director, diversity programs, Diversity and Multiculturalism at ka.vang@so.mnscu.edu or 651-201-1599.Achievements
Ka Vang, director, diversity programs, Diversity and Multiculturalism, has been selected as the recipient of Hmong National Development's 2008 Pioneer Award. The Pioneer Award honors a Hmong-American who has dedicated him or herself to volunteering and professional work for the development of the Hmong community. The presentation of the award will be March 29 at the 13th Annual Hmong National Conference in Denver.
Gail O’Kane, director for biosciences, Strategic Partnerships, is one of 16 people nationally elected to attend “Educating Biotechnicians for Future Industry Needs” April 28 to 30 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The conference is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by the American Association of Community Colleges. National experts will speak about the future of biotechnology, with the goal of establishing strategies for the future of biotechnician training.
Ken Niemi, vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer, has been recognized by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact for more than a decade of volunteer service and leadership. He chairs a technologies software committee that negotiates with venders to save money on software purchases for institutions in member states.
Nate Traaseth, son of Sue Traaseth, director, loan operations, obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in December.
New Employees
Mary Swanson
Mary Swanson has joined the IT division as a project manager. Previously, she was with the Department of Human Services as a project manager leading department wide initiatives. She also worked as a business analyst and project leader to implement the Department of Human Services' MMIS and rewrite the health care program’s eligibility determination for the MAXIS legacy system. Swanson began her career at the Department of Human Services while earning her degree at the University of St. Thomas working on the newly created MinnesotaCare program. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Swanson continued at the department as a system analyst.
Jeff Thornton
Jeff Thornton recently joined the Portfolio Management Office of the Information Technology Services division as a project manager. He has information technology experience in applications development, systems programming, disaster recovery, storage management, resource management and capacity planning. Previously, he worked in the public sector, in private industry and in IT consulting. Thornton holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Submit an item to The Chronicle
Contact the internal newsletter reporter for your division:
Board of Trustees: Patty McCann
Academic and Student Affairs: Tim Price
Chancellor's Office: Manuel López
Finance and Facilities: Nancy Lamden
Government Relations: Melissa Fahning, Candi Walz
Human Resources: Vicki Schoenbeck
Information Technology: Valerie Zahorski Schmidt
Internal Auditing: Darla Senn
Legal Affairs: Dorothy Zenner
Foundation: Catherine McGlinch
Multiculturalism and
Diversity: Renée Hogoboom
Public Affairs: Nancy Conner
Past editions of The Chronicle are available in the issue archive at the top of this page. If you have a question you would like The Chronicle to answer, or other comments and suggestions for the newsletter, send an e-mail to Paul Berger at paul.berger@so.mnscu.edu.
For more announcements from the Office of the Chancellor, visit the System Gateway home page.
