News

Theatre B, Fargo-Moorhead’s only resident professional theatre company, is producing its current play with a good bit of help from MSUM students and alums. The play, How the World Began, has three characters who argue over science and religion in a tornado-ravaged Kansas town. Two of the three actors are affiliated with MSUM. Kate Aarness is a 2016 graduate from the MSUM theatre program, and Doug Hamilton has a long history with MSUM. He graduated in 1971, and worked over the years as a teacher, an assistant to the president for media and community relations, and executive director of the university’s alumni foundation.  Read the rest of this entry →

Several MSUM alumni recently caught the spotlight at The Ivey Awards, a celebration of the theatre community in the Twin Cities. The Ivey Awards Committee selects honorees that exemplify excellence within their craft over the last season. Each year’s ceremony features highlights from a few productions (chosen from hundreds staged over the past year) to perform a song or scene.  Read the rest of this entry →

Scott and Judy Green, Fargo, N.D., have been selected to receive Minnesota State University Moorhead’s 34^th annual L.B. Hartz Professional Achievement Award. An awards reception will be held Wednesday, Sept. 28 on the MSUM campus.

The award is named in honor of the late L.B. Hartz, the founder of Hartz Wholesale Company headquartered in Thief River Falls. It’s presented annually by MSUM’s College of Business and Innovation to an individual who has created economic opportunities for others through innovation, entrepreneurship and community service.  Read the rest of this entry →

Congratulations to Bob Mikkelson, ’72 mass communications alumnus, who will be inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in December.  Read the rest of this entry →

The Moorhead School District will honor a 1945 Moorhead State Teachers College alumna and educator by naming one of its newest schools after her.

The district’s newest kindergarten through fourth-grade school will be Dorothy Dodds Elementary.  Read the rest of this entry →

Tim Abate ’15 (physics), who is will be starting his Ph.D. at Stanford University this fall, won a prestigious competition this summer. He was at Los Alamos National Labs doing a summer internship in materials science. Abate won their poster competition in the category of materials science. There were a total of 500 entries across all categories of the competition.  Read the rest of this entry →

A Faculty Development Associates team comprised of Andrew Chen, Computer Science and Information Systems; Rinita Dalan, Anthropology and Earth Sciences; Alexandria Fogarty, School of Media Arts and Design; and T. J. Hansen, Economics, Law & Politics; attended the Esri Education and User Conferences in San Diego, California June 25-29, 2016. The MSUM team members joined over 15,000 participants from academia, industry and government that participated in technical workshops, moderated paper discussions, industry-specific sessions and forums related to geospatial analysis.  Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM alumni A.J. Schlee, Andy Werk and Taylor Huss were sworn in as the Moorhead Police Department’s newest officers on Friday. The trio graduated in 2015 with degrees in criminal justice.

Help us in thanking Schlee, Werk and Huss for their service to the community!

See coverage of the event from WDAY, Valley News Live and KVRR.

Duluth, Minn. – KUMD 103.3 FM’s Lisa Johnson ’83 (broadcast journalism) has received the 2016 Broadcaster of the Year Award from the Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations (Ampers). Johnson was honored for her accomplishments as KUMD’s Northland Morning host and producer, the job title she has held since 1991.  Read the rest of this entry →

MorningStar Senior Living CEO Ken Jaeger
 named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award Winner in Mountain Desert Region, Healthcare and Life Sciences Category

Ken Jaeger, Founder/CEO, MorningStar Senior Living, has received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Award in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category in the Mountain Desert Region, Denver, Colo.  Read the rest of this entry →

Startup Weekend team develops tool for nonprofits

By Danielle Rebel

What would you be willing to give up in order to help others?

That’s the question the winning team at Fargo’s Startup Weekend asked and answered. In just a few short days, the team turned a question into a functioning, reliable nonprofit fundraising platform: GIVV App.  Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM alumni Shari Gross ’95 (English and mass communications) and Kevin Wallevand ’84 (mass communications) — current adjunct faculty member — were honored with national 2016 Edward R. Murrow Awards for their work in electronic journalism. The awards are given by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).  Read the rest of this entry →

Women’s Startup Weekend winners answer life’s tough questions

By Danielle Rebel

We’ve all had those “oh, crap” moments, wondering how in the world we’re going to get something done.

Whether it’s a flat tire when you’re late for a meeting, or an unexpected visit from your mother-in-law, the winning team from Women’s Startup Weekend in Fargo has you covered.  Read the rest of this entry →

Liz Fritel’s experience growing up with younger twin siblings led to her interest in early childhood education.

“It was interesting how two children the same age from the same family were completely different. That is when I knew I wanted to learn more about how children grow and learn,” said Fritel, a kindergarten teacher at Probstfield Elementary and this year’s Probstfield Teacher of the Year.  Read the rest of this entry →

Becoming a teacher seemed the natural path for (MSUM alumna) Becky Anderson, since she loved working with kids and loved English.

“Elementary education was the road I took, and I’ve had more joy, love, laughter, sadness, frustration and sleepless nights than I could have ever imagined,” said Anderson, a third-grade teacher at Robert Asp Elementary School and this year’s Robert Asp Teacher of the Year.  Read the rest of this entry →

Wednesday, May 18 | 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. | The Stage at Island Park

Alumna Hannah Savoy will take the stage at 1 Million Cups on Wednesday. How the F? is the first place winning team from North Dakota Women’s Startup Weekend, led by Savoy.

She will take the stage to talk about what How the F? is, and how the F the team plans to make money with their idea.

Read the article from Emerging Prairie for more information.

Professor Kelli Sinner is a founding member of Cone Pack, a new FM area artist collective.

Cone Pack’s inaugural event, “Mug Market” will take place on Saturday, May 14 in partnership with 20 Below Coffee Co. in Fargo. Enjoy Saturday in downtown Fargo with the highest quality coffee and a handcrafted ceramic mug. Each purchase of a handmade mug created by one of Cone Pack’s artists will include a drink token for 20 Below Coffee Co.

Cone Pack is a group of seven artists who work primarily with clay. The founding members of Cone Pack are Guillermo Guardia, Helen Otterson, Kelli Sinner, and MSUM alumni Chris Boedigheimer, Catie Miller, Sam Norman, and Brooke Stewart.

Marie Veillette, December 2015 MSUM graduate, received notification that a paper she wrote as an undergraduate will be published in an upcoming issue of the “Undergraduate Economic Review.”  Read the rest of this entry →

Molly Engstrom believes education is a lifelong adventure.

“I believe everyone we encounter and all our experiences are a part of our education,” Engstrom said. “I believe everyone can learn.”

Engstrom, who has taught special education at Horizon Middle School for 13 years, has been named the 2016 Horizon Teacher of the Year.  Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM Couple Continues Education at Stanford University

By Danielle Rebel

It took traveling nearly 7,700 miles from Ethiopia to Minnesota for Iwnetim (Tim) Abate, 2015 (Physics), and Loza Tadesse, 2016 (Chemistry), to meet. Read the rest of this entry →