November 2009

Recent News Releases   

October 7, 2009 - Booming enrollment growth at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities sets record high.

News and Notes   

Career and technical education community celebrates best practices   

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the Minnesota Department of Education will present the latest trends in career and technical education, featuring examples of best-practice programs at a conference in Minneapolis Nov. 3. Keynote presentations:

• Education for a Sustainable Future and a Greener Economy Debra Rowe, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
  Learn about the emerging green economy, the wide variety of jobs that will have green components, and national trends in training for new and existing workers including certifications and curriculum.
• Minnesota's Pilot for Technical Skills Assessment Hans Meeder, Meeder Consulting Group
  Meeder is working with the state to develop approaches that will fulfill the Perkins IV requirements for technical skill assessment and will share the latest developments. Find out what these requirements mean for Minnesota.

While registration to the conference is full, the program schedule can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/3aNTF1 Please contact Yingfah Thao if you have questions at Yingfah.Thao@so.mnscu.edu.

2010 Open Enrollment    

The 2010 Open Enrollment period for employees to enroll in or modify current benefits will be Nov. 4 through 17. Benefits to enroll in or modify during the time period are health insurance, the JourneyWell Health Assessment, dental insurance, optional life insurance, long-term disability insurance, the Manager's Income Protection Plan and pretax accounts. More information will be available soon on the Office of the Chancellor Human Resources Web site and Minnesota Management and Budget's Web site. If you have questions about open enrollment or other benefits, contact Kristen Koontz Haider in Human Resources at (651) 296-0864 or kristen.koontz.haider@so.mnscu.edu.

Governor’s new senior policy advisor visits system office   

Governor Tim Pawlenty’s new senior policy advisor, Lori Grivna, visited the system office Oct. 13. Grivna met with leaders and learned about the system’s upcoming legislative requests. She also listened to the issues presented by members of the statewide student associations. Grivna said she is pleased to be in this new role and looks forward to creating good working relationships within the higher education community. Prior to this position, Grivna served two terms on the Mounds View District School Board.

Finance Division news    

Financial Reporting employees have been completing work on the FY2009 financial statements. Also, Internal Audit and Financial Reporting staff hosted a dozen exit audit conferences for the externally audited colleges and universities during the last two weeks with participation of presidents, vice presidents and campus leadership teams.

Career One Stop receives Tekne Award   

The state of Minnesota has won a 2009 Tekne Award for CareerOneStop.org, a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored Web site that offers career resources and workforce information to students, job seekers, workforce counselors, employers and economic developers.

Under the leadership of Linda Baer, senior vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs; and Michael Murphy, associate vice chancellor for Strategic Partnerships, Career and Workforce Development Unit, staff members collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to redevelop CareerOneStop.org. They integrated a new Web content management system, a Web site search engine and a new information architecture and taxonomy. The site is now a premier source for career information and serves more than 24 million unique visitors each year. Its new look has garnered mention by ABC News as well as financial commentator Suze Orman.

The Minnesota Tekne Awards honor companies, innovations and individuals that positively impact Minnesota's technology-based economy. Begun in 2000, the awards are presented by the Minnesota High Tech Association in partnership with LifeScience Alley and Enterprise Minnesota. Sixteen awards in 10 categories were given at the 2009 award ceremony Oct. 22. CareerOneStop won in the IT Software and Hardware, Communications and Infrastructure category. The other finalists in the category were Imation Corporation and QLogic Corporation.

Lade represents system at Women’s Leadership Conference   

Minnesota was featured as one of three model states making innovations on behalf of adult learners at the Women in Government “National Summit on Adult Learning: Education as a Driver of Economic Success” in Washington, D.C., in October. Representing Minnesota were Linda Lade, system director for college transitions; and Minnesota State Rep. David Bly, who serves on the House Early Childhood Committee that includes adult basic education. Lade presented initiatives aimed at supporting adult learners, including the system policy on credit for prior learning; veterans returning to college; and the Minnesota FastTRAC initiative to align state agency policies and resources to help low-skilled, low-wage workers attain post-secondary credentials. Rep. Bly, a teacher, underscored Minnesota’s long history of support for education and the need to extend resources to adult learners to have a skilled workforce to replace retiring workers and the shrinking rate of high school graduates.

Online Support Center recognized    

The Online Support Center has received a Gartner and 1to1 Media Silver Award for “Enterprise CRM Optimization” for Distance Minnesota. The Distance Minnesota Board works on behalf of members to set the regionally shared vision that shapes the Distance Minnesota online learning experience. Those involved are the Regional Academic Leadership (deans), faculty and staff representatives serving on the Online Learning and Seamless Services Team, and the Marketing and Outreach Team. Member colleges are Alexandria Technical College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Northland Community and Technical College, and Northwest Technical College.

Learn more about Distance Minnesota at http://distanceminnesota.edu. Also, more about the award and other winners can be found in the news release at this link http://bit.ly/2ieYIl. Please contact Teresa Thiesen for additional details at Teresa.Thiesen@minnesota.edu.

Vice chancellor search in progress   

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has announced a national search for a vice chancellor for information technology services. The vice chancellor serves on Chancellor James H. McCormick's cabinet and is the system's senior administrator for information technology policy leadership and its chief information officer. The vice chancellor also represents Information Technology Services to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees and the state Legislature.

For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/365kpH.

Joint meeting of affirmative action and diversity officers    

Sixty-three affirmative action and diversity officers from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities campuses attended the Fall Quarterly Professional Development meeting Oct. 20 at the Office of the Chancellor, hosted by the Diversity and Multiculturalism division. This is the first joint meeting between affirmative action and diversity officers and was designed to increase communication and collaborations between the two groups. Through presenters, case studies and interactive exercises, participants discussed effective strategies to work with search committees, affirmative action and how to use diversity resources during search processes.

CTL staff present at International Faculty Development Conference   

Center for Teaching and Learning staff members Zala Fashant and Martin Springborg presented a preconference workshop for the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education annual conference in Houston in late October. The workshop, “Delivering Quality Faculty Development in Tough Economic Times,” demonstrated the work that the center has accomplished over the past two years in providing learning and networking opportunities for system faculty via Web conferences, webinars, the Faculty Lodge and meetings conducted online through Web conferencing tools.

New biosciences brochure published    

The Strategic Partnerships, Career and Workforce Development and the Public Affairs divisions have published a new brochure to publicize the Strategic Alliance for Bioscience Research and Education, a three-year initiative funded with $1.1 million in chancellor’s initiative funds. The project’s overarching goal is to provide industry with graduates who have the competencies needed for work in the bioscience industry.

The new brochure is designed primarily to engage businesses and seek partnerships that will support the goals of four projects. Because bioscience is a regulated industry, workers need to understand how science and engineering is conducted in a way that meets stringent federal regulations. The new initiative provides faculty professional development and curriculum that reflect these competencies, and it expands industry internship opportunities for students and faculty. In addition, to ensure that K-12 students are being engaged in science and discovery, the project helped fund the launch of the Science Express, a mobile science laboratory led by St. Cloud State University to serve central Minnesota. With a donation from Medtronic of a large, high-tech trailer, the Science Express is believed to be is among the most sophisticated mobile lab programs in the country.

Accountability presentation   

Chancellor McCormick traveled with a small system office team to an invitation-only conference, "Accountability Today and Tomorrow," in early October. The Chancellor, John Asmussen, Leslie Mercer and Craig Schoenecker joined a national gathering hosted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and fully supported with a Lumina grant. Mercer and Schoenecker made a formal presentation to the group.

New employees   

Shari L. Olson has joined the Office of the Chancellor as system director for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the Strategic Partnerships, Career and Workforce Development division, while on administrative leave from Bemidji State University. Olson brings 27 years of experience as an educator, coach, consultant, administrator and leader, most recently serving the past two years as president of Eastern Wyoming College. Previously, Olson served as vice president of planning and administrative services at Northland Community and Technical College, Thief River Falls. Olson is a first generation college student, receiving her bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from the University of North Dakota.

Achievements   

Chancellor McCormick was named a Legacy Laureate by the University of Pittsburgh on Oct. 22. He joins a small, distinguished group of alumni so designated, acknowledging both national achievement in a field of endeavor and recognizing a model leadership style.

Capt. Daniel Price has accepted an appointment to be the Aide de Camp for the Adjutant General of Minnesota, Major General Larry Shellito. Price was assigned to the Office of the Chancellor in June 2008 to assist with the veterans’ initiative, the implementation of a federal grant and the system's contributions to the state's “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” Program. Price provided faculty and administrators with the information needed to help colleges and universities become more “veterans-friendly.” A new Military Liaison Officer will be appointed soon to take Price’s place at the system office.

Steve Frantz, system director for student affairs at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, has been awarded the Commander’s Award for Public Service for “exceptional civilian service and support to veterans” by Minnesota Army National Guard Adjutant General Larry Shellito. In presenting the award at the Board of Trustees meeting, Shellito said that Frantz “continually develops and supports initiatives such as military education programs, career and education planning resources, and surveys of student veterans in order to provide an array of resources to our veterans.” Since 2005, Frantz has been instrumental in:

• Establishing veterans’ centers on 45 of the system’s 54 campuses
• Coordinating the system’s participation in dozens of reintegration events for returning soldiers
• Helping develop higher education aspects of the innovative “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon,” a model program to ease the transition of soldiers back to civilian life that has been expanded to the national level
• Supervising and guiding development of an Internet-based tool, the Veterans Education Transfer System.

Frantz serves as the system’s liaison with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and the Minnesota National Guard.

To submit an item to The Chronicle

Contact the internal newsletter reporter for your division:
Academic and Student Affairs: Tim Price
Board of Trustees: Patty McCann
Chancellor's Office: Janice Kwallek
Diversity and Multiculturalism: Ka Vang, Renée Hogoboom
Finance and Facilities: Nancy Lamden
Foundation: Maria McLemore
Government Relations: Melissa Fahning; Candi Walz
Human Resources: Vicki Schoenbeck
Information Technology: Valerie Zahorski Schmidt
Internal Auditing: Darla Senn
Legal Affairs: Dorothy Zenner
Public Affairs: Nancy Conner

Past editions of The Chronicle are archived at www.chronicle.mnscu.edu . 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, paul.berger@so.mnscu.edu.