Today Magazine Fall 2022

University aviation student and pilot Elle Taylor.

Fall 2022

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Stories of boundarybreaking by students, faculty and supporters of Minnesota State Mankato

Alum Aaron Pacheco ‘22

Fulbright scholar Sarah Lee Henderson

Philosophy professor Craig Matarrese

The

Edward Inch, President

David

Hood, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Lynn Akey, Vice President for Student Success, Analytics and Integrated Planning

Mark Johnson, Vice President for IT Solutions & CIO

David Jones, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management

Henry Morris, Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Kent Stanley, Vice President for University Advancement

Richard Straka, Vice President for Finance & Administration

Sheri Sargent, Chief of Staff

FALL 2022

VOLUME 24 ISSUE 1

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Sara Gilbert Frederick

EDITOR Joe Tougas '86

DESIGNER James Mackey

ORIGINAL PHOTOS John Cross, Vanessa Knewtson, Steve Woit, Nick Cachiaras

PRINTER Corporate Graphics Commercial

WRITERS

Grace Brandt ’13, Helen Healy ’92, Christine Nessler ’02, Drew Lyon ’06, Robb Murray ’95, Amanda Dyslin ’03, ‘14

PRINT COORDINATOR Ryan Schuh '00

CONTRIBUTING STAFF Dan Benson, Kim Rademaker ’93, Connie Wodtke ’91

TODAY is published two times per year by the Division of University Advancement. TODAY is distributed to more than 120,000 alumni and friends.

The mission of TODAY is to entertain, to inform and to connect the reader to the campus. TODAY welcomes story ideas supporting this mission. Full manuscripts are not accepted. TODAY is not responsible for unsolicited material.

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LETTERS: Send letters intended for publication to TODAY, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 232 Alumni Foundation Center, Mankato, MN 56001, e-mail to today@mnsu.edu or fax to 507-389-2069. TODAY reserves the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Include name, address, graduation year and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters are not considered for publication. All letters become property of TODAY. Submission of your letter constitutes your permission to publish it.

This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by contacting the magazine staff at the address, e-mail, and/or fax number listed above or at 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY). INMK14OT 11-22

My godfather, Rev. Vincent Gowen, was an Episcopal priest on the island where I grew up. My younger brother, John, and I grew up at his waterfront home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, listening to his stories and exploring the beaches of Blakely Harbor. Father Gowen was a missionary in China and the Philippines at the outbreak of World War II. While helping people escape the escalating war, he and his family were interned in a concentration camp. At the camp, he taught history, literature, and the classics to the interned children. This violated camp rules and was subject to punishment. Yet, he believed education was the key to transcend ing war, prejudice and hate.

I have told this story many times, and it always make me think about the courage we must have to pursue our convictions, our passions and our dreams, even when faced with opposition. It takes strength that comes from our own core sense of purpose, values, drive and determination to pursue our dreams.

In my one brief year at Minnesota State Mankato I have learned a lot. And, at the core of my experience has been finding a culture that celebrates its dreamers, risk-takers and passionate leaders. Our community and Universi ty nurtures that spirit among us and truly fosters a culture of mavericks.

This issue of TODAY shines a spotlight on a colorful collection of people who have gone above, beyond and even sideways in their pursuits of passion. These Mavericks are pushing the boundaries, changing the rules and creat ing the future. I hope their stories inspire you as they have me.

This fall marked the beginning of my second year as President, and I am grateful for the honor to lead this great University. Mavericks are engaging and making a difference in so many ways all around the world, and I am proud to be a part of it.

Go Mavs!

Edward Inch President

David Hood

was named the University’s new provost and senior vice president of academic affairs this summer, with President Edward Inch praising Hood as “a strategic, innovative, collaborative and transformational leader in higher education.”

Hood comes to Minnesota State Mankato after leading the successful opening and launch of University College at Montclair State University, where for six years he was associate provost for undergraduate education. Montclair State is a public university in Montclair, N.J. with 21,005 total students (16,374 undergraduate, 4,631 graduate). In 2017, Montclair State was designated as a public research university by the state of New Jersey. In 2019, it was recognized as a Doctoral University-High Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

“His background and expertise will help the University advance our goals around student success, Equity 2030 and our overall strategic plan and objectives,” Inch said in announcing Hood’s appointment.

Hood comes to Minnesota State Mankato after leading the successful opening and launch of University College at Montclair State University, a public university in Montclair, New Jersey, with 21,005 total students (16,374 undergraduate, 4,631 graduate). In 2017, Montclair State was designated as a public research university by the state of New Jersey. In 2019, it was recognized as a Doctoral University – High Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

The provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Minnesota State Mankato is the second ranking administrator position at the University. The provost designation became part of the University administration in 2007. Hood is the fifth person to serve in the position and first African American.

From left, University Provost David Hood; College of Allied Health and Nursing Dean Patricia Marincic, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Chris Brown and Library and Learning Dean Chris Corley.

Key administrative appointments took place this summer as campus leadership begins a new era.

Chris Corley

was named the University’s dean of library and learning in May after a national search. Corley had served as the University’s interim dean of library and learning since July 2019. He joined Minnesota State Mankato in 2004 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and professor in 2017.

Prior to 2004, Corley held career appointments at Minnesota State University Moorhead and graduate assistantships, fellowships and affiliations with the Purdue Research Foundation and Centre Georges Chevrier at the Université de Bourgogne, in Dijon, France.

“Dr. Corley has been a passionate user of, and advocate for, libraries, archives and student engagement his entire career,” said Brian Martensen, interim provost at the time of Corley’s appointment. “[Corley] has demonstrated continued commitment to developing our library as a learning commons and center for intellectual inquiry on behalf of the entire campus and the greater Mankato community.”

Corley earned doctorate and master’s degrees in history from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania while a student in the university’s honors program.

Patricia Marincic

was named dean of the University’s College of Allied Health and Nursing after a national search. She took over from retiring dean Kris Retherford on July 1.

Marincic had been a professor at Idaho State University, where she served as the associate vice president of the division of health sciences and director of ISU’s health science outreach campus from 2017 to 2020. She also served as the interim co-dean for the College of Health 2020 and was active in the university’s Covid-19 response.

Under Marincic’s leadership, Idaho State University Meridian experienced significant expansion of academic programming to meet the State of Idaho’s workforce needs. She oversaw the addition of graduate programs in physical therapy, nutrition, clinical psychopharmacology, health informatics, rehabilitation counseling, and homeland security and emergency management.

Marincic held academic, administrative and/or clinical appointments at Auburn University, Augsburg University, the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University and the University of Wisconsin. While at Auburn, she was appointed by the governor to the Alabama Health Improvement Task Force and the Health Literacy Partnership of Alabama.

She has a doctorate in nutrition and food science from Utah State University and a master’s degree in applied human nutrition from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Purdue University.

Christopher Brown

was selected as the first dean of the newly formed College of Humanities & Social Sciences.

He joined Minnesota State Mankato in 2011 as a fixed-term instructor in the communication studies department. He was the department’s director of graduate studies from 2013 to 2017 and department faculty chair from 2018 to 2020.

Brown served as acting dean of the College of Arts and Humanities from January 2020 through June 2021, and as interim dean of the college since July 2021. As such, he guided planning and development of the new flexible performance and lecture space in the Earley Center for Performing Arts building.

Brown, said University president Edward Inch, “will be pivotal in aligning the college’s mission with the demands of our students and the workforce, which includes the desire from both students and local businesses to have strong interdisciplinary experiences and skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking and leadership—areas in which this new college thrives.”

He has a doctorate in intercultural communication from the University of New Mexico and was a postdoctoral fellow at The Ohio State University. Brown earned a master’s degree in multicultural communication from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and communication from Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois.

Library Services

has acquired 97 reels of historical microfilm that can be used to support research by students and provide a more detailed local history for the public, genealogists and historians. The 97 reels of microfilm were acquired through a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant and are housed in the microfilm collection of Minnesota State Mankato’s Marilyn J. Lass Center for Minnesota Studies. The Center is a special section of the library dedicated to preserving and making available resources about Minnesota, specifically southern Minnesota and Blue Earth County.

The microfilm includes 39 reels of Mankato Weekly Free Press newspaper issues published between 1879 and 1923; eight reels of the Mankato Post, a German language newspaper, including issues published between 1887 and 1918; and six reels of the North Mankato Review newspaper, with issues from 1921 through 1923 and 1935 through 1947.

Other publications in the collection include issues of a newspaper called the Legionnaire published by Mankato’s American Legion Lorentz Post 11 from 1933 to 1972; issues from 1940-1950 of the Mankato High News, published by Mankato High School; and the Kato Engineering News, an official publication of the Kato Engineering Company from 1956 to 1960. The project was financed in part with funds provided by the state of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

A variety of old newspapers from the Mankato area, including the German-language Mankato Post and the Mankato Evening Herald, are part of a recent microfilm acquisition for the Marilyn J. Lass Center for Minnesota Studies.

Abe now has a new home

A new space was created in the University’s Memorial Library to display the 7-foot-tall statue of Abraham Lincoln that was a 1926 gift to the institution from alumni.

For the past few decades, the statue has been in several locations of the Centennial Student Union. Establishing a section in the Memorial Library serves as a more effective and appropriate spot to learn and reflect on of Lincoln’s legacy, from his role as emancipator and Civil War president to the Dakota War and its execution of 38 Sioux in Mankato. The historic information that is part of the exhibit was peer reviewed by scholars around the country.

Citing Lincoln’s legacy as “a complex story,” a Mankato Free Press editorial praised the move as one finding an ideal way to handle a hot topic.

“The university reached a good compromise,” the editorial stated, “turning the issue of Lincoln’s legacy, and his flaws, into a charge for further learning, contemplation and consideration of how Lincoln’s history shapes America today.

"Lincoln isn’t just a statue. He’s a complex story. And the new display is more about education than adoration.”

The exhibit space, on the Memorial Library’s second floor, is open to the public during regular library hours. It includes six temporary panels peer-reviewed by historians and indigenous scholars from universities across the nation. The panels were also reviewed by current and former Minnesota State Mankato faculty historians.

New nursing partnerships formed

Formal collaborations have been formed with the online nursing programs at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe College, Minnesota North College and the Riverland Community College.

Participating students in the associate of science in nursing program at the two schools will be provided with guidance and support to ensure a seamless transfer path toward the University’s RN baccalaureate completion degree after graduating with an associate’s degree in nursing.

These partnerships, said University president Edward Inch, not only benefit students transferring into the University’s 100 percent online program, but will help meet the critical need for baccalaureate degree-educated nurses in the region.

With MAP, associate degree registered nursing graduates from the colleges can not only immediately begin working in their field, but also begin working toward the RN-BS degree 100 percent online.

The University’s Lincoln statue, now housed in the Memorial Library in a special exhibit space.

Learning

IBE celebrates 10 years of student-led entrepreneurship

By Amanda Dyslin '03,

'14

Katie Feind '14 describes herself as one of the guinea pigs for the United Prairie Bank Integrated Business Experience program (IBE) in the College of Business. Enrolled the first year the program was offered in 2012, she remembers not knowing what to expect while facing the daunting task that the hands-on business experience program asks of the students: to create and stand up a real-world business, secure a loan from United Prairie Bank, and generate enough revenue to both pay back what was borrowed and donate the profits to a charity of their choosing. All of this must be accomplished in one semester by students who are just learning the prin ciples of finance, marketing and business management.

Katie Feind was among the first students to enroll in the program in 2012. Today she works with Thomson Reuters legal company in Eagan.

"It was a new program, but it was thought out, it was structured," said Feind. "It gives you an idea of how to start and operate a business in a safe set ting. It's a great learning opportunity."

Kristin Scott, IBE faculty chair, said the 12-credit, four-course certificate pro gram is designed to challenge students to learn on the fly. In teams of up to 20, they must agree on a product and name, assign roles, create a full business plan, present to United Prairie Bank loan officers, and exe cute a full startup in one semester.

"They have to do it all so quick. They're learning so much, so fast," Scott said. "We hear back from students applying for internships, and once the employers learn what IBE is, they spend the whole time talking about that during the interview because they have so many great insights and things they've learned from the process."

Scott Bradley, the president/CEO of United Prairie, has been involved since the beginning of IBE, first with the bank serving to fund the projects and later also becom ing the title sponsor of the program. The bank with long-standing local roots was a good fit for a program designed to give back to the community. United Prairie was founded and run by two generations of the local Sneer family, including Minnesota State University, Mankato alum Stuart Sneer.

"When we originally got involved, we felt there was a deeper opportunity for us to first serve the communi ty and the students and second to be exposed to the best and the brightest students from a recruitment standpoint," Bradley said. "(IBE) goes beyond aca demia to the way the real world works. It's been re ally positive."

Scott and Shane Bow yer, who teaches an IBE management course, said there's been a lot of standout projects over the years. Bowyer re members a team that chose to manufacture wooden coaster sets themselves through Mankato Makerspace, rather than go through a third-party vender like many teams do.

"To make a product in that time frame was incredibly challenging," Bowyer said. "It was our first and biggest manufacturing type of company."

Scott said a company called Snow Problem generat ed one of the largest profits over the years, donating $6,940 to United Way. They sold windshield covers that came with an ice scraper that had ads from local businesses on it.

While most companies dissipate at the end of the se mester, Scott said one student, Max Mayleben, who took IBE in the fall of 2019 and graduated spring 2022, has kept his team's company going.

The team created the apparel company Ope Outfitters (a play on Minnesotans' use of "ope" instead of "oops"). Rather than purchase products to keep on hand and sell directly to customers, they used Shopify, an e-com merce company that prints and ships to order. Mayle ben said customers loved the logo, and enough sales were generated to donate $2,253.

"It's honestly the best thing I did in college," he said, emphasizing the value of the real-world experience. "You can memorize a map, but if you don’t drive on the roads, you're not going to know where to go."

Feind's team, MavNATION, also sold apparel, theirs with a Maverick logo that was popular with stu dents. They sold enough to donate $2,200 to Junior Achievement.

Feind enjoyed the experience so much that she served as an advisor to the next year's class. She also has ap plied all of her IBE skills to her career, which includes working as a senior sales executive at Thomson Reu ters legal company in Eagan, investments in real estate, business consulting, and a healthy honey company she started this year called Vitality Honey.

"Honestly, Mankato paved the way for all of that," Feind said. "IBE is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something that's going to benefit you for years to come."

Former IBE student Max Mayleben ’22 has kept his team's company, Ope Outfitters, going after graduation.

Business student Emily Fearing presenting her IBE business to fellow students of the program.

MAVERICK SCENE

Snapshots Home and Abroad: Mavericks Making Scenes Around the World.

Inauguration Day for President Inch Edward Inch was formally sworn in as the University’s 13th President on Sept. 9 after serving as president for a year.

Left: The president with partner Belen Fernandez. Below: The formal inauguration ceremony took place in the Taylor Center’s Bresnan Arena.

Hockey Day

Give Mankato a Minnesota Hockey Day and it will become Minnesota Hockey Week, as evidenced at Blakeslee Field in January.

Right: The outdoor hockey event brought weather-fear less fans from around the state. Bottom right: Hockey alumni, including several NHL figures, came to campus for an alumni game and a dinner in their honor sponsored by the University’s Foundation and Alumni Association.

Bottom left: Alum Michelle Schooff ’95 was the co-chair of the Minnesota Hockey Day along with Mankato business man David Wittenberg.

Frozen Four

With fans following them every step of the way, The Maverick Men’s hockey team made its way to the championship game of the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four Tournament in Boston.

Left: The Mavs faced off against Denver at TD Garden. Bottom Center: Players received a high-spirited, red-carpet welcome from fans. Lower Left: Maverick goalie Dryden McKay won the Hobie Baker award given annually to the best college hockey player in the country. Bottom right: Senior Ryan Sandelin at the net during the game against Denver.

The ‘Govies’ in Austria

Bonded by music made in their college days, more than 20 alumni who are part of the St. Peter, Minn.-based Govenaires Drum Corps took to Austria to perform in July.

Bottom left: Psychology professor Emily Stark and Govenaires director John Mayer ’96; Above: Lindsey Beyer ’08, Andrew Ripka ’92, Mindy Clifton, Jed Stark ’10, Ashley Stoel ’08 participate in a parade competition in Obermarkersdorf, Austria.

right: James Henry ’96 performing in the Festhalle in Obermarkersdorf, Austria.

Bottom

Twins Night

On a hot summer night, Target Field hosted hundreds of Maverick alumni, students and friends Aug. 2 at Minnesota State Mankato Night at Target Field.

Top, left: An alumni choir sings “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during seventh-inning stretch; Above: Track and field coach Mike Turgeon throws the first pitch of the game. Middle left: Longtime Twins organist Sue Nelson, who studied piano at the University, watches on during the game. Bottom left: Former Foundation board chair Paul Hanson ’84 and his wife, Diane ’86 get a selfie with Stomper and T.C. Bear.

STUDENT PROFILE The Sky Life

By Joe Tougas ‘86

You know how it goes: You’re a first-year student check ing emails when you receive an invitation to be a spokesperson and model for the aircraft you’re flying in school.

You check that it’s legit, and sure enough the next thing you know you’re aboard a four-seater in Florida and meeting the company’s head executives.

So went another ho-hum day in the life of Elle Taylor, a soph omore aviation student at Minnesota State Mankato who today finds herself serving as a brand ambassador for the Pip er aircraft company while soaring through classes toward a commercial pilot’s license.

As brand ambassador, she’s paid to promote her experience as a North Star Aviation flight student at the University, which uses Piper aircraft in its curriculum. This involves attending corporate events across the country and posting her experiences on social media.

“Basically every week I do one to two posts, either on my sto ry or my main feed, saying ‘This is what I’m doing, where I’m at,’” Taylor said. “It’s all about highlighting our flight school to get people to come here to fly.”

Her Instagram is loaded with shots in various locales, as only a frequent flier could nab. A few months after taking the role, she flew to the company’s headquarters in Vero Beach, Fla. While there, she toured the Piper factory, filmed some promo shots and posted them on social media.

“That was a cool experience, especially flying over the ocean,” she said. “We literally went down 500 feet above the water and looked for sea turtles. You don’t get to do that in Minnesota.”

On one hand, Taylor sees the current opportunity as the rarity it is. But at the same time, it falls into place as anoth er flight-oriented chapter in her life. Simply put, the sky is where she has always wanted to be—as a kid growing up in Rosemount, Minn., with a pilot father and, now, as a flight student herself.

“I loved being up in the sky … it’s such a weird thing to say, but it made me happy. It was my happy place. And when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for school, I couldn’t imagine not flying or being up there as often as I was when I was young. So when I found out that Mankato had a program and it wasn’t super far from home … that’s when I knew it was where I wanted to go.”

In May of 2022, she received her private pilot’s license and, in October 2022, her instrument rating. Taylor is now pursuing a commercial pilot’s license, the type involving long, solo cross-country flights in a Piper Ar cher, after which she’ll fly the twin engine plane. Ulti mately, she wants to follow her dad’s path as a pilot and fly jets for a commercial airline.

She’s also glad to be another woman in an industry that’s still male dominated enough to have worried her as a student.

“When I came in last year, I was super nervous,” she said. “It sounds cliché but I was worried that people wouldn’t think I was qualified because I’m a girl. But it’s been the complete opposite. If anything, my guy friends are coming to me, and they’re like ‘Can you help me study for this? Can you help me with this? Do you un derstand this? Can you show me how to do that or can we talk about that?’ They’re coming to me, and I was so shocked by that because I thought it would be me going to them.”

Elle Taylor, an aviation student, is also serving as brand ambassador for Piper aircraft.

FACULTY PROFILE

The Fixer

In her passion for engineering,

Rebecca Bates

works the human angle

By Joe Tougas ‘86

By any measure, Rebecca Bates has admirable mo tivations for her life in engineering education, among them fostering social justice and serv ing humanity.

But her very first motivation, she said, was needing to change the channels on the family television.

In a memorable childhood moment, Bates dis covered her younger siblings had flushed the set’s knobs down the toilet. She surveyed the situation, applied some pint-sized real-word thinking to the situation and clamped a pair of pliers on the TV’s spindle to create a makeshift knob.

A television emergency was handled, the channels became changeable again and, for Bates, a lifelong attraction began toward the art and science of solving problems.

“Adjusting things, fixing things, know ing I could fix things, knowing I could make things work that didn’t neces sarily work was always kind of part of my identity,” Bates said from her faculty office, itself a study in stacks and multi-tasking. “I did not know that kind of problem solving was what engineers do.”

She now chairs the Integrated Engineering department at Minnesota State Mankato, where she’s guided engi neering education into state and national acclaim for the past 20 years. In guiding and preparing generations of problems solvers, she also encourages values that are people-oriented and long-term.

“We really work to help students think about ‘What’s the whole context here? Why are you doing this?’” she said. “Some of it’s just exciting, like ‘Can I make this plane fly?’ That’s a cool thing. … But then, what’s the context? What are the emissions of that plane going to be, and is that going to affect the passengers in ways where it would be better for us to take a slower path as opposed to a superfast path?

“Thinking about the context and the impact of our engineering designs is something I want all of our stu dents and graduates to be able to think about.”

A WIDE RANGE

At her high school, Bates was stellar at math and sci ence and also loved the arts. She recalls reading in the mid-1980sa story in Discover magazine about the arti ficial heart being developed and used for the first time. Such use of technology to improve humanity moved her, guiding her college and graduate studies and her career at Minnesota State Mankato.

Bates came to Minnesota State Mankato after graduat ing from Boston University and, later, the University of Washington where she obtained a doctorate in electri cal engineering.

In her time at Minnesota State Mankato, Bates guided establishment of the Iron Range Engineering program and helped create the Twin Cities Engineering and Bell Engineering programs.

In its current implementation, Bell Engineering brings engineering students from across the country to the Iron Range for one semester developing professional and technical skills needed to be successful. They then find co-op work with engineering companies around the country (usually in the student’s home area) where

they work by day at the job and take IRE courses online at night for two years.

By the time they graduate with their bachelor’s degree, they have two years of work experience and are often offered full-time jobs before graduating as a result.

Bates is proud that the reach of the programs is so wide.

“The scope of who we reach as a university has expand ed to not just the entire state of Minnesota but, through this co-op program, we really have a national reach.”

Bates was recently awarded a rare fellowship into the American Society for Engineering Education. The rec ognition noted both programs as well as “her research work examining community and belonging in STEM education, her work to support diversity in the field of engineering and her service to the American Society for Engineering Education and engineering education community.”

The emphasis she puts on the Bigger Picture when it comes to engineering covers a lot.

It’s also why she came here.

“The fact that this is a state university that is econom ical for Minnesotans to attend really became part of it,” she said. “Becoming an engineer for many people for many years has been a step into the middle class from poverty. … Having well-developed pathways that go from community colleges to a bachelor’s degree is something I see as really meeting a social justice need.”

Colleagues in both the Twin Cities and Iron Range pro grams say Bates has an equal passion for harmony clos er to home.

The idea of prioritizing inclusion, diversity and sustain ability into engineering varies, said Twin Cities Engi neering professor Robert Sleezer, noting that Bates has routinely infused her approach with such values for all of the 12 years he’s known her.

“Every engineer does it to some level,” Sleezer said. “She is at least three if not six standard deviations out.”

In her 20 years at the University, Rebecca Bates has guided the Iron Range and Twin Cities engineering programs to their acclaimed statewide status and today is chair of the Integrated Engineering department.

GRAVEL ROADS AND INROADS

The Center for Rural Behavioral Health has launched

By Christine Nessler ‘02

When Thad Shunkwiler came to academia from years in a clinical practice, he had one main objective—to address how to support and sustain mental health services in ru ral Minnesota.

Now, through his role as the Director of the center for Rural Behav ioral Health, he is developing real-world solutions to the growing problem of shortages in behavioral health professionals.

As a licensed mental health professional, Shunkwiler provided ther apy throughout the Mankato region to individuals, couples, and children. He identified a growing need for mental health services combined with shortages counselors in outstate Minnesota.

“We’re on the verge of a workforce crisis in behavioral health,” Shunkwiler said.

These shortages come at a time of high turnover rates, a large per cent of clinicians reaching the age of retirement and a dispropor tionate number of clinicians working in the Twin Cities compared to outstate Minnesota.

As a professor in the University’s health science department, Shunkwiler sees a greater opportunity to impact people affected by the clinician shortages in mental health services.

“As a clinician practicing, my reach was only to the patients I served. But by training the next generation of clinicians I could reach literally thousands,” Shunkwiler said.

The breadth of his impact will continue to increase with the open ing of the center, an academic research program opened this fall at the University. Through research, workforce development and

continuing education, the center will work to improve access to be havioral healthcare for residents of outstate Minnesota to include recognized reservations.

The center’s objectives include recruiting more students to behav ioral health programs such as counseling, substance abuse, social work, nursing, and psychology; conducting research that helps pa tients use telehealth more effectively; and implementing retention strategies to support current clinicians.

His next idea is to create the Maverick Community Mental Health center, which would serve the Mankato community with behavioral healthcare as well as providing a training opportunity for students and faculty.

Shunkwiler sees the center for Rural Behavioral Health as an op portunity to address the issue nationwide as well by sharing the center’s research.

“We’re starting here, helping Minnesota, helping our communi ty, but the goal is to help the country,” Shunkwiler said. “It’s a real unique opportunity for the University to lead the way in that space.”

Looking toward the challenging future of the behavioral health workforce, Shunkwiler and a team of 22 faculty members across various programs at the University are dedicated to putting in the hard work of ensuring all Minnesotans have access to behavioral healthcare.

“It takes four to eight years to get a behavioral health professional trained, licensed and seeing patients,” Shunkwiler said. “This takes time. If we start the real hard work of building up that behavioral workforce now, it will be less challenging in the future.”

Psychologist and instructor Thad Shunkwiler is heading the new center that will address mental health needs in rural areas of the state. Ideally the model will catch on nationwide.

Diverse Roles

Spencer Kramber’s life in Hollywood involves acting and helping actors

By Joe Tougas ‘86

Spencer Kramber ’98 outside his trailer in the new film ‘You Can’t Run Forever.’ His bit role is that of “Burly Man.”

Spencer Kramber’s grade school field trip to the Ted Paul Theatre would be what dramatic types like to call fateful.

That trip, taken years ago, is where Kramber and a fel low student from the small town of Glenwood, Minn., broke away from their group and explored the theater on their own, taking great delight in the mysterious rooms throughout the building.

“We just totally got lost in the bowels of the theater, one of the most magical places for a kid to explore,” Kram ber said from his home in Los Angeles, where he works as an actor, coach and session director. The excitement of that environment would guide his school and profes sional life as a University theater grad and now an actor in L.A.

“Some people walk through a church and feel this ener gy and awe. That’s how I feel walking into a theater. It’s my church.”

Kramber came to the University in 1994, determined to become an actor, despite the odds. He remembers

former theater professor and director Ron Olauson giving students in a Fundamentals of Acting class an early lesson in reality.

“He said ‘There are about 15 acting majors in here. In 10 years, only one of you will still be doing this,’ Kramber said. “And there wasn’t a hesitation. I just thought: ‘Well, that’s me.’ And that wasn’t an ego thing. It was a dedication thing.”

With his 1998 bachelor’s in acting in hand, he went to UCLA and obtained a master’s in acting. While living in Venice Beach, Calif., shortly afterward, he found work as a studio manager for three years and in 2006 began his career as a session director.

In that position, he’s part of the casting process, working with and coaching actors seeking auditions for films, plays, TV commercials and audio roles.

“I’m the one who the casting director hires to bring you in, au dition you, send you on your way,” he said. “What I really try to do is get them to a call-back. I give them the foundation. I like to give actors the blocking and the eyeline. And then we dis cuss tone and character … everyone’s doing the same blocking, they walk in from this way, they look right at the camera and they say the line. How do you make that different than everybody else?”

You quickly learn, he said, that there are no permanent jobs in acting. Ordinarily, graduates in other areas take their de grees, get a job and show up to work year after year. Unless you’re looking at a long time series such as “The Simpsons,” he said, consistent jobs are rare.

“Your career is waiting for the opportuni ty to interview for a temp position.”

It’s the real-world experience that he brings back to the University every cou ple of years to teach aspiring actors about ways to make it and stay acting. Rule One: You need to nab jobs other than act ing. He’s also likely to tell students in the University’s Theatre & Dance program that they’re lucky to be studying here, which he referred to as a unique play ground for an actor.

“The theatre department was, and is still, one of the best you can find for a region al theatre school. I’m not kidding. The production design, the opportunities to be on stage. I was doing five plays a year every year. There was no time to do any thing else except theatre, which was all I wanted to do.

“By the time I was done with Mankato I felt I had a whole professional career.”

He’s nabbed television roles in shows including the “Young and The Restless” and “Criminal Minds,” the latter of which gave him his first case of the flutters in a long time because of the way things work

on set when your part is small. In a roomful of cops, he was the one with a speaking part.

“I’d not been that excited or nervous since I was probably a sev enth grader,” he said. “If you watch the scene there’s about 15 extras behind me who are all the same role as me. So I know that if you don’t hit it on the first read, they can easily turn to somebody and say “Hey uh, Joe, why don’t you come up here. Spencer, you can go chill in the trailer for a bit.” And you’re not seen for the rest of the day and you’re not on the show.”

Today, Kramber can be seen in the new thriller starring J.K. Simmons, “You Can’t Run Forever,” in which the Academy Award-winning Simmons stars as a psychotic stalker chasing down a young woman. Kramber has a bit role in which he’s an unlikeable cur who’s verbally abusive to a dog.

The scenes of talking mean to the dog required several takes, Kramber recalled.

“Boy, nobody liked me,” he said. “Finally J.K., after about 10 takes, comes up and says “you know that dog’s going to think you’re bi-polar.”

“Some people walk through a church and feel this energy and awe. That’s how I feel walking into a theater. It’s my church.”

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Being a Maverick involves pursuing one’s ideas and dreams relentlessly and passionately. Whether in their careers, classrooms or across the world, Mavericks—and those who support them—know that excellence is just the beginning. Here are a few examples of that spirit.

The Discipline of Letting Go

Philosophy professor Craig Matarrese applies his work to music and film

By Joe Tougas ‘86

Whether philosophy or music came first in his life, he’s not sure. But Craig Matarrese knows he was 12 when he started picking up the bass guitar and wondering about life.

Both the pondering and the playing have served Matarrese well. The longtime philosophy professor at Minnesota State Mankato has, for the past 10 years or so, also taught bass gui tar in the University’s music department. Outside he plays in a number of ensembles, preferring music that—not surpris ingly—is open-ended, exploratory and improvisational.

University philosophy

professor and music instructor Craig Matarrese

In Matarresse’s view, it’s not a long walk from philosophy to im provising on the fret less bass.

“There’s a real tenden cy to put theory first, and be like ‘Here are the modes and the ma jor scales, and these are the chords and these are the intervals and once I figure that all out and it’s all concep tually clear, then I shall improvise,’” Matarrese said. “And that’s just so backwards and so wrong.” Same goes, he added, with philosophy which, in a similar vein “has a long history of being overly intellectualis tic about things and missing what’s really going on.”

Matarrese recently crossed more borders with the 2022 doc umentary “Rez Metal,” which he co-produced and provided a musical score. The film follows members of a heavy metal music community in Navajo Nation. It’s his second collab oration with the film’s other producer and director, Ashkan Soltani Stone, who taught English at the University for four years.

Filmed prior to the COVID pandemic, the film on one hand chronicles a young band attempting to emerge from the small musical scene and into some sort of prominence with the guidance of an engineer who worked with Metallica.

On another level, it’s a jarring look at the backdrop to their ambition: Poverty, alcoholism and the ongoing problem of teen suicide.

Mataresse served as co-producer and music supervisor for “Rez Metal,” a new documentary.

“At first we thought ‘We’re not making a film about how dif ficult the rez is. We’re not making a film about poverty and drug abuse, suicide and alcoholism and violence and all this,’” Matarrese said. “We wanted to make a rock ‘n’ roll story, a story about a band, a story about a scene. We went in just thinking we could slip past issues like that.

“But we soon found out it’s impossible, and it ends up being kind of irresponsible to try to get around it. It’s devastating and it’s a backdrop that everybody knows and never really goes away.”

Initially, the two approached the film like an improvised piece of music—no preconceived narrative arc, despite a juicy development for one of the bands when they scored a chance to work with Metallica’s engineer.

“Our approach is pretty guerilla style, you put yourself in a situation and you just go where things go. It’s hard to main tain a plan. You know, it’s very inefficient. But sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you get a whole film out of that.”

“Rez Metal” allows Matarrese—through the young subjects in the film—to show a sort of pondering-in-action that zeros in on the core of what can get beaten to death in conference presentations and research publications.

“They’re teenagers and they’re in metal bands and so they’re kind of partying and running around and being crazy,” he said. “These are people in a situation thinking about who they are and what they’re going to do with their lives and how to deal. But they’re not doing it in a vacuum, they’re do ing it with their compatriots. And they’re in a band, and the band has an identity. And the question of what is this band and what is the music we’re making and what do we believe in and what do we reject?

“And you have other bands you interact with and how do they see themselves? And how do you see yourselves as part of a scene. And what is this really all about? And that’s reflec tion, and we shouldn’t ask for more from reflection than that. We don’t need philosophers standing around giving us the cleaned-up, conceptual version of it.”

The film is scheduled for airing on PBS, and can be seen on the Tubi channel.

When Support Goes Above

In three areas of University life—its marching band, athletics and the community radio station KMSU—the people making extraordinary moves and elevating life at the University are the fans.

By Joe Tougas ‘86

Go Team

For years, the response to letter-writing fundraising cam paigns by student athletes went fine. But when Senior Associ ate Athletics Director Greg Weis and Director of Community Engagement Scott Nelson took a novel approach to Maverick Week in April 2022, the response of Maverick sports fans was seismic by comparison.

With the average gift coming in at less than $100, Maverick sports fans showed up to donate in excess of $100,000 for the week-long drive.

The goal had been half of that.

The innovative approach involved getting word of mouth going early on social media, and then providing some novel content: An athlete from each team recorded a short, 15-sec ond video giving a heads-up about Maverick Week and en couraging contributions.

Teammates shared the videos on their social media channels. Coaches did the same thing, creating short pitches aimed at alumni from their programs.

In all, an estimated 16,000 people saw the videos before the fundraising began.

“We put more time and effort into the ramp-up than we ever had before,” said Weis. On the tech side, Jennifer Moore, Di rector of Annual Giving, installed the crowdfunding capabili ties for seamless, easy contributions.

Once the campaign launched, contributions started rolling in at just under $15,000 a day, surprising Nelson as he kept an intense if not excited eye on the numbers. Even with the prep, he had a nagging fear it would be a bust, that the ef fort would earn a nickname of “Maverick Weak.” But as the contributions came in, he found himself elated at what was happening and still remembers the excitement of seeing the funds top $100,000.

The total of $104,000 went to athletic scholarships across all 20 University teams. And the winning strategy is one they’ll use again for the 2023 Maverick Week.

“I’ve already laid out this year’s schedule,” Nelson said of the video shoots, scripts and directions. “It’s ready to go.”

Thursby conducting the band in Boston during the Frozen Four tournament in April. The players’ enthusiasm for the band is mirrored by the fans who contribute to it.

Big Noise for a Big Band

The astonishing surge in giving that has come to the Uni versity’s marching band, The Maverick Machine, is in line with the members’ dedication and energy, director Michael Thursby said.

In most of his 10 years helming the band, fundraisers have been used to help supplement the program with T-shirts and small items. But for the past three years, through crowdfund ing, things have taken off to help fund international travel, new uniforms and scholarships for returning members. Thursby is grateful in talking about the fans and gets emo tional talking about his band.

“They move in the week before classes start, they learn and they’re rehearsing 9 to 5 that week. They’re at almost every athletic event—they love every sport we get to play for—and they’re not paid. They’re not getting a ton of extra stuff from the University for their time commitment, but it’s because they love the University,” he said of the dozens of Maverick Machine members.

“And I think on the fundraising side, people see that. People outside the University recognize the investments that the students are making and they’re willing to invest in them.”

As was the case with Athletics, leaning into social media seemed to be the key to getting word out and giving fans a way to show the love. A real game-changer happened during the pandemic’s lockdown, when life was a long, slow dirge compared to the crowds, the games and the school spirit. Yet individual members of the band filmed themselves play ing their parts of the University’s “Rouser” and a video was created of the collective and a full-blast anthem was shared online.

“That’s when we saw a rise in donations coming in,” Thursby said.

In each of the past three annual fundraising cycles, the band’s goals were surpassed.

The first, for $5,000, was met in a week, with a $15,000 matching donation coming in that was met as well. The next time, with uniforms as the goal, a $10,000 goal was set and passed by a few thousand. Now, two $50,000 endowments

are in place, one for scholarships and one for a Machine “emergency” fund that can apply toward anything from bus repair to helping a student with money needs.

Many fans cannot imagine going to games without the band. When alumni took to Boston to cheer on the Maverick Men’s hockey team in the NCAA Frozen Four championship, part of the appeal was seeing—feeling—the presence of the Maver ick Machine at the Boston arena.

“There’s nothing like the Maverick Machine. There really isn’t,” hockey fan and alum Michelle Schooff said.

“Michael Thursby does such an incredible job getting the crowd going and even the chants going,” Schooff said. “And you don’t realize how incredibly valuable that is until you go somewhere else and they’re not there.”

RADIO-A-GO-GO

If there were official rules on how to make a radio pledge drive interesting, they would include:

Be a station that provides programming that no commercial radio would touch, such as outsider music during morning drive time and talk shows about philosophy on Saturday mornings.

Staff the station with volunteers who are doing it for the pas sion of sharing their niche tastes, guaranteeing for the most part that listeners get exposed to new stuff.

You could also give away gold as premiums. Not gold as in legal tender, but box sets by Ray Charles, Townes Van Zant, Warren Zevon. You could bring in local songwriters to per form throughout the year. You could have announcers like Tim Lind and Shelley Pierce who for 20 years have buckled in and hosted the 24-hour Pledge Drive A-Go-Go.

These are just a few of the quirks and pillars that have put this 50-year-old campus radio station on some strong footing of late, not the least of which includes listener support. In its spring 2022 pledge drive, the goal was $35,000. By the

10-day pledge drive’s end, pledges to the station surpassed $52,000. Similarly, on a pledge drive before that, the goal was hit on the day before the drive ended, yet contributions continued.

“When we take pledges, people tell us why oftentimes,” Pierce said. “It seems like they just appreciate the station for the community. … During COVID when people started watching their pennies and people weren’t working, I thought that’s when we’d struggle to hit the goals. But we actually ended up crushing it, more than normal.”

Lind noted that when the last goal was met, the station switched gears and enticed listeners with the idea of funding an HD channel as well as a KMSU app. These ideas kept the pledges coming.

“That’s going to be such a huge leap forward compared to where KMSU was, especially when we started off,” Lind said. “Our transmitter was by the Singer sewing machine company and now we’re growing in ways we couldn’t even have fore seen back then.”

Lind echoed Pierce’s assessment of why lis teners seemed to ramp up recent pledges.

“If you look at the way life was during COVID, I think a lot of people really kind of realized what they value and what’s import ant in life, and with so many places closing down and unavailable or maybe just vanish ing entirely, it kind of drove home (that) you need to support things that you really believe in and love, and if it’s part of your life, take a moment and support it.”

KMSU's Tim Lind and Shelley Pierce during a morning pledge drive edition of their morning show 'Shuffle Function.'

Student videos were key in Athletics’ Maverick Week fundraising, which doubled its goal.

A Change for the Best

NSF Fellow Aaron Pacheco digs deeper

By Grace Brandt '13

Well before he was a University student, let alone a Nation al Science Foundation fellow, Aaron Pacheco ran his own general construction and electrical business in California for more than a decade—until a wildfire swept through that state and destroyed his livelihood.

In reassembling his world, he set out to pursue a long-held goal of higher education. As he toured universities, he was impressed with Minnesota State Mankato’s welcoming facul ty and enrolled in the fall of 2020 as a geography major.

His work pursuing the degree clarified for him the human side of his land studies.

“When you’re doing human geographic research, you have statistics, but you’re also dealing with people,” Pacheco said. “You’ve got to include the human element to it so that people aren’t reduced to a bunch of numbers. There are real people that we’re talking about, so [the question is] who are they and why does this matter?”

Earlier this year, Pacheco utilized connections he had made during his time working at the Region Nine Development Center in Mankato to travel to Germany and study how to best use the abilities of incoming migrants in Germany’s economy.

Everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine. Setting aside his research project, Pacheco joined other volunteers in transporting donations to eastern Europe for refugees, even working within Ukraine at times.

In April, Pacheco learned he had received a National Science Foundation fellowship, which offers students a chance to

pursue a fully funded Ph.D. program. Once more, Pacheco had to abruptly change plans, returning to the U.S. to finish his undergraduate degree. He will start his Ph.D. program at Indiana University, Bloomington, and his research will focus on how the effects of climate change are affecting people’s migration patterns, specifically around areas that have been hit harder by increased natural disasters such as flooding. While many people leave these areas to es cape the dangerous weather conditions, Pacheco noted that more people quickly move in to fill the vacant areas, and he wants to know who these people are, what they’re bringing to areas and how to best help them succeed.

It’s a continuation of the connection he experienced between the science of ge ography and the people it affects.

“My passion really is studying and work ing with people,” he said. “I want to study and find things out about the world, how we live in it and how we can continue to move forward and make progress.”

Aaron Pacheco testing a rocket in the desert.

National Science Federation award recipient Aaron Pacheco ’22

University Fulbright Scholars Take on the World

By Grace Brandt '13

Kimberly Johnson has taught courses in special edu cation within Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College of Education since 2014 and, this fall, she’ll be teaching more. But while the content of her upcoming courses will be similar, the location will be quite different: the University of Makeni in Sierra Leone.

“I’m incredibly honored by the opportunity,” said Johnson, who will be utilizing her sabbatical period as a Fulbright Scholar in order to pursue this project. “Everyone has been very supportive, and I feel like because of all these people that this is possible.”

The Fulbright Program is run through the U.S. federal gov ernment in partnership with more than 160 countries across the world. Scholars of several different levels are chosen to participate in exchange programs to study, teach or pursue research, with the government funding their efforts and pay ing their expenses.

Johnson was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in April and will spend 10 months in Sierra Leone, leaving in September and returning in July 2023. Her project focuses on teaching instructors there how to better include students with special needs, from program development to community engage

ment. She explained that she reached out to several organiza tions around the world who were working with the Fulbright program, and the University of Makeni instantly responded and forged a strong connection.

“One of the challenges that I know that I will face is making sure that I’m going in being a really good listener,” Johnson said. “I want to make sure I’m helping them reach their vision of this, not my vision of this. My goal is to just fully partici pate and get as much out of the experience as I can.”

As a student, University alum Colton Corcoran ‘21, who earned a degree in civil engineering, was awarded a Fulbright grant to pursue studies in structural sustainability in Germa ny for the 2022-2023 academic year.

In addition, Sarah Lee Henderson, a professor in the Uni versity’s Department of English, was selected to teach at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan last year. Henderson spent five months in early 2022 teaching writing skills to English professors who were natives and who would teach English to nonnative speakers.

“Getting to see [my graduate students’] home country or their home region, learning about it and understanding oth ers’ experience, really allows me to come back to my teaching here at the University and have a better understanding of the students that I’m working with, and how I can best advance their graduate research and their future teaching,” Hender son said.

English professor Sarah Lee Henderson taught at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan last year. She’s pictured here at the Mausoleum of Manas, the legendary Kyrgyz hero, in Talas, Kyrgyzstan.

Fulbright scholar Kimberly Johnson

1 st

Generation GRADUATES

Interviews echo experiences for students

By Robb Murray '95

When recent graduate Jerry Rideout ’22 was asked to participate in a project to create a resource for first-generation college students, he was more than happy to sign on.

As a first-gen student himself he knew the challenges such students face and wanted to be a part of an en deavor to help.

What he didn’t know was that, as he interviewed the project’s subjects—first-gen college students who went on to successful careers—he’d make a meaningful con nection with someone whose experience mirrored his.

Among the people he interviewed was Chris Brown, re cently named Minnesota State Mankato’s Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“I’ve got so much love and admiration for the man so it was nice hearing a little bit more of his story on what inspired him, what made him want to keep pushing himself through academics and some pitfalls,” Rideout said.

Said Brown, “We really connected and bonded on our experiences in college life and in trying to figure out how to succeed as college students. Our conversation really centered around some of those barriers, those ob stacles that we overcame.”

That exchange, with Rideout gaining perspective from a fellow and former first-gen student, is exactly the kind of connection the project’s creators hoped would hap pen. Rideout’s interview with Brown will be included in a proposed podcast series tentatively titled “Finding Your Place: Stories of Cultural Wealth and Resilience.”

It’s the third collaboration for communications studies professor Dave Engen and Century College Commu nications professor—and Minnesota State Mankato alum—Robert Jersak ‘07.

’86Jose Felipe Ozune (left) interviewed creative writing instructor Michael Torres (right) for the project.

For a communications project, Jerry Rideout (left) interviewed a fellow first-generation student of color: Chris Brown (right), Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

They first worked together in 2014 on a project of recordings and photos documenting the thoughts and voices of incoming college students at Century College. Their second project was a podcast called “Finding Your Place,” which consisted of 12 student-produced episodes on topics ranging from overcoming fear in college to find ing a mentor. That project was so well received that it’s still used system-wide in first-year seminar classes.

This third collaboration features the complex stories of first-gener ation students who have graduated college. Also a podcast, the hope is it will provide encouragement and enlightenment to those just getting started. In line with Minnesota State’s Equity 2030 initiative, the podcast will primarily feature stories from individuals of color along with several stories of white graduates from working-class backgrounds, Engen said.

“The previous podcast focused on specific topics in college, like how to talk to professors,” Engen said. “The new podcast will focus on the life stories and strengths of individuals like Dr. Brown who were first-generation students and are now successful professionals.”

Part of the reason they chose to work on this third collaboration was the void they saw in the information given to first year students.

“We wanted to do a project where students got longer and more complex personal stories about individuals who experienced suc cess and struggle in college,” Engen said. “Our hope is new students might use these stories to help make sense of their own college experiences”

The interviews forming the heart of the podcast have been conducted by student producers hired by Engen and Jersak with an innovation grant from Minne sota State.

Having student producers conduct interviews is leading to some meaningful connections between the student producer and individual featured. For example, student Jose Felipe Ozune interviewed Professor Michael Torres, a faculty member in Min nesota State Mankato’s creative writing program and a poet. Jose is also a poet and, along with exploring the life of Torres, was able to reflect more on his own desires to pursue creative writing.

Rideout has finished his graduate program and is now employed with the University’s Residential Life department. He said he’s thankful for the opportunity to connect with Brown and that the project will be beneficial for anyone looking for a brand of guidance they can’t get from their families.

“The project gives them hope,” Rideout said. “Lets them know there's somebody out there that's doing it and doing it well. Not only did they do it, but they did it and they’re still prospering. So hopefully, it will give them the hope that they maybe didn't have coming in.”

UpLeg

Former University soccer star steps into police officer role

By Drew Lyon ‘06

In a 2019 online interview with Minnesota State Mankato, then-Mavericks soccer star Dakota Wendell revealed her most gnawing pet peeve: “When people park badly.”

Since graduating from the University, Wendell ’21 finds herself in a position of authority to keep flagrant violators between the lines. In February 2022, she was sworn in as a Mankato public safety officer.

“I said that?” she asked recently, laughing. “That’s funny, I don’t remember that at all.”

Wendell does remember her favorable first impressions of Mankato—the city, University and its soccer program—upon visiting during a high school recruiting trip.

The Minnesota river town stood out in the crowd.

“I was thinking, ‘This could be somewhere I could go,’” said Wendell, a native of Castle Rock, Colorado. “The coaching staff and the girls on the team are what really sold it for me; they made it feel like a family atmosphere.”

Athletic prowess is a Wendell family trait. Dakota’s dad, Turk Wendell, pitched 11 years with four Major League Baseball teams and appeared in the 2000 World Series as a reliever with the New York Mets. Dakota’s brother, Wyatt, is a pitch ing prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system.

“I couldn’t be more proud as a dad,” said Turk Wendell, who lives on an Iowa farm and attended every Maverick home

game during Dakota’s soccer career. “To watch her succeed at the levels she’s reached, it’s quite an accomplishment.”

Superstitious quirks also run in the family. Men’s Journal once named Turk—famous in baseball circles for eccentric ities like jumping over the baselines, chewing black licorice and brushing his teeth between innings—the most super stitious athlete of all-time. Following in her dad’s footsteps, Dakota created unique rituals.

“White bandana, I had to have it,” she said. “I’d always do the exact same stuff before every game. How I’d put on my cleats and shin guard had to be the same way.”

When the Wendells toured the University’s soccer facility during her recruiting trip, Turk noticed a windscreen honor ing past Maverick All-Americans. Turk envisioned his daugh ter earning similar accolades.

“I thought it’d be cool to see her name and that was a goal,” Turk said.

Dakota fulfilled her father’s prediction. She was a Maverick stalwart, a natural born leader. After appearing in 22 match es in her first year, she started five matches as a sophomore, notching three assists and earning NSIC All-Academic honors.

“She could’ve played D1 soccer somewhere,” women’s soccer head coach Brian Bahl said. “Fortunately for us, she chose Mankato.”

Dakota Wendell ’21 is the daughter of Major League Baseball star Turk Wendell. The two are pictured here in earlier times.

The best experience

By her junior year, the pieces came together for Wendell. The forward started all 23 matches, logged more than 1,400 minutes on the pitch (nearly doubling her output from her sophomore campaign) and scored five game-winning goals, including an overtime victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“She’s one of the most remarkable players I’ve had a chance to be around,” Bahl said.

That season, she received several athletic and academic awards, including, to her father’s delight, a selection to the D2CCA All-American First Team.

“Everything Dakota does, she gives it 100 percent,” Turk Wendell said. “She stands out among her peers.”

Bahl and Turk Wendell are convinced Dakota would’ve re peated as an All-American, if not for a season-ending knee injury midway through her senior year. Following surgery, Dakota found a silver lining and assisted as an unofficial coach for the remainder of season, which saw the Mavericks once again earn a NCCA Tournament berth. Now a proud alum, she serves as a Maverick assistant coach and helps with recruiting visits.

“We wanted to make sure we found ways to keep her con nected to the program,” Bahl said. “Dakota’s a great advocate for the program and has an incredible influence on our play ers and staff. … She’s a great story in so many ways.”

Her current full-time duties protecting and serving the Mankato community prevented Wendell from attending the Mavericks’ season-opening road trip.

“It’s kind of hard to juggle all the stuff,” she admitted. “But being a student-athlete, there was always a lot to juggle. I like to be busy.”

Wendell, a law enforcement major, stayed an extra year at the University to give herself enough time to pass the skills pro gram. She also used the extra time to earn a minor in alcohol and drug studies and adjusted to virtual curriculum before graduating in 2021.

“I want to let people know I had the best experience at the University,” she said. “I grew to love things about Mankato

that I didn’t even know about when I first came here. It’s the best big-small town.”

Wendell also returned to competitive soccer as a member of the Mankato United Soccer Club before being sidelined by another devastating knee injury in summer 2021. She’d already accepted a police officer position with the city of Mankato and feared her injury would negate the offer.

“But they were more than understanding, which I was in credibly grateful for,” she said, “and they let me work in an office setting until I was healed.”

Wendell fully recovered within six months. While accli mating to her beat as a police officer, she’s glad to employ the skills she learned as a community service officer at the University.

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” she said. “Everyone’s been very welcoming.”

“We got a lot of publicity from that,” Wendell said. “It was nuts.”

Community policing has never been more important. Wen dell said she strives to be part of the solution.

“Police officers are still people, and my perspective is: Every interaction I have, I try to make as positive I can,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”

“I’ve always told my kids, ‘Life is what you make of it,’” Turk said. “Dakota loves what she does, and she’s a leader.”

But, drivers, don’t get complacent: Dakota Wendell is still a bit of a parking stickler.

“I wouldn’t say it’s my biggest (pet peeve) now,” she said, “but I can do something about it now—if it’s bad enough.”

Wendell became a fulltime starter for her last two years.

Wendell in downtown Mankato.

CLASS NOTES

1950s

GENE CHRISTENSON, ’59, Huntington Beach, CA, is retired after spending 47 years in the aerospace industry.

1960s

DONALD NEWELL, ’60, Anoka, MN, retired from General Mills, Inc. and lives in Anoka, MN.

GARY JOHNSTON, ’61, Andover, MN, is retired and living in Andover, MN.

JOHN GRIEP, ’63, St Paul, MN has been an agent with State Farm Mutual Insurance Company for 50 years.

DONALD PHELAN, ’64, Coeur de Alene, ID, is retired, but has received several Heinz technical excellence awards. He has three children.

RONALD REINARTS, ’64, san Antonio, TX, is a Pers com Com mander after 34 years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

ERNEST PARSONS, ’64, ROCHESTER, MN, is retired.

JOHN BOLSTAD, ’65, La Crosse, WI, retired from Western Technical College in La Crosse, WI.

THOMAS ROST, ’65, Davis, CA, is a professor emeritus with the University of California, Davis.

DARRYL SJOSTROM, ’65, Oak Park, IL, is a retired businesswoman.

BLAINE DIESSLIN, ’66, Ely, MN, is a retired physics math and computer science instructor, Vermillion Community College.

ORA OHLEPKAMP, ’66, Mankato, MN, is a retired elementary teacher who taught in several schools.

MARY ANN (CHRISTENSON) BEESE, ’67, Albert Lea, MN, is a retired teacher.

WILLIAM DEVINE, ’67, Cartersville, GA, retired after 40 years in the food industry. His last job was at Smithfield Foods.

DAVID SMITH, ’67, ’71, Ruidoso, NM, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Army who also is an author, graduate level instructor, and New Mexico Inspector General. He holds a Distinguished graduate degree from Webster University.

EDWIN DE SMITH, ’68, ’72, ’80, Casa Grande, AZ, retired after working as a librarian/media specialist and teacher for various schools. His wife, LOLA MAE (PETERS) DE SMITH, ’68, ’78, also retired after teaching various grades throughout her career.

SHELDON JOHNSON, ’69, ’75, ’78, Monticello, MN, has spent 44 years in education including six in interim superintendent positions after retiring from Monticello Public Schools.

ARTHUR ORTMAN, ’69, Boise, ID, is the owner/president of SagePoint Financial. He is active in senior games competitions and has been invited to compete in power walking and bike racing nationally and internationally this year.

JAMES BRUGGERS, ’69, Buffalo, MN, is retired and spends summers in Minnesota and winters in Florida with his wife, Lori.

RICHARD HAUKOM, ’69, Rockland, ME, is retired after work ing for 38 years for The Gillette Company. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1969 – 1971. He spends his winters in Florida.

1970s

BRADLEY HEPP, ’70, Edina, MN, is president of Hepp Risk Consultants, Inc. Donor Insurance Advisors, Inc.

PATRICIA MASON, ’70, Bemidji, MN, is a retired music educator who is a conductor with the Bemidji Chorale and an author of her book, “Ghostchild.” She retired from Bemidji State University in 2020.

GARY SMITH, ’70, Sugar Grove, IL, is the president of S&S Management Consultants Corporation.

GEOFFREY WASCHER, ’70, ’71, Plymouth, MI, is an infor mation technology contractor whose career has taken him to Europe, Saudi Arabia and Mexico as well as many locations within the United States, has retired.

KATHLEEN (BARTA) HINES, ’70, Excelsior, MN, is a retired business owner.

MARK THOMAS, ’71, ’73, Stillwater, MN, was the CEO and president of Ebenezer Health Services who is now retired.

RONALD AADSEN, ’72, Longmont, CO, retired after more than 46 years with the Johnson Space Center on the manned space flight program. He spent 32 years of that time working with the Shuttle Mission Training Facility and 13 years working with the Orion Avionics Integration Labs.

FRED BANHOLZER, ’72, Shoreview, MN, retired from 3M after 38 years: 32 years in purchasing and six as a manager. He is an Eagle Scout and Vietnam Veteran-USN.

LEROY VETSCH, ’72, Mankato, MN, retired after 42 years of teaching.

PATRICIA GOHLA, ’72, Rice, MN, retired after teaching for 38 in various schools. She earned her master’s degree and taught in special education for most of those years.

RANDALL GRILL, ’72, Key West, FL, is living in Florida with his wife, Janice.

PENNY (SAMUELSON) KINNEY, ’73, Austin, MN, retired from Hormel Foods after 35 years of service. She is widowed.

DAVID COMPTON, ’73, Groveland, MA, is the director of sales with Residence Inn by Marriott.

CAROL (FREEBERG) SCHWANTES, ’73, Cold Spring, MN, feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach in Slovakia, and is back to teaching in the United States.

SARAH SEUFERT, ’73, Minneapolis, MN, retired from the Minneapolis Public Schools.

KYLE (MACPHERSON) WALLACE, ’74, Wilmington, NC, retired from North Carolina State University.

GEORGE JOHNSON, ’75, Richmond, MN, is a retired U.S. Navy LCDR and senior systems analyst.

PATRICIA (HADLEY) VERMEERSCH, ’75, Ravenna, OH, is a professor emeritus with Kent State University who retired in December 2019. She retired from her nurse practitioner practice in 2021.

CHUCK NELSON, ’75, Wheaton, MN, is retired.

MARLIN APPELWICK, ’76, Seattle, WA, recently retired from the Washington State Court of Appeals in Seattle where he was a judge since 1998. Prior to that he served 16 years in the Washington State Legislature.

NORMAN PRUSINSKI, ’78, Prior Lake, MN, is a retired police detective, bank security officer and collections manager. In 1990 he was the Minnesota America Legion Outstanding Law Officer of the Year. He also received the George H.W. Bush Daily Point of Light Award honoree for therapy dog volunteer work.

DENNIS VAN BEEST, ’78, Livonia, MI, retired from the U.S. Army and State of Michigan.

PAUL HAHN, ’78, St. Petersburg, FL, retired in 2016.

SCOTT ANDERSON, ’78, Bradenton, FL, retired in Florida after working in various positions in the insurance industry for 32 years.

DANNY SUGGS, ’78, Brooklyn Center, MN, is a football and hockey coach and teacher at Grace High School in Fridley, MN.

1980s

JOHN SMALL, ’80, Watertown, SD, retired from his position as executive director of Prairie Lakes Wellness Center in 2021.

CARL WIEMAN, ’81, Owatonna, MN, retired from Bosch/OTC in 2016, and runs a small business and does volunteer work.

PAUL HURLEY, ’82, Prior Lake, MN, is the owner of Blackhawk, Inc. and enjoys cooking.

VEI KAI, ’83, Laguna Woods, CA, is an engineer with Accenture in Atlanta, GA.

DALE GRUNDHOFFER, ’84, Casper, WY, is a DD waiver provider with the state of Wyoming.

DIANE SOLEM, ’84, Rochester, MN, retired after 25 years as the controller at Halcon Furniture.

TERRY KENT, ’85, Minneapolis, MN, retired earlier this year after a 36 ½-year career with several different companies. He is looking forward to his next chapter.

JEFF SPAIN, ’84, St. Louis Park, MN, retired after 27 years in human resources.

JOSEPH STAUDENBAUR, ’84, ’88, Madison, SD, recently was recognized at the Longevity Reception for teaching at Dakota State University for 20 years.

PATTY KINER-WHITEHURST, ’86, ’95, Elysian, MN, is an elementary school teacher with ISD #2143. Her husband, JOEL WHITEHURST, ’92, was the superintendent of the Water ville-Elysian-Morristown School District until he retired this summer.

KIMBERLI HEINO, ’86, ’93, Lakeville, MN, co-owns Communi-Kids Family Daycare, a home daycare.

JAMAL AKRAM, ’86, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, is a chair man with Tass Aviation, which he owns. He retired from the UAE government job of director of government relation civil aviation.

SUSAN (ANDERSON) HORSTMANN, ’86, Greenwich, CT, is a medical office administrator.

TOM SCHMITZ, ’86, New Ulm, MN is a park and recreation director for the City of New Ulm who received the Clifton E. French Distinguished Services Award from the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association for his long and outstanding service to the parks and recreation field.

TODD VANDERVORT, ’87, Waterville, MN, is the assistant vice president of Corporate Security, Mail and Parking with Travel ers Insurance in St. Paul, MN.

WILLIAM KOPISCHKE, ’87, Janesville, MN, recently retired after 34 years as a systems developer with Federated Insurance.

ALFRED CHINEMA, ’88, Roseville, MN, is a data center engi neer with Mfairview Hospitals in Minneapolis.

TODD OLSON, ’88, Newport, OR, is an owner/agent with Farmers Insurance.

SCOTT SCHINDLER, ’89, Hutchinson, MN, has retired and is the transportation manager for the Midwest regional band Afterthought Band.

BRUCE DICKSON, ’89 ’00, Newport Beach, CA, lives in California.

STEPHEN SAWYER,’ 89, Solon, IA, is a program manager with the University of Iowa.

JANE (BOWERS) HAMMARLUND, ’89, St. Paul, MN, is retired and has moved back to the Twin Cities area from Des Moines, IA. She has been on mission trips to several countries including Cuba, Mexico and Australia.

1990s

LAURA (WARD) ARCHBOLD, ’91, Rochester, MN, is a market ing and communications manager with the Rochester Interna tional Airport.

JULIE (JOHNSON) BURNS, ’93, Eden Prairie, MN, is the vice president market and consultant relations with MagellanRx.

MOIZ (BANO) SIDDIQI, ’95, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, is a consultant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

JENNIFER (MCNEILL) WILLEMS, ’95, Delano, MN, works in finance for the City of Delano. She and her husband have two children.

PAUL STADLER, ’96, Woodbury, MN, is a returns specialist with BSN Sports.

THEO BLACK, ’96, Madison Lake, MN, is retired and recently returned to the Mankato area after living around Wayzata for 25 years.

COLIN BOGUCKI, ’96, Eagle River, AK, is the owner/photogra pher of Colin Tyler Photography and Nat Expo Tours who leads photography tours in places such as Cuba, Iceland and Namibia.

MARY PAT NALLY, ’97, Camarillo, CA, is an abstract artist who recently completed her online art gallery.

MOLLY (SIMONSON) LIBERTO, ’97, Coon Rapids, MN, is a community education manager with Anoka-Hennepin ISD 11.

LYNDA KIESLER, ’97, Waseca, MN, has been teaching for 25 years in the Albert Lea schools. She also is an adjunct biology faculty with Riverland Community College.

BEVERY (GLASER, nee ANDERSON) BUTLER, ’98, Shakopee, MN is the CIO with JB Benefits & Consulting LLC.

DOUG LAHDE, ’99, Somerset, WI, is a quality manager with Federal Foam Technologies and is a trustee on the Somerset Village Board. 2000s

JASON TAYLOR, ’00 Albert Lea, MN, is a sergeant with the City of Albert Lea Police Department. Prior to that he was a patrol sergeant.

HEATHER THIELGES, ’01, North Mankato, MN, has been pro moted to market leader for the Eide Bailly LLP Mankato office.

KYLE HUBERT, ’01, Lamberton, MN, is a police officer with the Cities of Westbrook and Lamberton.

ERIC SOLBERG, ’01, Eagan, MN, is a realtor with eXp Realty in Minneapolis.

JEFFREY ENGBERG, ’02, Grand Island, NE, lives in Nebraska.

ROBERT JESKE, ’03, ’05, Waseca, MN, is a core faculty/assistant professor with the Mayo Clinic Family Medicine Residency who is president-elect of the MAFP Board of Directors. His wife, KATIE JASKE, ‘04, is a registered nurse in cardio rehabilitation with the Mayo Clinic Health System.

OSCAR BALDERAS, ’03, San Diego, CA, is a regional sales director for the West Coast and Latin America with Avery Weigh-Tronix in Fairmont, MN.

MELISSA BROWN, ’03, ‘Mountain Lake, MN, is a department manager (produce) with Cub Foods.

HEATHER KAISER, ’04, Minneapolis, MN, is a senior manager corporate counsel at Chicago-based CDW an IT company. She remains active with Minnesota State University, Mankato’s foundation in fundraising for scholarships.

DAVID NADOLSKI, ’05, Chicago, IL, is a senior account executive with NAMSCORP in Oakbrook, IL, who also co-owns Culinary Cannabis Company, which is scheduled to open this fall.

ANDREW ANSEL, ’06, Washington, DC, is the vice president, institutional advancement with Alliance for Justice. Prior to that he was the managing director development for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

JAMES DESCHNEAU, ’06, New Brighton, MN, is firefighter and EMT.

SARA (LINDBERG) BASSETT, ’07, Hugo, MN, is a physician relations specialist with CSI – Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. Her husband, COLE BASSETT, ‘07, is the owner/CEO of HIT Hockey.

TARA (BARRETT) MACK, ’07, Wausau, WI, is a multinational analyst with Liberty Mutual Insurance.

CASSANDRA (BISSONETTE) KOHN, ’08, Owatonna, MN, is the human resources director with the City of Waseca.

DARYL LAWRENCE, ’08, East Bethel, MN, is a museum facility manager for the Bell Museum, University of Minnesota, who recently published his first book, “On the Go All the Time.” He also co-authored a grant for the Anoka County Historical Society to digitize thousands of items in the family collection.

JOHN BORSENBERGER, ’08, Lakeville, MN, is an Airbus and C-130 Pilot with Delta Air Lines and the Minnesota National Guard. His wife, JESSICA BORSENBERGER, ‘09, is a life science teacher in the Lakeville School District.

JESSICA MATHESON, ’09, Chanhassen, MN, was named 2022 SHAPE America National Health Teacher of the Year and MNSHAPE Health Teacher of the Year in 2020. In 2020 she also was named SHAPE America Central District Health Teacher of the Year. She and her husband, KYLE MATHESON, ’09, have three children.

2010s

HANNAH (HUTTNER) HALLAHAN ’10, ’11, Minnetonka, MN, is an enrichment specialist with the Hopkins Public Schools. Her husband, CODY HALLAHAN, ’13, is a school-aged childcare coordinator with Rockford Area Schools. The couple welcomed their third son, Kaden in December 2021.

CATE DEBATES, ’10, ’13, Kasota, MN, is the vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial Fisher Group in Mankato, MN, and received the Coldwell Banker Commercial Global Pathfind er in innovation Award in 2021.

ALEIGHA (AHLSTROM) BURG, ’11, Brownsville, MN, is a proj ect manager with Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. Her husband, ALEXANDER BURG, ‘10, is a police officer with the City of La Crosse Police Department.

JOSHUA HARTMAN, ’12, Sikeston, MO, is a plant manager with Carlisle Construction Materials. He and his wife have three children.

LORI (TRNKA) SANBORN, ’12, New Ulm, MN, is the intern ship program coordinator and psychotherapist with Great Minnesota Family Services in Willmar, MN.

MORIAMO SULAIMAN-IFELODUN, ’12, Ewa Beach, HI, is a U.S. Army Captain in public affairs who also is a certified yoga instructor. She speaks a number of languages and continues to work on learning more of them.

TIFFANY (UTKE) HOFFMAN, ’14, Blaine, MN, is a community benefit analyst with Fairview Health Services.

APRIL (PARKS) THURMES, ’14, Hastings, MN, is a loan officer with M & M Mortgage in Roseville, MN.

SAMUEL ARON, ’15, Woodbury, MN, is a senior quality im provement consultant with M Health Fairview, and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

EVAN MASTERS, ’15, Mapleton, MN, is a pilot with SkyWest Airlines and also a Captain in the Minnesota Air National Guard awaiting C-130 flight training.

BLAKE GILES, ’15, Marshall, MN, is a conservation technician with the Lon County Soil & Water Conservation District. His wife, KAITLYN GILES, ‘16, is an assistant director of student success with Southwest Minnesota State University.

KAITLYN (FISCHER) PARO, ’16, St. Peter, MN, is a service coordinator with Xcel Energy in Mankato, MN. She married her husband, NOAH PARO, ’16, this summer and they are expecting their first child in September. Noah is a service coordinator with Xcel Energy.

ERIKA WINTER, ’17, Plymouth, MN, is a data analyst with UnitedHealthcare.

NAWAF ALSUGEAN, ’18, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a first officer with SAUDIA Airlines.

DENIS BOCI-BEAIRD, ’18, Maple Plain, MN, started his own company, I Know Nothing Tech, in 2020 and is graduating with an MBP from Concordia St. Paul.

CAROLYN THORNTON, ’18, Burnsville, MN, retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2012 and returned to school. She’s thankful for Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Twin Cities locations and online classes.

2020s

RACHEL IVERSON, ’20, St. Louis, MO, is a coordinator, stu dent transitions with Washington University.

BRITTANY BROCK-CAMPAGNA, ’21, Mankato, MN, lives in Mankato, MN.

LUCAS SCHIMEK, ’21, Mankato, MN, is a market manager with Clayton Farms in Edina, MN.

TYLER DANIELSON, ’22, Rogers, MN, will be a center base special education teacher in the Anoka-Hennepin School District this fall.

KENZIE BURDICK-LEVANG, ’22, Maple Grove, MN, lives in Maple Grove.

MAFAZ MOHROOF, ’22, Houston, MN, is a business analyst with Technova.

IN MEMORIAM

1940s

Elsie Mae (Abbas) Purdy ’40

Eleanor H. (Larson) Walton ’40

June Murriel (Wilson) Schumacher ’41

Margaret Mary (Simon) Liebrenz ’42

Alta N. (Sorensen) Lambie ’43

Lucille Irene (Kasemodel) Gangestad ’44

Ruth Marian (Swenson) Wood ’45

Inga Borre Kromann-Kelly ’46

Jeanette May (Cook) Martin ’46

Henry Gordon Anderson ’47

Jeanine Phyllis (Stelter) Johnson ’48

June Marie (Proehl) Dobberstein ’49

Alice Marie (Lang) Searles ’49, ’53

Cora Frances (Dickerson) Uecker ’49

Earl Keith Wilkinson ’49, ’55

1950s

Kenneth Rodney Bom ’50

Florence Mabel (Hoiland) Helle ’50

Duane Richard Nelson ’50, ’70

Yvette Deleyr (Prouty) Nelson ’50, ’68

Edward Anthony Putzier ’50

Virginia Frances (Brodt) Schuemann ’50

Mildred Arlene (Nelson) Torgerson ’50

Donald Emil Wiese ’50

Donald Lavern Wright ’50

Lavonne F. (Milbrandt) Barke ’51

Darlene Ann (Childs) Dumke ’51

Phillip Keith Harein ’51

Lovern Gust Nauss ’51

Blanche Mary (Baune) Rohlik ’51

Lyola Catherine (Hansen) Tonner ’51

Helen Irene (Streed) Ginther ’52

Corene O. (Owens) Hamre ’52

Mildred Jean (Cornell) Olson ’52

Carol Yvonne (Prange) Stinchcomb ’52

Erlin Henry Wittenberg ’52, ’61

Donald Duayne Mason ’53

Darlene Ramona (Smith) Smith ’53

Audrey Mae (Vulcan) Tolzmann ’53

Robert Lee Toppin ’53

Margaret Rose Anzevino ’54

Robert James Boda ’54

Jeanne Marilyn (Gehrke) Cordes ’54, ’73

Anne Katherine (Williams) Haefner ’54

Lorraine Alpha (Myli) Lee ’54

Shirley Ann (Wiedman) Peterson ’54, ’75

Mary Louise Voigt ’54

Eugene Richard Auringer ’55

Robert Henry Beck ’55

Patsy Lee (Zaske) Beltz ’55

Wenonah Anne (Nuesse) Berkland ’55

Fanchon Marie (Bleck) Ellwood ’55

JoAnn Magdaline (Hessian) Heinz ’55, ’70

Richard Charles Knudson ’55

Robert Morgan Peters ’55, ’58

John Borland Weeks ’55

John Thomas Campbell ’56, ’58

Ella Marie (Klingenberg) Derickson ’56

Naida Lois (Schilling) Harder ’56

Marie Frances (Healy) Jasinski ’56

Dorothy Lou (McKee) Korngiebel ’56

Edith June (Lawson) Zabel ’56, ’61, ’76

Frances Margaret (Fast) Becker ’57

Ruth Iris (Hauke) Boser ’57, ’77

James Howard Bristol ’57

Warren Herman DeMuth ’57, ’66

Stanley Walter Elems ’57, ’60, ’62

James Joseph Fairbanks ’57

Sherman Ordean Fjalstad ’57

Valerie LaVonne (Anderson) Gratzer ’57, ’60

Dean Alvin Gulbranson ’57

Richard Arthur Hamann ’57

Jeanne Natalie (Olson) Vaala ’57, ’67

Alfred Carroll Zaun ’57

Jerome Charles Benda ’58

Emily Anne (Borchert) Dennison ’58, ’60

Lenna Marie (Janssen) Hanson ’58

Kathryn Ann (Jacoby) Moe ’58

Frederick Martin Pfeiffer ’58

Kathleen Priscilla (Peterson) Pierson ’58, ’94

Janice Mae (Watts) Schnittger ’58

Wallace A. Simpson ’58

Rodney Arthur Snyder ’58

Wilfred Louis Stoxen ’58, ’64

Edward John Bader ’59

Richard Joseph Bengfort ’59

Robert Roland Berkner ’59, ’66

LaDonna Mae (Pederson) Creel ’59

Clayton Lee Dillavou ’59

John Burton Hed ’59

Deanne Lee (Halos) Kindgren ’59

James Santon McKinney ’59

Ann Marie (Heinzman) Moll ’59

Merlin Dwayne Rossow ’59

Kenneth Dale Weiser ’59

1960s

LaVern Murphy Baldwin ’60

David Lee Bruels ’60

Gerald D. Cashill ’60

William Clement Fritze ’60

Roger Lee Groetsch ’60

Emily Marie (Mentjes) Hagedon ’60

Dean Richard Jahnke ’60, ’65

Walter Othneil Jones ’60

Derryl Duane Kline ’60

David Halbert Long ’60

Stephen John Muzikar ’60

Charles Henry Otto ’60

Leo Frank Razidlo ’60

James Joseph Sackett ’60

Richard Herndon Schuneman ’60

Grace Lena (Rudolph) Severson ’60

Richard Allen Walleen ’60

Richard Byron Bellig ’61

Stanley Joseph Effertz ’61

Irene Anne (Morehouse) Ensrud ’61, ’90

Catherine Ann (Hallett) Flannery ’61

Rodney Matthew Frantzen ’61

George Martin Hansen ’61

Joanne Thelma (Hanson) Jensen ’61

Merlyn Willis Johnson ’61, ’64

Valborg (Andersen) Pace ’61

Vern Roger Thomas ’61

Charles A. Utter ’61

David Edward Zins ’61

Karen Ann (Hillson) Ahlstrom ’62

Patrick Marshall Ellis ’62, ’71

Anthony Madden Gould ’62

Ellen Ruth (Berg) Johnson ’62

Jerald Leigh Kluess ’62

Raymond D. Larson ’62

Mary Andrea (Schneider) McClellan ’62

Donovan Irving Merseth ’62

Barbara Jane (Fairbairn) Montang ’62

Sharron R. (Willson) Price ’62

Ivan G. Ratzlaff ’62

Mary Helen (Reichkitzer) Rumpca ’62

Phyllis Marianne (Larson) Smith ’62

LaMar Arthur Courrier ’63, ’74

Jerry Vincent Farley ’63

Joan K. Flood ’63

Ambrose Stanley Kodet ’63, ’64

Vivian M. (Bergeson) Koenecke ’63

James H. Matson ’63

Lyle Lydell McFarling ’63

Stanely Keith Morrow ’63, ’71

Charles Ray Owen ’63

Malcolm Manley Pendergast ’63

Jane Kay (Kollmann) Roberts ’63

Gerald J. Schroedel ’63

Clark Adrian Toland ’63

Lyle Theodor Bosacker ’64

Annette Carolyn (Ewert) Dick ’64

Bradly Clair Edgar ’64

Joanne Marie Flaten ’64

Eva Lorraine (Anderson) Gatchell ’64

David Ellester Guntzel ’64

John David Holland ’64

Sherrill Ann (Arnott) Kraft ’64

Sharon Marie (Zanke) Kruse ’64

Dorothy Diane (Torgerson) Lunde ’64

Wallace Paul Alvin Milow ’64

Betty Rozella (Randall) Nesterud ’47, ’64

Gregory C. Salmonsen ’64

Stanley Howard Thompson ’64

Joan Eldora (Cole) Vaske ’64

Carol Anita (Ellefson) Achterkirch ’65

Ronald Gene Ashton ’65

Larry Eugene Bakken ’65

John David Danielson ’65

Ruth Marie (Dempsey) Egan ’65, ’76

Robert A. Fakler ’65

Roger William Hohnstadt ’65

Helene Ione (Branstad) Iverson ’65

Jim Robert Matison ’65

Maynard Leo Nelson ’65

Colleen Evelyn (Toenges) Politz ’65

IN MEMORIAM

Peter Arnold Schneider ’65

James Paul Tetzloff ’65, ’75

Dean Willis Vik ’65

Beverly Ann (Claude) Whitehead ’65

Ross William Andrusko ’66

Sandra Fay (Newman) Block ’66, ’70

Roger Carroll Breckenridge ’66

Sandra Lou (Glaeser) Chapman ’66

Charles Leroy Darth ’66, ’71

William Peter Fox ’66

Robert Winslow Hutchins ’66

Floyd Nels Jacobsen ’66

Karen Ann (Voegel) Johnson ’66

Beverly Jean (Stiles) Krause ’66

Russell Owen Lange ’66

Thomas John McDonald ’66

Linda Mary (Howat) Murphy ’66

Karlene Ann (Nelsen) O'Brien ’66

Michele Susan (Osterbur) Oslund ’66

Dorothy Ann (Anderson) Phillips ’66

Rosalyn Ann (Larson) Polloway ’66

Brina Francine (Snyder) Powers ’66

Diane Angela (Ellgren) Riebe ’66

Margaret Ellen (Griffin) Rork ’66

Charles Albert Siebenaler ’66

Shirley Ann Carol (Olson) Vetsch ’66

Larry Russell Wefring ’66

Arthur Theodore Welte ’66, ’72

Harry David Wetzel ’66

Thomas Edward Hanzel ’67, ’71

Janet Larson (Larson) Johnson ’67

James Jay Kavaloski ’67

George Axel Lindberg ’67

Lyle Milton Pownell ’67

Lester John Schneider ’67, ’70

Sheron Michael Shay ’67

Eileen Marie (Kreamer) Strong ’67

Fred Gene Tanner ’67

Leonard Bernard Wierzba ’67

Maurine A. (Lien) Yonke ’67

Helen Louise (Anderson) Alexander ’68

Mark Joseph Davy ’68

Robert Anthony Frost ’68

Gary Lee Gruenhagen ’68

Delvin E. Grund ’68

Kenneth Lee Hoffmann ’68

Sonja Agnes (Ausen) Honstad ’68

Jerre A. Jordahl ’68

Judith Lee (Schoeb) Kitzmann ’68

Richard David Krause ’68

Janis Kay (Ries) LaFond ’68

Paul Edward Lawrence ’68

Thomas Wayne Lund ’68

Patricia Lorraine (Bartz) Nehowig ’68

William A. Schmitz ’68

John J. Selland ’68, ’89, ’91

Curtis Lee Stange ’68

Donald Frank Vanderhyde ’68

Richard Claire Aaseth ’69

Raymond Paul Bilyard ’69

Steven Ray Burwell ’69

John Stephen Curran ’69

Gary Dean Dockum ’69

Leroy Cleveland Folmar ’69, ’72

Terrie Lee (Solyntjes) King ’69

Richard Virgil Krsiean ’69, ’80

Paul Theodore Larson ’69, ’73

Richard Ramsey Miller ’69

Richard Charles Milne ’69

Robert Henry Qualset ’69

Bruce Charles Schmidt ’69

Steven Eric Westrum ’69

Jerome Francis Zetah ’69

1970s

Allen Eugene Christensen ’70

Rita Elizabeth (Broulik) Dietz ’70

Marcella Theresa (Beuning) Irby ’70, ’86

Shirley A. (Martin) Jensen ’70

Larry Lee Larsen ’70

Thomas Gregory Loucks ’70

Gary Allen McConnell ’70

Beatrice Ann (Searing) McGuire ’70

Gene Warren Nelson ’70

Neta Le (Johnson) Oelke ’70

Margaret Alta (Beck) Olson ’70

Constance Margaret (Andrews) Otto ’70

Eric Jonathan Penn ’70

Gary Arlen Rossow ’70

Jerry James Schroeck ’70

Dawna Jean (Solomonson) Van Otterloo ’70, ’93

Dianne Carlotta (Moen) Wiegers ’70

Theodore Phillip Anderson ’71

Charles Melvin Berg ’71

James D. Bokovoy ’71

Robert H. Cosgrove ’71

Nancy Catherine Deans ’71

Jonathan Fredric Frank ’71

Rona Rae Gstalder ’71, John George Jacobsen ’71

David Virgil Johnson ’71

Michael Alexander Johnson ’71

Gary Robert Kratzke ’71

Susan M. (Wadd) Mundale ’71

Darlene Ann Nelson ’71

Martha Jane (Norris) Saunders ’71

Linda Marie (Johnson) Wilson ’71

James Donald Boege ’72

John Albert Cupkie ’72, ’82

Ralph Richard Heidorn ’72

Warren Paul Henry ’72

Joan Harriet (Thornby) Hultin ’72

Mary Ellen (Busch) Kelly ’72

Albert Gary Kretsch ’72, ’81

David Allen Marietta ’72

Mary Elizabeth (Belina) Marquardt ’72

Patricia Ann (Moushon) Mitola ’72

Dorothy Marie (Cote) Molstad ’72, ’76

Richard Joseph Rotchadl ’72, ’85

Greg D. Rutherford ’72

Thomas George Sand ’72

Myron Lamar Anderson ’73, ’76

Gregory Bartholomew Andrews ’73

David Gordon Ballou ’73

Charles A. Dashow ’73

Kenneth Joseph Kostelac ’73

Keith Norman Leif ’73

Lois Jean (Fisher) Lloyd ’73

Nancy Elizabeth (Gibson) Lohrenz ’73

Danny H. Petersen ’73

Barbara H. (Frazier) Rogers ’73

Rodney Peter Schultz ’73

Max Marvin Siewert ’73

Nancy Lee (Cox) Thomas ’73

Steven Charles Ziesmer ’73

Anne (Meredith) Amundson ’74, ’84

Arthur Benjamin Carlson III ’74

Gretchen Kay (Kielty) Condon ’74, ’79

Milton Roger Dvorak ’74

Deborah Kay (Seydel) Hettinger ’74

Vicki Lee Hudelson ’74

Bernard Joseph Kahnke ’74

Jeffrey Lynn Neuberger ’74

Bradley G. Olsen ’74

Thomas Melvin Roggow ’74

Cornelius Neil Bakker ’75

Judith Mary (Schaffer) Gust ’75

Richard James Hanna ’75, ’84

Charles Andrew Johnson ’75

Terry Lynn (Weed) Johnson ’75

Anthony Dan Mohr ’75

Long Peng ’75

Louis David Rosenberg ’75

Kathryn Marie (Muckala) Serie ’75

Richard Allen Williams ’75

Daniel Joseph Angell ’76

Shirley Joann (Thompson) Grunsted Fredrickson ’76, ’82

Grant Leland Merseth ’76

Sharon Ann (Dillehay) Mrozek ’76

Don Michael Paulson ’76

Mark Lloyd Sprint ’76

Cheryl Ann (Svoboda) Bastyr ’77

Henry August Boeder ’77

Robert John Butterfield ’77

Thomas Michael Edwards ’77

Maxine (Berry) Gaines ’77

John Frederick Gudknecht ’74, ’77

Evelyn Carol (Nelson) Guentzel ’77, ’95

Blanche Kathleen (Vonderharr) Hagemann ’77

Barbara Ann Jansen ’77

Patria Signie Knappe-Langworthy ’77, ’83

Sara Mae (Higgins) Koepp ’77, ’81

Alyce Ellen (Harvie) Shoenhard ’77

Janice Duschane (DuSchane) Smith ’77

Richard Edward Titus ’77

Thomas Ray Bolstad ’78, ’81

Stephen Michael Edstrom ;78, ’93

George J. Grier ’78

Gregory Alan Hagfors ’78

Curtis Leroy Hanson ’78

Virginia Carole (Penkaty) Kass ’78

Ronald Edmun Lorensberg ’78, ’92

Daniel Franklin Meyer ’78

Barbara Jean Carufel ’79

Lee Alan Cole ’79

Constance Mae (Bickel) Good ’79

Virginia Elizabeth (Ristow) Harris ’79

Harry J. Lichy ’79

Craig Allen Nelson ’79

Vernon Andrew Nordaune ’79

Kathleen Marie (Werner) Pearson ’79

Donald Robert Prust ’79

Verla Jean (Tennessen) Ring ’79

1980s

Scott Alan Bents ’80

Donn Howard Braun ’80

Doris Agnes (Hacker) Crone ’80, ’85

Frances Ann (Hill) Hoppenrath ’80

Randall Allen Laue ’80

Keith Wayne Peterson ’80

Ronald Henry Ronning ’80

Marilyn Ann (Golden) Sandquist ’80

Pamela Jane (Deragon) Sommers ’80

Erwin Paul Thiel ’80, ’81

Gregg Paul Busch ’81

David Dean Espeland ’81

Mark Truman Grosland ’81

Kevin Patrick Mullarky ’81

Joan Mehus (Mehus) Olson ’81

Sharon L. (Schonborn) Perrine ’81

Marty Alan Aldinger ’82

William Ernest Brandt ’82

John Willis Hinrichs ’82

David Calvin Nelson ’82

Randolph Brian Nelson ’82

Helen Mae (Cramer) Shore ’82

Richard Marshall Stone ’82

Thomas Michael Wachlarowicz ’82

David Earle Duffy ’83

Felicitas Perez Santos ’83

Vernon Bruce Stenswick ’83

Daniel Robert Timlin ’83

Karen Mary (Streit) Blachowske ’84

Jeffrey Richard Longenecker ’84, ’01

Gregory Clayton Tenhoff ’84

Marie Susan (Eckert) Wunsch ’84

Reed Thomas Miller 3/15/1985

Patricia Ann Rydeen-Barnes ’85

Carol Ann (Knutson) Touhey ’85

William Joseph Breckner ’86

Mark H. Hannah ’86

Tammi Sue (Howard) Mallos ’86

Kelley Renee (Prissel) Chrouser ’87

Craig Eugene Cotten ’87

Linda Dorothy (Clark) Dyer ’87

Colleen Marie O'Hare ’87

Joyce Catherine (Morzinski) Robbins ’87

Judith Gail Bothern ’88

Jon Eric Buscho ’88

Penny Louise Hammrich ’88

Lyle Elwood Hovland ’88

Stephanie Ann (Clintsman) Lockling ’88

Gail Renae Westphal ’88

Jon Lee Ites ’89

Sydelle Marion (Miller) McCabe ’89

Dean Richard Miller ’89

1990s

Cynthia Mary (Mihm) Detjen ’90

Cheryl A. (Turbes) Pfeffer ’90

Wendy Renee (Huber) Prouse ’90

Andrew Taylor Rygh ’90

Sandra Jean (Allan) Beckey ’91

Carlos C. Carrasquilla ’91

Suzanne Marie (Pedersen) Dick ’91

Robert Charles Glarner ’91

Nancy Kay (Quarve) Hamson ’91, ’17

Ronald William Hoff ’91

Karin Joanne (Herman) Nelson ’91

Brian Joseph Neumann ’91

Steven Ray Whiteman ’91

Dale Bradley Gehring ’92

Harold Leon Hendricks ’92

James Michael Jensen ’92

Patricia Kay Jochum ’92

Jenna Kay (Hempel) Lundquist ’92, ’94

Jeffrey Scott Ward ’92

Brian Werner Kleve ’93

Angela Lynn (Berglund) Peters ’93

Carolyn Marie (Wroge) Raedeke ’93

Kristin Jane (Johansen) Todd ’93

Steven Verdon Williams ’93

Brian Keith Genrick ’94

Flora J. (Johnsen) Anderson ’95

Jeffrey Lynn Thompson ’95

James Michael Velishek ’95

Janet Marie (McGregor) Wright ’95

Karen Elizabeth Anderson ’96

Richard Paul Fischer ’96

Micheal William Fritts ’96

Steven Wayne Jones ’96

Mary Ann (Kaess) Ellsworth ’97, ’00

Kellene Noelle Hanson ’97

Joan Marie Longhenry ’97

Brendan James O'Halloran ’97

Mark Alois Scheidel ’97

Jennifer Lyn (Ponto) Johnson ’98

Sterling Alden Johnston ’98

Florence Elva (Nielson) Moller ’98

Lisa Marie Mundahl ’98

Jo Ann (Strey) Schultz ’98

Brenda Jean (Maxie) Abari ’99

Charles Alden Balstad ’99

Jessica Susan Manthei ’99

Monica Jean Plombon-Tobey ’99

2000s

Nina Ruth (Borens) Larson ’00

Paul Alan Wilker ’00

Renae Elizabeth (Berkner) Bock ’01

Jennifer Anne (Bergner) Paulson ’01, ’04

Aaron Kyle Schlingmann ’03

Katie Marie Lockrem ’04

Suzanne Hea Sun (Sjoblom) Tenney ’04

DeeAnn Lee (Ask) Peterson ’05, ’07

Ryan Scott Rydberg ’05

Rhonda Lynn (Herrig) Stanley ’05

Jeremiah Dean Westrum ’06

Eric Fredrick Nelson ’09

Aaron Edward Courrier ’12

Rachel Ruth Nystrom-Schueller ’12

Colleen Patricia (Jacques) Tripp ’13

Ann Elise (Kronlokken) Widness ’13

Dallas Ryan Edeburn ’14

Michael Allan Fuchs ’14

Kayla Beth Stone ’17, ’19

Daniel James Gardner ’18

Caleb Demond Rowley ’21

FACULTY & STAFF

David R. Beukelman

Renae Elizabeth (Berkner) Bock

Douglas John Bruender

Marcia Carolyn (James) Carthaus

Rachelle Lynn Christ

Karin Theresa (Markstrom) Collins

Alice Fernandes (Britto) DiMeglio

Dan M. Duffy

Maralyn Alice (Spenny) Flinner

Merrill Jean Frydendall

Rita Cecelia (Pfarr) Hix

Gary Austin Hudson

Charles Andrew Johnson

Ambrose Stanley Kodet

Rachel Irene (Brunner) Krueger

Donald Allen Larsen

Harry J. Lichy

Ronald L. Lien

Lyle Lydell McFarling

William John Mensing

Kathleen Mary (Parry) Mielke

Florence Elva (Nielson) Moller

Lois J. Mussett

Craig Allen Nelson

DeeAnn Lee (Ask) Peterson

Donald George Olson

Alfred W. Schoennauer

Donald Gene Sofchalk

Melvin Joseph Stanford

Clayton H. Tiede

Joseph Anthony Walsh

Crystal Dawn Weaver

Robert Charles Weber

Roger Anthony Wehner

Gail Renae Westphal

Ann Elise (Kronlokken) Widness

FRIENDS

Timothy William Bartelt

Robert L. Bomier

Barbara Jean (Mc Laughlin) Gullickson

Joseph Roger Miller

Arleigh Malcolm Richardson

J. W. “Jake” Shiveley II

LeRoy Monroe Sydness

THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY

Ongoing Support for Mavericks

By Amanda Dyslin '03, '14

Michael Thursby, the director of Athletic Bands, was having a chat with longtime University benefac tor Kenneth Pengelly not so long ago. He casually mentioned that one of his students was short $1,625 to attend the band trip in December to perform at the New Year’s Day parade in Rome.

So Pengelly got out his checkbook. “He just stepped up and took care of it, and now she can go to Rome with our group this year,” Thursby said.

Over the past 50 years, Pengelly and his spouse, David Engen, have given more than $500,000 to the University. The two were honored at the annual Purple and Gold Gala in September for lifetime giving of more than $500,000..

“David and I have made good investments. Now we can create a legacy, and Mankato is part of that legacy,” said Pengelly from his home in Palm Springs, Calif. “This is our opportunity to help. You just have to ask.”

Pengelly was a Minnesota State Universi ty, Mankato faculty member for 33 years, teaching library media and children’s liter ature and retiring in 2001. His giving began while on the faculty, donating to numerous University initiatives, and has continued with various endowments for University programs.

“The University is my professional home. It’s a family,” Pengelly said. “I encountered dedicated faculty and staff striving to offer quality education through unique teaching,

internship guidance and research monitoring during my tenure. I want to honor them.”

While far too many to cite, examples of Pengelly’s and Engen’s recent sup port include:

• living trusts that will pour over into a donor-advised endowment through Thrivent Financial upon their deaths. The two major recipi ents are Opportunity Fund, supporting doctoral and master’s degree programs in the College of Education, and an international pipe organ competition to be held in the Twin Cities.

• $10,000 toward tubas and uniforms in the Department of Music.

• two Department of Music endowments–one for band scholarships and another for students attending state conferences.

“In the planning stages, my spouse and I are drafting a proposal to en dow a fund to support the needs of the choral ensembles,” Pengelly said. “Like band, the ensembles reflect University membership from many dis ciplines, a cross-section of the academic departments. These groups be come ‘the face’ of the University as they perform in concert throughout the state.”

Pengelly encourages others to seek opportunities to give, in big or small ways, by contacting the University Advancement office. There’s always a need, he said.

“There’s a need for all kinds of things. I bought a drone for Michael Thurs by to use to train the band in formation,” Pengelly stated as an example.

“I’m always coming up with ideas.”

Thursby, of course, is extremely grateful for the drone and for everything else. “The simple way to say it is that he’s changed students’ lives,” Thurs by said.

Longtime donor Ken Pengelly was a professor at the University for 33 years.

A former educator is passionate about giving.

ALUMNI UPDATE

Please list any career changes, awards, honors, marriages, births or memorial information you’d like to see in TODAY in an email to today@mnsu.edu or msuupdates@mnsu.edu Due to publication schedules, your news may not appear in the next issue. Class Notes may be edited for length and clarity.

MAIL: Editor, TODAY 232 Alumni Foundation Center Mankato, MN 56001 FAX: 507-389-2069 E-MAIL: today@mnsu.edu ONLINE: today.magazine.mnsu.edu Update your contact information online: mnsu.edu/alumni/update

ABOUT YOU ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE/PARTNER

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Movers, Shakers and Givers

The annual Purple and Gold Gala honored three for their generosity

The Minnesota State University, Mankato Foundation in September presented awards for Philanthropist of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Corporate Partner of the Year. The awards were presented at the annual Minnesota State Mankato Foundation Purple and Gold Gala—a black-tie reception and banquet in the University’s Centennial Student Union Hearth Lounge and Ballroom that celebrates the generosity of alumni and friends.

Steve and Mary Klick, Philanthropists of the Year

Through the Klick Foundation of Glenwood, Minn., the Klicks gave more than $1.16 million to provide scholarships to students in a variety of programs. Steve Klick is a 1979 alumnus of the University.

Carol Sletner, Volunteer of the Year

Sletner, the first female chief of police in Roseville, continues to mentor law enforcement students on campus and provides financial support through the Carol and Mark Sletner Scholarship. She earned bachelor’s degrees in law enforcement and sociology corrections in 1980 and a Master’s of Public Administration degree in 1993.

Federated Mutual Insurance, Corporate Partner of the Year

Federated Mutual Insurance has partnered with the University in a number of ways since the 1980s, most recently providing a $1.2 million grant. A namesake program, Project Federated, provides computer information science students real-world experiences reviewing program code.

Minnesota State University, Mankato 232 Alumni Foundation Center Mankato, MN 56001