News

After submitting a letter of interest, Minnesota State University Moorhead received notification it has been invited to apply to become a Minnesota Remembers Vietnam Host Community.

“We are honored that our letter of interest was selected and that we are now able to submit a full proposal,” said Shireen Alemadi, assistant director for Community Outreach and Engagement. “We look forward to working with our partners around the FM community to complete this proposal in the next four weeks.”

According to the Minnesota Humanities Center website, “Minnesota Remembers Vietnam is an initiative led by Twin Cities PBS (TPT) and aimed at inspiring Minnesotans to remember and share stories recognize bravery, express their reasons for dissent, and foster understanding around the lasting impact of war.”

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Anna Sigrídur Arnar, School of Art, delivered a paper at a conference sponsored by the International Association of Word and Image Studies (IAWIS) held in Lausanne, Switzerland in July 2017. Arnar’s paper was based on research she conducted over the course of her sabbatical year for a book prospectus submitted to a University Press. Titled “Grids, Matrices and Digits in Stéphane Mallarmé’s Designs for Le ‘Livre’” the paper was delivered in a bi-lingual panel devoted to the question of digital and photographic artists’ books.  Read the rest of this entry →

Terrie Manno (SPA) participated in the 2017 Alexander Technique Summer Intensive Course in Boulder, CO this past July. Sessions were taught by master teachers James Brody, Amy Likar, and Ed Bilanchone.

For two years, MSUM Art Professor Brad Bachmeier has been leading a project to install several large-scale brick sculptures at a new skate and bike park in the Golden Ridge community at Madison Park in North Fargo. The community is one of the most diverse and economically challenged in the FM metro area. The project involved collaboration with the Legacy Children’s Foundation, City of Fargo, Fargo Parks and Madison Elementary school children to help celebrate diversity through art and create ownership for community members in the park. Over 300 community members, artists, school children and volunteers have participated in the project including dozens of MSUM alumni, staff and students.  Read the rest of this entry →

Take a look at the news stories featuring MSUM in the past week. Stories are presented in chronological order.

West Fargo’s Thorson plays in Brazil all-star game, West Fargo Pioneer: “Everything felt different for Cassidy Thorson playing international basketball. The 3-point lines were so far out she stepped out of bounds in the corner, the referees didn’t understand her, the shot clocks were faster, the style of play is rougher and she’s not even sure what the basketballs are made out of. She never thought she would’ve been playing basketball in Brazil, so she wanted to soak up every bit of it. Thorson, a West Fargo graduate and an upcoming Minnesota State Moorhead senior, was selected for and played on the USA NCAA Division DII Basketball Team Tour in Brazil from July 31 to Aug. 9.”

Dragons head coach Laqua: ‘Good isn’t good enough’ is the new team standard, InForum: ” Minnesota State Moorhead was good last fall, winning seven football games in a season for the first time since 1999. That record also gave the Dragons back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1995 and 1996. MSUM started fall practice Thursday morning at Scheels Field at Alex Nemzek Stadium with the mindset to continue that ascension. ‘Now the standard has to be that good isn’t good enough. We have to push it to great,’ said Dragons head coach Steve Laqua, who is starting his seventh season as head coach.”

Dragons next step “from good to great”, WDAY: “The opening day of MSU Moorhead fall camp had a different feel than in recent years. It was one of confidence, knowing that expectations are growing. The Dragons are coming off a second straight winning season, something that hasn’t happened in 21 years. Now the next challenge is making the postseason.”

‘It teaches you gratitude’, Marshall Independent: “She went to India to teach others, but ended up learning more than she can say. ‘It was a really good experience,’ said Linnea Bader, who spent a month teaching underprivileged children in Delhi, India. ‘It’s easy to fall in love with India. I’m grateful for the opportunity.’ … Bader, a Marshall High School class of 2015 grad, attends Minnesota State University Moorhead and majors in teaching English as a second language and has a secondary major in communication arts and literature education.”

MSUM Football Opens up Practice, KVRR: “Coach Steve Laqua and the MSUM football team began their 2017 campaign Thursday morning with the season’s first practice.”

Bouncing and bonding: Sky Zone employee’s act of kindness attracts attention, Jamestown Sun: “When George MacConnell and his family drove from their home in Veblen, S.D., to Fargo’s Sky Zone Trampoline Park, he figured he’d have some fun hanging out during his nephew Wayde’s birthday. He didn’t figure on witnessing an act of kindness that would help another nephew break out of his shell long after the party was over. … He happened to mention to Sky Zone employee Nic Bordwell that Sage was playing the video games because he doesn’t like crowds. That’s when Bordwell offered to open up a closed off area of Sky Zone for Sage to jump alone. Sage agreed that he’d like to try it, with Bordwell paving the way.”

Anna S. Arnar, School of Art, published an article called “Books at documenta: Medium, Art Object, Cultural Symbol,” in a special issue of OnCurating. The issue was released at the opening of the international exhibition documenta in Kassel, Germany.

The article is based on work Arnar did during her sabbatical and is part of her larger project called “Social Spaces of the Book. ‘Reading’ Books at Perennial Exhibitions of Contemporary Art.” For the last two years MSUM Honors Apprentice, Dalton Norman has participated in the research for this project.

For a link to the article, see on-curating.org.

Melissa Haas ’15 (communication studies) is entering the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus as a postulant on Aug. 27.

Haas is the third MSUM student to enter a religious vocation under the direction of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Moorhead, which offers room and board to students attending area higher education institutions.

To read more about Haas’ journey, visit crookston.org.

On June 29, 2017, the MSUM Athletic Training student quiz bowl team placed fourth among a field of ten United States teams in the 2017 National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) Student Quiz Bowl competition in Houston, Texas. To qualify for the national quiz bowl competition, the team first won the Minnesota Athletic Trainer’s Association (MATA) student competition and then the won the NATA District 4 competition. This team was the first MSUM team to win the quiz bowl at the state level, and then the first Minnesota champion team to win at the district level.

Members representing the 2017 MSUM quiz bowl team were Shae Brown, Jesse Differding, Shawn Sherman, and Alexis Berscheit. Congratulations to the MSUM student quiz bowl team for representing MSUM so well this past spring and summer locally, regionally and nationally!

July 18-20 four MSUM Physics and Astronomy students attended and presented at the Live Interactive Planetarium Symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, IN.  Melissa Foley, Boston Heaford, Jane Glanzer and Elizabeth Dougherty, along with Planetarium Director Sara Schultz,  presented their work on developing science content and programming for the planetarium. The conference was focused on engaging and educating planetarium audiences in a wide variety of ways including presentation skills and interpreting complex data sets for general audiences.  The development work was funded in part by the Strong Summer Research Internship.

Take a look at the news stories featuring MSUM in recent weeks. Stories are presented in chronological order.

Sweet staches becoming trademark for local UFC fighter Johnson, InForum: “Tim Johnson has gained some fame for his facial hair. Johnson grows his facial hair out during each training camp, and then fine tunes his look right before a mixed martial arts fight. ‘Every fight gets a new mustache or new facial hair,’ said Johnson, the former Minnesota State Moorhead wrestler who trains out of Fargo. ‘I don’t keep the same one. … I keep it a secret until the week of the fight.'”

Former MSUM wrestler Johnson falls in UFC bout, InForum: “Former MSUM wrestler Tim Johnson has been competing in mixed martial arts for the last seven years. Saturday, the Minneapolis native was competing in the prelims for UFC on Fox as the number 12 ranked heavyweight in the UFC.”

MSUM extends TV deal with WDAY’Z XTRA, WDAY: “In athletics, TV is huge and MSUM and their Dragons plan on continuing a good deal with WDAY-Z and their broadcasts of home football and basketball games on the Xtra.”

Sports Sunday July 30th: Dragons head to Brazil with Team USA, InForum: “Summer is a time for college athletes to take a break from school and enjoy their vacation. For two Dragon student athletes, their vacation ins’t a road trip, or going camping.”

Qualifies as nationwide superior chapter

The Minnesota State University Moorhead Financial Management Association (FMA) chapter recently received three prestigious awards from Financial Management Association International.

The MSUM FMA chapter qualified as a superior chapter for its programming and activities last year. The award goes to less than 10 percent of chapters in the country.

Joe Tjosvold, FMA president for 2016-2017, was named one of six nationwide FMA Collegiate Fellows for exemplary leadership and service.

MSUM FMA advisor Tom Hanson was named a Superior Faculty Advisor, an award that goes to only five honorees nationwide.

MSUM was the only chapter in the country to win all three awards this year, and perhaps one of the only to do so in the past 20 years.

Congratulations to all!

Minnesota State University Moorhead was mentioned in the U.S. News & World Report article, “U.S. College Tutoring Centers Help International Students,” published July 11.

MSUM’s English Language Tutor Program is referenced as a support service for international students to look for in a college or university.

“Some universities offer conversation partners who assist with English verbal communication skills. For example, Minnesota State University—Moorhead‘s English Language Tutor Program pairs international students with conversation partners. They meet together three to four hours per week to practice and improve their English-speaking skills, such as pronunciation, through conversation, according to the school’s website.”

To read the article in full, visit usnews.com.

Learn more about MSUM’s English Language Tutor Program by emailing international@mnstate.edu.

Lisa Nawrot (Psychology) attended the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) annual business meeting in Flagstaff, AZ, June 29-July 2. Nawrot serves as a Councilor in the Psychology Division.

CUR divisions include arts and humanities, biology, chemistry, education, engineering, geosciences, health sciences, mathematics and computer science, physics and astronomy, psychology, social sciences, an at-large division that serves administrators and other disciplines, and a division for directors of undergraduate research programs.

MSUM has enhanced institutional membership in CUR so any faculty or staff member may join and receive CUR benefits, including resources and discounted meeting costs.

For more information, visit www.cur.org, www.mnstate.edu/undergraduateresearch, or join the MSUM Undergraduate Research email list serve.

Layna Cole, Marilyn Labrensz, and Erin Gillett attended the NAEYC Professional Learning Institute in San Francisco, June 11-14. While there, they presented a paper and a poster at the meeting of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Their paper, Community-Based Professional Development: Crossing Boundaries to New Territories, described our three-year process of establishing an ongoing community of practice with area preschool teachers and directors. The poster described MSUM’s role in creating Minnesota’s Early Childhood Education Transfer Pathway.

Take a look at the news stories featuring MSUM in recent weeks. Stories are presented in chronological order.