Today Magazine Fall 2025 by Minnesota State University, Mankato

Fall 2025 Volume 27 Issue 1

Edward Inch, President

David Hood, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Kevin Buisman, Director of Athletics

Amy Cooney, Vice President for University Advancement

Anne Gillespie, Vice President for Finance and Administration

Brian Jones, Acting Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Joe Kmiech, Vice President for IT Solutions and CIO

Henry Morris, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Sheri Sargent, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Administrative Services

Travis Thul, Vice President for Academic Success and Engagement

Editorial Director, Sara Gilbert Frederick Editor, Joe Tougas ‘86

Designer, Vanessa Knewtson ‘13

Original Photos, Nicholas Cachiaras, John Cross, Vanessa Knewtson ’13, Steve Woit

Printer, Corporate Graphics Commercial

Writers, Grace Brandt ’13, Helen Healy ’92, Robb Murray ’95, Joe Tischler ‘04

Print Coordinator, Ryan Schuh ‘00

Contributing Staff, Dan Benson, Kim Rademaker ’93, Connie Wodtke ’91

Today is published once per year by the Division of Administrative Services. The mission of Today is to entertain, to inform and to connect the reader to campus. Today welcomes story ideas supporting this mission. Full manuscripts are not accepted.

Today is not responsible for unsolicited material. Today is copyrighted in its entirety. This volume and all articles, images and photographs within may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the editor.

Send to Today Class Notes and Address Changes, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 232 Alumni & Foundation Center, Mankato, MN 56001, e-mail to today@mnsu.edu, by fax to 507-389-2069 or call 507-3892523. Death announcements must be accompanied by a memorial service program or published newspaper obituary.

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.

Inspired to take action.

Giving to Minnesota State Mankato is easy and effective when you contribute to the University Achievement Fund.

The Achievement Fund puts your gift where it’s needed most.

• Scholarships

• Emergency Grants Campus Recreation

• Undergraduate Research

• Food Security

• Training and Employee Development

• Improved Educational Experiences

Scan to give.

“Life as a student can be stressful, and support like this helps relieve the financial burden, allowing me to focus more on my education and involvement in organizations like ASCE. It makes a real difference, and I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity this support provides.”

-Dylan Holicky, sophomore, Civil Engineering

From the President

Dear Mavericks,

July 1, 2021, was my first “official” day on campus. It seems like yesterday. I remember the Today article with photographs of me moving boxes into my new house. Four years later, the boxes are unpacked (mostly) and Mankato has become home. But, most importantly, my first impressions remain true. This is a welcoming community with a small-town spirit committed to preparing our students to take inspired actions that will make our world a better place.

Since becoming president, I’ve seen firsthand how Minnesota State Mankato has built on a strong foundation and legacy committed to student opportunity and success. The University continues to enhance its reputation locally, nationally and globally. That is why, for the fifth year in a row, the Minnesota Star Tribune has recognized us as the best college or university in the state.

Like most colleges and universities in the country, we face challenges. But we are resilient. We are thriving.

We attract students from across the globe and graduate thousands every year. Why? Because we’ve earned a reputation for excellence and innovation grounded in the values of community.

This issue of Today magazine highlights the people and stories behind our reputation. You’ll read about our expert faculty, dedicated students and accomplished alumni who are making a difference in their fields and communities.

Take, for example, Sungjin Choi, an officer in the Royal Korean Air Force who came to Mankato to pursue his dream through our aviation program. Or Lauren Lehmkuhl, a Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate, whose work at Riverland Community Health clinic in St. Paul exemplifies compassionate, community-centered care.

Our alumni also make their mark in the arts, engineering, business and beyond. They bring immense pride to the University while building

successful careers and shaping their communities.

And the best is yet to come. The Maverick spirit that defines this University and its community ensures we will continue to grow, innovate and lead. We are expanding interdisciplinary learning opportunities, encouraging collaboration across fields like agriculture, technology and engineering and preparing students to tackle the complex challenges of tomorrow.

As future generations of Mavericks learn and excel, Minnesota State Mankato will continue to build its reputation of excellence.

Go Mavs!

Edward Inch President, Minnesota State University, Mankato

14 Community Health Champion

Lauren Lehmkuhl ’28, ’24 leads at St. Paul’s Riverland Community Health.

26 Walking the Walk

Why many music faculty find it essential to keep their own music rolling.

30 Legacy of a Peacekeeper

After Matthew Ruge ’18 died in the line of duty in 2024, his family established a scholarship in his honor.

MSU’s Utilities Plant keeps campus buildings comfortable

News Briefs

Significant recent successes for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Maverick Moments

Big moments with alumni and friends over the past year.

Invested in the Future

A student financial coach shares guidance and his passion for long-term investing with peers.

Empowering the Next Generation

Two Construction Management students lead a building project for girls.

18 The Maverick Reputation

Attracting students from around the world. Seeing alumni succeed. Building relationships with employers. The word about Minnesota State Mankato is getting out.

Two for One

Two friends, a shared journey and a force for mentorship in math education.

That’s All for Today

They met at a movie on campus. Nearly 60 years later, Murray and Mary Hanson had a return engagement.

24 Champions in Every Arena

Maverick student-athletes are proving that academic and athletic excellence go together.

Class Notes and In Memoriam

Catch up on the latest from classmates and friends.

Climate Control

MSU’s Utilities Plant keeps campus buildings comfortable

By Joe Tougas ’86

Built in 1962, just a few years after the University’s first steps from a lower to upper campus, the Utilities Plant provides steam for heating and chilled water for cooling across campus.

The machinery generating all of this is a vast system of new and old, giant and complex, all of it aimed at keeping Mavericks comfortable on any given day.

Located between Julia Sears Residence Community and the Dining Center, the plant (part of the Physical Plant, which is the overall organizational department responsible for maintaining buildings and grounds maintenance and repair) includes boilers, chillers and, for backup, emergency generators. The steam heat in cold weather and the chilled water in summer are delivered in a network of pipes and tunnels to all core buildings at MSU— except for the Alumni and Foundation Center on Warren Street.

Chief Engineer Dave White has been at the plant for 16 years, four in his current role. He says the seasonal transitions (Minnesota’s meteorological calling card) provide the most challenges simply because of the fluctuating heating and cooling demands.

The target heating room temperature for campus buildings

2.8M Square feet of building area heated by Utilities Plant steam

The target cooling room temperature for campus buildings

167,323,090 Total pounds of steam produced in 2024

2.2M

Square feet of building area cooled by Utilities Plant chilled water

Campus buildings served by the plant

Therms of gas used in boilers in 2024 (one therm = 100 cu. ft. of natural gas)

Chief Engineer Dave White tends to the boiler in the Utilities Plant.

Student, Faculty and Alumni Success

From individual honors and new roles to campus-wide campaigns and institutional news, it was a great year to be a Maverick.

Cooney, Kmiech, Jones Take on New Roles at MSU

In March 2025, Minnesota State University, Mankato announced Amy Cooney as Vice President for University Advancement. Joe Kmiech became Vice President for Technology and CIO, on July 1. Brian Jones was named Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management in May. In July, he became the Acting Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management when David Jones was named Interim President at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota.

Handball Teams Sweep National Titles

In February, MSU’s men’s and women’s club handball teams won national titles at the U.S. Handball Association collegiate tournament. The university also claimed the combined team championship. Several players received All-American honors and Mardak scholarships for community service.

Study Highlights Barriers to Mental Health Licensure

Published in April, a study by Wilder Research and Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato identified financial, administrative and supervisory barriers to mental health licensure for Minnesota graduates. The findings aim to inform policy changes that address the state’s mental health workforce shortage.

MSU Students Shine at Regional Theater Festival

In January, MSU’s Department of Performing Arts received multiple awards at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Students advanced in acting, singing and dance, and both Landon Hudson and Rebekah Willey received invitations to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Washington D.C. in April. The department also received Certificates of Merit for technical and performance excellence.

The cast of “Clue,” which won an award for Ensemble Performance at the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Left to right: Jacob Haen, Ruby Wilmes, Hunter Conrad, Garmunee Phillips, Phyllis Horridge, Bex Williams, Arthur Gonzalez, Liz Albenesius and Landon Hudson.

Margenthaler Reaches 500 Career Wins

On January 17, 2025, Mavericks men’s basketball coach Matt Margenthaler achieved his 500th career win when the Mavericks beat MSU Moorhead 90-88. Margenthaler is the 18th active NCAA Division II coach and the 50th across all divisions to reach 500 wins.

Bukralia Wins Tekne Award for Tech Education

Data science professor Rajeev Bukralia received the Minnesota Tekne Award for Tech Educator of the Year. This award celebrates educators who have helped advance the field of technology education in Minnesota in such a way that their impact reaches beyond the students they directly serve.

Aspen Warnygora Named Diver of the Year

Aspen Warnygora, a senior from Fort Collins, Colorado, was named the NSIC Diver of the Year— the first Maverick to earn this honor. Warnygora was a five-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Diver of the Week and earned All-NSIC honors with a third-place finish in the 3-meter dive at the conference championships. At the NCAA Championships, she earned All-American honors by placing 7th in the 1-meter and 10th in the 3-meter diving events.

Nidec Corporation Donates $2 Million to Innovation Gateway

In March, electronic motor manufacturer Nidec Corporation pledged $2 million to support the new Maverick Innovation Gateway and Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The donation will fund interdisciplinary learning and industry collaboration in the new space.

MSU Ranks 15th Nationally for International Enrollment

In November 2024, the Open Doors Report ranked MSU 15th among U.S. master’s institutions for international student enrollment. The university enrolled 1,716 international students in fall 2023. This marks the seventh consecutive year MSU has ranked in the top 15.

Socktober Campaign Breaks Record in Community Giving

During October 2024, MSU’s Community Engagement Office collected a record 2,000 pairs of socks and underwear for local organizations. The Socktober campaign involved 14 campus teams and supported five community partners.

MSU Alumni Named 2025 Bush Fellows

Deqa Muhidin ‘06 led the creation of the Somali Heritage Language Program in Minneapolis Public Schools and helped pave the way for licensure of teachers in less commonly taught languages. With her Bush Fellowship, she will study international heritage language models and develop a scalable, culturally grounded framework to institutionalize home language education across Minnesota.

Nathaniel Gibbs ’17 has held multiple principal and district leadership roles in Minnesota, where he has guided strategic change efforts while developing and mentoring future school leaders from underrepresented backgrounds. With his Bush Fellowship, he will pursue graduate study and deeper learning to design sustainable, evidence-informed systems that better recruit, develop and retain school leaders from backgrounds historically underrepresented in education leadership.

Akram Osman ‘12 is principal at Mankato East High School and one of the first Somali American high school principals. With his Bush Fellowship, he will pursue executive leadership training, mentorship and policy study to expand his impact as an advocate for educational equity.

Men’s basketball coach Matt Margenthaler talking to players at the NSIC tournament in March.

Mavericks at Target Field

On July 11, more than 1,500 members of the #MavFam gathered to cheer on the Twins during Minnesota State Mankato Night at Target Field.

1. A young fan joins the pregame fun.

2. Pregame vibes from Stomper.

3. MSU Director of Athletics Kevin Buisman, who was honored as the NACDA Athletic Director of the Year in 2025, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

4. The day saw plenty of purple and gold giveaways.

5. The mighty Maverick Machine performed pregame.

Alumni Time

Snapshots of big moments, good friends and amazing times together as Mavericks over the past year.

1. Alumni Adam Stoll ‘14 (left), and Adam Moen ‘12 (right), talk with MSU Alumni Association Director Brian Zins ‘02, ‘08 (center) at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres’ performance of “Grease.”

2. Graduates celebrate at Spring 2025 commencement, including former Student Government President Roshit Niraula (center).

3. Adam Thielen ’13 (left) and UNRL founder Michael Jordan ’16 (right) talk about UNRL’s line of Thielen sportswear at a January event on campus.

4. California artist and MSU alum William Anderson ‘62 dropped by campus in September. The former Maverick football and baseball player who majored in art has been producing works (and books) for decades, with some of his work proudly displayed in the Johnson Alumni Room in MSU’s Taylor Center.

5. Alumni gathered in Tempe, Arizona, in November to cheer on the Mavericks during both the football and men’s hockey games.

Invested in the Future

A student financial coach brings peer-to-peer guidance and a passion for long-term investing to fellow Mavericks

By Joe Tougas ’86

Class of 2026

Major: Finance

From Shakopee, Minn.

Over the years, I’ve been very good at keeping the habit of continuing to invest and letting my money compound. The more money I made, the more motivated I was to invest.”

–Aiden Hall

Not so long ago, financial literacy for college students amounted to the fine print they didn’t read when the credit cards arrived.

Warning of the hazards that await young consumers has become increasingly important and popular in schools, and accordingly, Minnesota State Mankato recently partnered with the Charles Schwab Foundation to launch a program to help students develop better financial literacy.

Senior Aiden Hall is one of the peer-to-peer counselors working in the Maverick Center for Financial Success.

“It’s such a tough time—opening up credit cards, loans, stuff like that,” said Hall. He started in the spring working with a few students and expects fall to generate larger caseloads as word of the service spreads.

“There’s such a lack of financial education with college students,” he said. “It’s pretty bad. Some of my friends definitely need help.”

When the program began, Hall visited several 100-level business courses to talk about the Center.

“I visited four to five classrooms in April—they were career-building classes for [first-year students]. But Brooke Nelson, another coach, and I went to these classes and talked about beginner topics—credit cards, loans. … We’re not professionals, but we do believe it’s easier to talk to us than it is to talk to professionals sometimes when it comes to money.”

Hall isn’t coming at his role from scratch—he’s been an investor since age 15. He cashed in $2,000 in savings bonds and invested the money.

“Over the years, I’ve been very good at keeping the habit of continuing to invest and letting my money compound. The more money I made, the more motivated I was to invest, all while keeping a long-term mindset.”

His role as a student coach doesn’t allow him to give investing advice, but his career plans are solidly along those lines, with an emphasis on working with individuals and families.

“I’m just not the kind of guy to sit behind a desk and trade stocks all day. It just sounds boring to me,” he said. “Although I love investments, I would much rather give one-on-one advice to people.”

Empowering the next Generation

Two MSU students lead a construction project for girls

By Joe Tougas ’86

MSU Construction Management students Malia Riordan and Kayla Reid spent the 2024–25 academic year helping middle school girls gain handson construction experience by literally building a house.

As officers in the Construction Management Women’s Association (CMWA), Riordan and Reid participated in the Trailblazers Project, a collaboration between the Mankato YWCA and APX Construction Group. The initiative introduces girls to trades like carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing through the construction of a small, functional home.

Each month, the group met at the APX warehouse, where industry subcontractors—many recruited by Riordan and Reid—led demonstrations. The project aligned with the YWCA’s mission of empowering women and CMWA’s goal of connecting female students with industry professionals.

“A lot of the goals of the CMWA and what APX and the YWCA are doing fit really well together,” said Reid. “It’s about uplifting women and making these girls feel seen and heard.”

Reid and Riordan saw themselves in the girls and wanted to bridge the gap between interest and opportunity. “I was always interested in learning more,” said Reid, “but I was shy in school. I wish I’d had something like this.”

Both Riordan and Reid chose to attend MSU because of the reputation of its construction management program.

“Ever since then I feel I really found what I wanted to do,” Riordan said.

The girls worked on tasks such as roofing, siding, and framing. “They got to try new things each month,” said Riordan. “APX helped finish what they started so they could see the progress.”

Even those not pursuing trades grew in confidence.

“At first, they were shy,” Riordan said. “By the end, they were using power tools and working independently.”

Reid, entering her junior year, is interning with Knutson Construction and aims to become a project executive. Riordan is interning with Duininck Golf and plans to continue there after graduation.

Despite progress, the gender gap in construction remains. “The gap is closing,” Reid said, “but starting young with programs like this is so beneficial.”

Riordan said she was gratified by the entire experience with the girls.

“For us to be able to go and talk to these girls and show them that there are options like this and there are people that look like them who find success in the industry, it was really cool for me to see.”

Malia Riordan

Class of 2027

Major: Construction Management

From: Rockford, Minn.

Kayla Reid

Class of 2027

Major: Construction Management

From: St. Francis, Minn.

Community Health Champion

Lauren Lehmkuhl ’18, ’24 blends hands-on care with system-wide improvements

By Joe Tougas ’86

at St. Paul’s Riverland Community Health

St. Paul’s West Seventh Street neighborhood is a portrait of diverse ethnicities and incomes, and the Riverland Community Health clinic stands ready to serve them all.

It’s an environment that provides Lauren Lehmkuhl, a nurse practitioner at the clinic, both a philosophically satisfying approach to her work and an opportunity to improve care for patients and providers.

Riverland is the type of care facility that took shape with federal funding in the 1960s and was once called a “free clinic,” serving the basic medical needs of low-income residents. Today, such clinics are known as Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs, and they provide care for more than 32 million Americans. A family nurse practitioner at Riverland since 2023, Lehmkuhl is a full-time clinician who sees about 22 patients a day.

“We have staff that represent all of our racial and cultural groups, so many of our patients can be greeted with their native language and that’s a powerful tool, even just to bridge cultural barriers,” Lehmkuhl said.

“Sometimes they just don’t know how to navigate the complicated health system, and we have a whole team committed to guiding them,” she said.

She grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, home of the Mayo Clinic. But the proximity to a world-famous healthcare institution didn’t immediately instill her with aspirations of pursuing a career in the field, she said.

“But as I explored my areas of interest, it always came back to things that nursing incorporated,” she said, listing social sciences, psychology, biology and ecology. “And nursing incorporates those aspects.”

A registered nurse since 2012, Lehmkuhl earned her master’s degree in nursing in 2018 from Minnesota State University, Mankato; in 2024, she also completed the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at MSU. “I chose to pursue my nursing education at MSU because of its strong history and reputation in nursing education,” she said. “The university’s commitment to advancing family and societal health through education, research and practice aligns perfectly with my goals.”

She has led several initiatives, including a recent project to implement an AI-powered clinical documentation tool that reduces administrative burden and allows providers to be more present with patients.

“I envision that at some point I’ll go part time as a clinician and take on an administrative role,” she said. “I wish I had all the time in the world to do both, but I want to use the skills I developed in my doctorate to lead these efforts.”

Lehmkuhl believes she can help demonstrate to stakeholders and policymakers the economic value of a healthy community through value-based care models such as those delivered by Riverland Community Health.

It’s more important than ever that practicing clinicians like myself move into leadership roles where we can share our voice and the impact of this work.”

“We’ve shown since the 1960s that this model of care improves health outcomes and reduces costs,” she said. “It’s more important than ever that practicing clinicians like myself move into leadership roles where we can share our voice and the impact of this work. Investment in preventive, primary and chronic care has so many payoffs.”

“Lauren is a great example of a graduate who is working to the full extent of her licensure and experience,” said Rhonda Cornell, nursing professor and director of the DNP program at MSU. “She sees

clinic patients from underserved populations and is sensitive to the health disparities that exist.”

Her doctorate, Lehmkuhl said, “has given me the skills and really opened doors to projects like this, where you might not traditionally imagine a nurse practitioner being involved.”

Dave Thorson, a family medicine physician and Riverland Community Health CEO who has worked with Lehmkuhl for two years, said she has become a vital part of Riverland’s care and leadership efforts.

“She has a passion for preventive and primary care, as well as a desire to improve how we do things clinically,” Thorson said. “She brings an energy for change that every clinic needs but rarely finds. Lauren has embraced our vision of relationship-based care, which sets us apart from transactional clinics. She embodies our mission of teaching and serving, and she leads by example.”

Lauren Lehmkuhl’s doctorate from MSU is applied throughout her work

Two for One

Two friends, a shared journey and a force for mentorship in math education.

By Joe Tougas ’86

Best friends Felicia Smith and Chalandra Gooden are finding that they are indeed inseparable.

The two have studied, graduated and worked together since meeting 11 years ago at the University of South Alabama, where they were both sisters in a sorority.

A strong friendship ensued as they cruised through undergraduate studies and the same master’s

program together, both intent on becoming math teachers. And a weird thing happened when they sent out resumes afterward.

“The only place that wanted to interview us wanted both of us,” Smith recalled. It was a K-12 public education teaching job at a middle school, which hired them both.

Colleagues and best friends Felicia Smith, left and Chalandra Gooden. Friends since their Alabama college years, the two were both hired as faculty at

UniversityofSouthAlabama .

A few years later, after both had earned Ph.Ds from the University of Alabama, Smith and Gooden both applied to Minnesota State University, Mankato, which was hiring for a single spot in math education. And the same thing happened again, resulting in MSU’s College of Education hiring two best friends.

They were thrilled to know that “the band wasn’t going to break up after all,” Smith laughed.

Gooden, in fact, had also been offered a different job she said, but she was more excited about the opportunity to continue her career alongside Smith.

“You can’t complain about moving to a whole new state with your best friend. … It made it easy to say ‘yes.’”

As did the tour of the campus, which reminded Gooden of their first college.

“That small-school feel we had in South Alabama, I knew the benefits of that,” Gooden said. “If you needed to talk to the dean of students, you could. If you needed to talk to the provost, you could. … I knew in terms of being there for students, it would be a good fit.”

How do students benefit when two close friends are teaching in the same department?

“You get to see professors who interact with one another and who collaborate and work together, because sometimes we can all be siloed,” Smith said. “And I think it’s really good for students to see that as they’re coming through the program.”

Once here and on the job, the two wasted no time finding ways to help students and future teachers of color. They helped activate and design a mentorship program, MavTeach, that pairs working teachers of color with students of color.

“The first semester, I had a Somali student say ‘You’re the first black teacher I ever had. It was really nice to see you up there and learn from you,’” Gooden said. “I took that to heart, which showed me that that was a gap.”

From there, Gooden and Smith asked MSU’s advising program if there were opportunities to bridge that gap and mentor students of color, and they learned of the MavTeach mentoring program that was essentially waiting to happen.

The program was a hit with the schoolteachers who mentored students, to the extent that they want to keep working with the students until graduation. The program continues during the Fall 2025 semester.

Being at the helm of a mentoring situation brings Smith and Gooden full-circle in one sense.

“Mentors were very influential in our process and us getting here. It was very important to us when we went through our doctoral program because there was no one in our direct department that was a woman, let alone a person of color,” Smith said. “Some people don’t understand the way certain cultures and certain groups communicate and write, and we struggled. So we connected with a mentor we had in the program, a faculty mentor, and she was very influential in helping us write to cater to a higher ed audience and not losing our voice at the same time.”

Taking on the first year in a new state was made—to use a math term—exponentially better because they were together.

“Anytime someone asks, ‘How was your first year?’ I say honestly, I had a cheat code, because I’m with my best friend,” Gooden said. “We work with each other so much that it rarely encounters work-related issues.”

“We can talk things through, without feeling like a little tadpole in a pond which happens when you’re a firstyear faculty member,” Gooden adds. “Having someone who’s a sounding board is something people don’t get— someone who’s also going through the same thing but somebody you fully trust.”

The Maverick Reputation

From attracting students around the world to building relationships with regional employers, the word about Minnesota State Mankato is definitely getting out.

By Joe Tougas ’86 and Grace Brandt ’13

From the time he saw the war film “Black Hawk Down,” Sungjin Choi wanted to be a pilot for his country’s military.

He was 10 or 11 in his home city of Incheon, South Korea, when he saw the film, and it stuck with him into adulthood. He saw the pilots in the movie as problem-solving heroes. And the desire to fly remained with him as he entered the Republic of Korea Air Force.

But an irregular heartbeat detected shortly afterward disqualified him from flying military jets. Disappointed, he nonetheless kept his ambitions skyward, ultimately choosing to pursue a career in commercial aviation—which led him to Minnesota State Mankato.

After serving as a captain in the intelligence division of the South Korea’s air force between 2014 and 2018, Choi worked in Japan as an electrical engineer at M-Plus, a company that produces batteries for electric cars.

Tiring of workdays that stretched from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., he started looking for flight schools overseas. He discovered frequent mentions of Minnesota State Mankato’s aviation program listed among the best in his online searches. Although that reputation was enticing, what clinched it for him was Minnesota’s famously diverse weather.

“This school has a better reputation, and the weather conditions here are similar to Korea,” he said. “So I chose here because I can experience many kinds of weather.”

At 34 years old, he enrolled as a firstyear student at MSU in fall 2024. His first semester involved some

courses outside the aviation program, including the Intensive English Program to help with his speaking, writing and reading in English. By his second semester, he was in aviation classes, in planes and working toward his goal.

Choi is one of hundreds of students who arrive each year from other countries to attend MSU, many of whom say they do so because of the university’s reputation.

“We really are a destination for our international students and our international partners,” said William CoghillBehrends, dean of global education at MSU.

“International students have always been a part of MSU’s identity,” he said. “They just bring a richness to the experience for everybody here, in particular domestic students. To have the kind of global experience that they have at MSU because they’re in classes with students from 107 different countries around the world—that’s just incredible.”

In March, Coghill-Behrends attended the Asia Pacific International Education Association Conference in India. In a question-and-answer session, he identified himself as representing Minnesota State Mankato.

“I actually heard some noises in the crowd, and then afterwards, several people were saying to me, ‘Minnesota State Mankato, what have you guys done? You have such a big international student population.’”

He had answers.

“I think [students] know that we’re affordable, that we do a good thing here. Our students are getting job offers before they graduate—domestic job offers and job offers abroad. We’re producing results for these students and their families, and so they recognize us as a good investment. And word of that spreads.”

The rash of visa suspensions and ICE detainments of international students across the country affected several at MSU, including one student who was detained for a month before being released. Coghill-Behrends said both the university and the Greater Mankato community took as much action as they could to demonstrate care for international students and their families.

“Messaging to students, messaging to families, being clear with our staff throughout the unit that we needed to expect and anticipate and be ready for lots of student questions,” he said. “Some of our immigration advising meetings, for example, would turn from nuts and bolts of immigration advising to assuaging people’s anxiety and their fears.”

Information sessions were established during the period for not only students, but also for faculty and staff, he said.

“This is how communities respond when these kinds of crises pop up. We had the resources and the soul to do it.”

As he spoke in early summer, Coghill-Behrends said he was concerned about a federal initiative to pause new student visa appointments to all applicants. Visa denials were increasing across U.S. institutions from a 26 percent denial rate to 41 percent.

In a January 2025 interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Yarbrough, who stars in the Clint Eastwood drama “Juror #2,” noted: “I got dramatic training at Minnesota State University. I’m still trying to impress my professors there.”

In a fall 2023 interview with Today magazine, he credited the university with his well-rounded abilities to tackle heavy roles and comic ones with equal zeal.

this business—about comedy, about dance, about musical theatre, drama. I learned as much as I possibly could so I could be a very well-rounded actor.”

Even in such circumstances, MSU’s tradition and reputation with international students is showing its staying power.

“I do think, as a result of everything happening in the world, there is a good chance there will be fewer international students studying in the United States,” Coghill-Behrends said. “My goal is that there won’t be fewer international students studying at MSU.”

A Professional Stage

While MSU’s Ted Paul Theatre is known regionally as a top-tier venue for plays and musicals, the university’s Department of Performing Arts has launched several careers in television and cinema.

Cedric Yarbrough, star of Comedy Central’s “Reno 911” and AMC’s “Lucky Hank,” and character actor Spencer Kramber are among the alumni who have publicly praised MSU’s theatre program.

“The theatre department was, and is still, one of the best you can find for a regional theatre school,” said Kramber, a Los Angeles actor and casting coach, in 2022.

“The production design, the opportunities to be on stage. I was doing five plays a year every year. There was no time to do anything 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.”

Rusty Ruth ’14, director of theatre and associate professor of communication arts/theatre at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, received his Master of Fine Arts in directing from MSU’s theatre department. He enrolled largely due to the praise he heard for MSU while an undergraduate student at the University of South Dakota.

“I chose MSU because I knew it was one of the best MFA programs in the Midwest,” he said. “My mentors in undergrad said that Mankato had a strong reputation of preparing professional theatre practitioners and that the rigorous workload would sharpen my skills as an artist.”

Industry Rep

As Ben Schmitt considered how to find quality employees for positions at Truck Bodies & Equipment International (TBEI) in Lake Crystal, the general manager saw an obvious opportunity: connecting with Minnesota State University, Mankato. TBEI already has internships in place that connect university students to real-world experience, and nine alumni currently work for the company. It just made sense to return to the university to find quality engineering graduates to fill much-needed positions.

“Hiring new talent these days is very difficult, so anything we can do to build a pipeline to local schools is always beneficial,” Schmitt said.

Schmitt started working with Katie Jolicoeur, director of career services at the university, in February 2025. Since then, the university has been extremely open, inviting TBEI representatives to visit campus and keeping them informed of upcoming career fairs and other opportunities to connect with students.

TBEI is looking to add more internship positions beyond hiring recent graduates—and they’re focusing on Minnesota State Mankato instead of other universities. Besides the local connection, Schmitt said he’s been consistently impressed with how prepared university graduates are to step into the workforce.

“[With engineering], a lot of universities’ programs are very theoretical, but there’s not a lot of practical or hands-on experience,” he explained. “I’ve hired engineers that couldn’t change the oil in a car; they’re very, very smart engineers but don’t have that hands-on experience. But the MSU [alumni], they’re very practical with a strong work ethic and going the extra mile, plus the overall knowledge and skills that are quite impressive.”

TBEI isn’t the only company that looks to the university for highly skilled and well-prepared graduates. According to Jolicoeur, the university receives talent inquiries from companies across the U.S.—and even internationally. Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Amazon, Grant Northam, Target and others in industries ranging from accounting to aviation either visit campus to recruit or reach out to Jolicoeur to explore hiring opportunities. Since January 2025, more than 75 employers have contacted her.

One big way the university helps form new pipelines is through its annual Career and Internship Expo, where employers engage with students on campus. This year, the university is partnering with six other higher education institutions and opening the event to alumni in addition to current students, in the hopes of hosting the largest expo they’ve ever had. Jolicoeur said they’re also planning to reinstitute a second expo in the spring.

Closer to Home

Besides directly connecting companies to applicants or interns, Jolicoeur’s office also finds other ways for industry leaders to strengthen pipelines with the university. Area leaders are able to schedule visits to campus, often offering one-on-one conversations with students to be less intimidating; participate in mock interviews to help students prepare for future job hunts; and sit on advisory councils to offer perspective on what curriculum should include.

One of the university’s oldest industry partners is Taylor Corporation. The company has consistently hired students as interns and alumni as full-time employees in positions

Ben Schmitt of TBEI in Lake Crystal.

ranging from sales to computer science, according to Brent Christopherson, director of talent acquisition.

“[The relationship] has improved every year, [and] it has to continue to improve,” he said. “They’re literally building the next generation of workforce for companies like Taylor.”

Early Career Sales Leader Jack Hansen has experienced both sides. He interned at Taylor Corporation from December 2023 until he graduated in 2024, receiving a job offer immediately. Now, he oversees the company’s sales internship program.

Hansen said his program typically has about 10 interns at a time. While full-time job offers aren’t guaranteed, he said there’s a high demand right now—but it really just comes down to if the intern is a good fit. A lot of the time, with MSU graduates, it’s a good fit.

“Our partnership with Minnesota State University, Mankato is our most valuable,” he said. “If we didn’t have such a connection to campus and we weren’t involved or trying to reach students, we wouldn’t have the level of talent that we have today.”

Jolicoeur said industry demand shifts throughout the years, with more need for healthcare and even an AI focus recently. Overall demand, however, has been steady. For Jolicoeur, that’s evidence of why these industry partnerships are so vital.

“Having these partnerships helps everybody,” she said. “It helps us in higher education stay attuned to what’s happening in the industries to make sure our curriculum is staying current out in the real world. On the flip side, it helps employers for us to be producing these graduates with the skills they need because it’ll save them time and money on onboarding if their new hires already have these skills. [Additionally], there’s a goal to grow [and] keep students within the region, [which] can also help attract more organizations and more employers. If they know we’re producing excellent graduates who are up-to-date on industry, they’re going to want to build here. It’s a win-winwin for everybody.”

These are a few examples of how MSU continues to build a reputation through the quality of its programs as well as its proven commitment to real-world learning, inclusivity and career readiness. As the student body grows, so does that reputation around the world.

Katie Jolicoeur, Director of Career Services at MSU.

Taylor Corporation’s Director of Talent Acquisition, Brent Christopherson.

Champions in Every Arena

Student-athletes are proving that academic and athletic excellence go together

By Joe Tischler ’04

The Maverick athletic teams have seen unprecedented success in recent years.

In 2024, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams won NCAA Division II national championships. The men’s hockey team has qualified for four of the last five NCAA Tournaments, reaching the championship game in 2022. The football team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons, reaching the semifinals in 2024. The women’s soccer team has played in four straight NCAA tournaments, reaching the championship game in 2024. The men’s and women’s track and field teams have won multiple NSIC indoor and outdoor championships. The women’s team won the national indoor championship in 2022.

As impressive as the Mavericks have been in competition, their performance in the classroom has also been exemplary. In Spring 2025, Maverick student-athletes posted a cumulative GPA of 3.40—the second-best term GPA in school history. Nine of the top 10 single-semester GPAs have occurred since Spring 2020.

“They are student-athletes, so we work hard to celebrate and highlight our academic accomplishments with the same level of excitement and enthusiasm as anything we achieve competitively,” said Director of Athletics Kevin Buisman. “Our semester GPAs have been trending in a very positive direction the last several years and that is a result of having highly committed student-athletes supported in and out of the classroom by amazing faculty and dedicated staff.”

Also in Fall 2024, 394 student-athletes achieved Dean’s List honors and 160 earned perfect 4.0 GPAs. All 20 athletic programs had at least a 3.00 GPA—only the fifth time in school history that every program has done so. The women’s hockey program set a team record with a 3.78 GPA, and the football program had its best cumulative GPA

with 3.27. Marshall Foerner earned First Team Academic All-American honors while Cody Brown garnered Second Team accolades. In 2025, Aspen Warnygora and Abby Gronholz from the women’s swimming and diving team received Second and Third Team Academic All-American honors, respectively.

Karey Kalakian, assistant athletic director for Academic Services and Student Development, provides direct academic advising and support to nearly 600 studentathletes across all 20 sports. She often tells them to think of her as their personal “campus hub” within athletics and makes it her mission to ensure they feel supported throughout their journey.

“Of course I love watching our teams win regular season games, conference championships, regional championships and national championships even, but watching our student-athletes walk across the stage at commencement and proudly wearing their student-athlete stoles makes me the most proud,” said Kalakian. “In my role, this is my version of winning!”

Maverick coaches play a significant role in academic success. They seek not just great athletes, but great student-athletes who perform at high levels in the classroom. Buisman says this is part of the “Building Champions” tagline for Maverick athletics—positioning student-athletes to succeed in sport and life, with expectations to excel competitively, academically and in the community.

Alex Tracy is a great example. The goaltender played a key role in the Maverick men’s hockey team’s 202425 campaign. The team won the regular season and postseason CCHA championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Tracy, who played in all 39 games and allowed just 1.29 goals per game, was a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

Having a work ethic that is consistent, whether it is in the classroom or on the ice, helps me put my best foot forward in both areas.” – Alex Tracy

Tracy, now a senior, was also named CCHA StudentAthlete of the Year—an honor recognizing sportsmanship, leadership, academic progress and community service. Despite his commitments, Tracy earned a 3.94 GPA in Finance.

“Balancing school and hockey can be challenging, but thanks to our amazing team staff and a university that prioritizes the academic health of its students, I have been able to stay on top of both,” said Tracy. “I try to approach school with the same disciplined and work-oriented mindset as I do in my sport. Coach [Luke] Strand has a phrase he commonly uses: ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ Having a consistent work ethic helps me put my best foot forward in both areas.”

Cheyenne Behrends, a senior infielder on the softball team, has started more than 200 games and holds a career batting average near .300. She was a finalist for the MSU Georgene Brock Student-Athlete Career Achievement Award. Behrends also excels in the classroom with a 3.65 GPA in Elementary Education and is pursuing a master’s degree.

“Balancing academics and athletics definitely takes discipline, but I’ve found that staying organized and managing my time well are key,” said Behrends. “I treat

I’ve

found that staying organized and managing my time well are key.” – Cheyenne Behrends

schoolwork like another part of my routine. I also make the most of downtime during road trips or between practices to stay on top of assignments.”

In May, Behrends, along with sophomores Maddie Helin, Izzy Hycnar and Maddie Oetzmann, were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic AllDistrict Team. The CSC honors combined academic and athletic excellence.

Shane Drahota, senior deputy athletic director for Administration and Student Services, works closely with Kalakian and others as part of the Progress Toward Degree Team. They ensure student-athletes’ classes meet NCAA eligibility and MSU graduation requirements and assist with questions about eligibility and graduation paths.

“I am always in awe of our student-athletes when the GPA report is run after each semester and they collectively turn in another great performance,” said Drahota. “I know how incredibly capable our student-athletes are. I am fortunate to witness, on a daily basis, just how dedicated and disciplined they are in virtually every facet of their lives, especially when it comes to striking the balance between athletics and academics.”

Walking the Walk

Minnesota State University, Mankato’s music faculty blend academic excellence with real-world performance.

By Joe Tougas ‘86

In music programs expanding their reach to students of all musical backgrounds, faculty members are actively pursuing their own creative interests—enriching student learning in the process.

“It keeps me happy,” smiled Professor Gerard Aloisio, “which is good for my students.”

Professor Stephanie Thorpe.

We are all moving through the industry together, all at the same time.”

– Michael Olson

Stephanie Thorpe: Versatility in voice

Operated by MSU alumni Georg and Paula Marti, Morgan Creek Vineyards in rural New Ulm has for more than two decades provided a unique vibe at every turn, from seasonal annual celebrations such as Bavarian Fest to yoga-and-brunch Sundays. Among its regular offerings is an outdoor weekend jazz series as well as the Opera a la Carte series—in which faculty member Stephanie Thorpe has, for the past six years, sung opera selections accompanied by Ben Marti on piano.

“Paula and Georg are humungous classical music fans,” Thorpe said. “They have this great love for classical music, and they wanted to be different than the other wineries that were bringing in bands. They wanted to have people come and be able to listen to classical music too.”

With her opera background, the gig is a match for Thorpe— but it’s not the only match. She also performs classic Americana in a duo with fellow faculty member and pianist Dale Haefner. Less front-and-center is her work with metroarea tribute bands showcasing the music of Jimmy Buffet and Billy Joel. In those capacities, she explores life as a backup singer.

“It’s my favorite place to be,” she said. “I love singing harmonies. I almost think opera chorus is more fun—less pressure. You can just hang out.”

Thorpe has been singing since childhood. She made it her academic pursuit with both a bachelor’s and master’s in vocal performance. She received her doctorate in vocal performance from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, the city where for 11 years she sang in a variety of genres, from opera to Sinatra. It was in Vegas that she learned of a job opening in the music department at MSU in 2013.

“I’d never seen another job listing like it. And I remember showing my voice teacher in Vegas asking ‘What do they mean when they say‘…classical, musical theatre and contemporary?’ And he said ‘Stephanie, this job has your name written all over it. You have to apply.’ And I did.”

The result, she said, was an unexpected dream job.

“When I graduated with my doctorate, I fully expected to only teach classical music for the rest of my career. But then this job opened up and all of a sudden I’m teaching contemporary, musical theatre and opera, and it’s everything I could have wanted.”

While she’s a dedicated performer who enjoys singing in several genres, teaching gives her the most satisfaction.

“I’m working on their songs with them and helping them be better performers,” she said of her students. “I love performing like I love my family, but I love teaching like I would love my significant other. I’m really passionate about both, but the teaching is so rewarding. To have students out there doing the thing you taught them to do is amazing.”

Michael Olson: Bridging industry and education

Michael Olson’s work as a teacher doesn’t replace his work in the music industry—it complements it.

“I always told myself that if I wasn’t doing outside work, I would just stop teaching,” said Olson, director of the music industry program. “Because there’s no way with a business moving this fast, with a world moving this fast, that you can say ‘Well, here’s my education, let me come down and pontificate to you about the music business.’”

What students in his classes get is a musician immersed in nearly every imaginable aspect, from songwriting to performing to understanding the complexities of contracts, royalties and other elements of the music business.

He was hired, he said, to help the music department strike a balance between traditional studies and contemporary student interests.

“What about the guitar-based kids who just want to play four chords and write songs?” he said. “We were having those kinds of conversations. And my view has always been that I would rather treat this like a big, wide funnel. We have all kinds of creatives who do all kinds of different

things, from really serious guitar players to people who can barely hack away on the guitar, and both of them have professional trajectories that could be incredible. We don’t need to put them all into the same mold.”

Olson’s musical résumé would, similarly, be hard to categorize beyond “multi-faceted.” In addition to teaching, he’s a media consultant on projects from album promotion to social media strategies and also composes for himself and others.

After graduating college, the Olson was rocking out in a contemporary Christian group that played festivals around the country. Years later, he was a key member of the pop group Holiday, a Twin Cities-based band that enjoyed a residency at the legendary Bunker’s in Minneapolis and performed more than 350 shows around the U.S. During that time, Olson created music for film and TV, placing about 200 songs on several networks.

After taking a teaching job in Jacksonville, Fla., he worked as a songwriter for the band 32 Below. That, he said, “was the start of my sort of parallel track life, which is crucial to being a successful teacher.” He and his wife, both from Minnesota, wanted to return, and when they saw a posting for what would become his MSU position, they jumped. The department was, he said, eager to accommodate students with interests beyond traditional musical studies.

“The program was saying ‘We have these identified needs and we need somebody to bridge these two worlds,’” Olson said. “That’s what I was brought in to do. To try to figure out what that balance was between the two…I came in and we started pivoting to where the students’ energy was. That was the beginning of the upward trajectory for us.”

Today his projects include navigating two original musicals. One is a satirical grunge pop musical, “True Believer,” a commentary on power structures in the faith community. Another is a collaboration with author and MSU Creative Writing professor Geoff Herbach based on Herbach’s novel “Anything You Want.” That show is sitting with a couple of theater companies for possible development.

His work outside the university, he said, is what makes him best qualified to teach.

“It’s really important for me to have these other opportunities,” Olson said, “to be pushing myself creatively, to be pushing myself on the business side…That allows students to say ‘Oh, it’s not just Olson coming down to teach us these things.’ We are all moving through the industry together, all at the same time. I think that’s a real big part of our success.”

Professor Michael Olson.

Gerard Aloisio:

Preserving history by playing it

The folks who line summertime parade routes and see the Schell’s Hobo Band playing may not know it, but they’re getting a pop music history lesson.

“When military bands traveled all across the country and played concerts in the town squares, and when circuses were king and were crisscrossing America—this is that music,” said Gerard Aloisio, the band’s co-director and a professor of music at MSU.

For more than two decades, Aloisio has taught the history of pop music at MSU, and the Hobo band, in which he also plays trombone, represents the sounds of a distinct, prerecorded era of music.

“[In class] I talk about the late 1800s and the early 1900s and say this was popular music and America sounded like this,” Aloisio explains. “It sounded like circuses. It sounded like military bands. So that music isn’t dead. We play it.”

He’s been in the Hobo Band (sponsored by Schell’s Brewery in New Ulm) for more than 20 years, drawn to it for its music and its history.

The group was created in a pinch by a few Minnesotans fresh out of World War II when a band was needed for a parade in the tiny town of Vernon Center. In 1948, the brewery took over sponsorship of the band, which grew into performing parades and concerts. The “Hobos” name likely came from the lack of any dress code. The band continues playing 40-plus jobs a year.

A few years after moving to Mankato from Cincinnati in 1997, Aloisio was asked to sub for a player in the band and remained in the group. Today, as a co-director, he’s

responsible for booking the band and seeking out new venues to play. If people want to know what kind of music the band plays, he has a pitch.

“If you take a military band, a polka band, a circus band and Spike Jones and comedy and put it all in a blender and turn it on, you have the Hobos,” Aloisio said. “We’ll play a Dixieland tune, we’ll play a circus gallop, we’ll play ‘Pennsylvania Polka’ and we’ll do a sing-along about drinking Schell’s beer—and then we’ll play a waltz.”

He keeps going in the band because he’s fascinated by the history it brings to life.

“There’s nothing like it,” he said. “It’s really good music played really, really well by really great musicians. And there’ve been so many people who’ve been there before you. It just needs to happen.”

The makeup of the band today is mostly music educators, he said.

“It’s hard to make a living as a professional musician now if you’re a horn player, so everybody does something else,” Aloisio said with a laugh.

“Every musician I know does something else.”

Professor Gerard Aloisio.

Legacy of a Peacekeeper

After alum and police officer Matthew Ruge was killed in a domestic violence standoff, his family honors his memory with a law enforcement scholarship.

By Robb Murray ’96

When Christin Henke’s doorbell chimed at 6 a.m. that day, her heart began to race.

As the mother of a police officer, she knew it was always a possibility she’d one day open her front door to receive the worst news of her life.

And on Feb. 18, 2024, that’s exactly what happened.

Her son, Matthew Ruge, had been involved in a shooting and was badly hurt, the officer said.

Henke hurried up the stairs and quickly changed out of her pajamas, ready to rush to her son’s side. But by the time she came down the stairs, the officer’s mood had darkened.

“I looked at the officer’s face and I could just tell,” she said. “In the three minutes it took me to change, Matthew was gone.”

Ruge was killed in a horrific domestic abuse case that turned tragic. He negotiated with suspect Shannon Gooden—who was holding seven children captive. Without warning, Gooden opened fire, and Ruge was hit inside the house but was able to help a fellow officer exit. Outside the home, Gooden fired again, striking Ruge as he sought cover. Ruge, a fellow officer and a paramedic were killed. After the gunfight, Gooden took his own life. The children were uninjured.

Ruge graduated from Minnesota State Mankato’s law enforcement program in 2018. Henke said her son loved

being a Maverick, and that his time in Mankato—both educationally and socially—helped mold him into the kind of officer and man he became. Because of that, the family has established a scholarship in his name.

Ruge’s friendly and gentle personality made him an ideal negotiator when hostage situations arose. Even though he’d already worked a long day, he didn’t hesitate to respond to a dangerous call.

Law enforcement had arrived at Gooden’s home around 1:50 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2024. Gooden had barricaded himself inside with family members. It was the kind of situation in which Ruge excelled.

“He negotiated with the killer for three and a half hours,” Henke said. “That enabled the SWAT team to show up and all the resources to come.”

Matthew Ruge

“Are you good?”

Nathan Elzen ‘19 was Ruge’s best friend. They met during their senior years in high school during a campus tour of MSU. They quickly became close, and when they entered the world of law enforcement—having been sworn in as peace officers just a few days apart—they leaned on each other when the job became stressful.

“Everyone has that special person they can go and talk to no matter what, and that’s what we were for each other. He was the one that I could go to, and I’m the one that he would always go to,” Elzen said. “If there was a critical call that we were on and one of us found out that we were on it, we would text each other just, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ And we’d send back a thumbs up.”

On the day of the shooting Elzen, a Minnesota State Trooper, was off duty. But his wife woke him up at 8 a.m. to tell him about an incident in Burnsville. She knew he’d be worried about Ruge.

He fired off the first text: “Are you good?”

No response.

Eight minutes later, he fired off a second: “Hey, give me a call. I need to know that you’re OK.”

Again, no response.

He made a few calls to fellow law enforcement officers and finally found one who knew.

“He asked if I had somebody home with me, and I told him ‘Yes, just tell me the news.’ I knew it was gonna be bad, but I thought he was just wounded,” Elzen recalled. “That’s when he told me to sit down, and that Matt was fatally wounded responding to a domestic call.”

Giving back

In the days and weeks following Ruge’s death, a number of fundraisers were held. And it didn’t take long for Henke to decide what to do with a portion of the money that came in: create a scholarship at her son’s alma mater.

“It just came natural that I wanted it to be for the equipment that they have to purchase for skills,” she said, referring to the extra training law enforcement majors must undergo before applying for a peace officer license. This is where they learn firearms and self-defense skills and study things like criminal procedure and use of force, and they must provide their own equipment for the training. “I actually went with Matt when he purchased that equipment. It was very expensive.”

Ifran Garad, an immigrant from Somalia who was recently hired to serve in Mankato’s Department of Public Safety, was awarded this scholarship during the Spring 2025 semester. She, too, shuddered at the high cost of equipment needed for skills training. Prior to being awarded this scholarship, she wasn’t sure how she was going to afford the equipment.

“I really needed that scholarship for my skills training,” she said. “And I’m very grateful to be able to finish my degree so I can be a great officer like Matthew and continue the work he was doing.”

Everyone has that special person they can go and talk to no matter what, and that’s what we were for each other.”

– Nathan Elzen ‘19

Matthew Ruge and Nathan Elzen at Elzen’s wedding.

Class Notes

1950s

Rita Wenner Aerts ’55, Grand Rapids, MI, is a retired music teacher who taught in Pipestone, MN and Ludington, MI.

Ora Ohlenkamp ’56, ’66, Mankato, MN, worked for Mankato Area Public Schools.

Gunder Myran ’57, Canadian Lakes, MI, spent many years in higher education leadership including time as a professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University, president of Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI, and also has served as president of the Community College Executive Leadership Center. He has been a consultant to more than 50 community colleges, universities, labor unions and nonprofit organizations. In 2011 he received the distinguished alumni award from MSU and in 2023, was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Association of Community Colleges.

1960s

Sylvia (Reinke) Miller ’60, Denver, CO, retired from human resources with Northwest Airlines. Prior to that she taught in Long Beach, CA, and Richfield, MN. She also opened a bookstore in Edina, MN, before joining the airline.

Joel Botten ‘61, ’65, St. Peter, MN, is a retired teacher/principal with Mankato Area Public Schools.

Bertil Johnson ’63, Sun City Center, FL, retired after working at Northwoods Tech College in Superior, WI.

William Friedow, ’65, Britt, IA, is retired. He taught speech and Spanish and was a high school guidance counselor. He also taught Spanish at Waldorf College. Most recently, he was named the Grand Marshall of the 2024 Britt Hobo Days. He retired as president of the Britt-West Hancock Alumni Association after serving 42 years.

Robert Phillips ’65, Mission Viejo, CA, is retired.

Gerhard Skaar ’65, Pensacola, FL, had a 26year career as a naval aviator.

Judith (Harris) Cole ’66, Fremont, NE, recently moved to Nebraska after living in Canada for 30 years. She creates shadow puppet and marionette presentations and delivers them in the schools.

Sandra (Overson) Hart ’69, Spencer, IA, is a retired reading specialist with the Spencer School District. She and her husband have two adult children and four grandchildren.

Martin Schwartz ’69, ’71, Owatonna, MN, is retired.

1970s

Ron Decoux ’70, River Falls, WI, is a retired certified public accountant. He met his wife,

Sandy (Bussiere) Decoux, in a sociology class at Minnesota State University, Mankato during the spring of 1967. They married in 1968.

Linda (Mass) Klebel ’70, Bloomington, MN, is retired.

John Dupont ’71, is a self-employed manufacturer’s representative.

Steven Quade ’72, ’76, Prairie Village, KS, is a semi-retired chiropractor.

Nancy (Fredsall) Christensen ’73, Minneapolis, MN, retired from the Florida Gulf Coast University Registrar Office in October 2024.

Michael Slavik ’73, New Prague, MN, is the owner of Mike Slavik Painting, Co., LLC. After a 10-year career with weekly newspapers and a 40-year career as a paint contractor, he is now retired. He spends his time volunteering at New Prague Elementary School.

James Bartels ’74, New Ulm, MN, has been semi-retired from KNUJ Radio after more than 30 years serving as its general manager.

Donald Ballard ’75, ’76, Lake City, MI, is retired and living on a residential airport in northern Michigan.

Ann (Cords) Edgerton ’75, Decorah, IA, retired as director at the University of Minnesota Child Development Center and Lab School.

Patrick Phair ’75, Appleton, WI, lives with his wife in Appleton.

Donald Nelson ’76, Mankato, MN, retired after working for the State of Minnesota and spending some time self-employed.

Paul Carlson ’76, Ransom Canyon, TX, recently published his 26th book, “Heaven’s Harsh Tableland: A New History of the Llano Estacado.” The book is a history of the region.

Michael Letry ’77, Double Oak, TX, retired after more than 37 years with Darden Restaurants as the senior total quality manager. Prior to that he worked for the health department and in regulatory work.

Judi (Lafountaine) Greenwood ’78, West St. Paul, MN, is happily retired and anticipating the birth of her first grandchild. She is an advisor for her college sorority, Gamma Phi Beta.

Marcia Hegna ’78, Granite Falls, MN, recently celebrated 25 years of ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Professor Richard J. Roiger teaching a class in 1982. Photo courtesy University Archives.

1980s

Francis Dahmus ’80, Houston, MN, retired last year after a 44-year career in software development, during which he contracted with a number of companies, including universities and hospitals. He is now relearning how to play golf.

James Grannis ’80, Winnebago, MN, is retired. Leslie (Pheil, Uhl) Zaro ’80, Spokane, MN, is retired.

Eugene Chamberlain ’81, Decatur, IL, is a retired MTU Advisory Board Member.

John Hamilton ’81, Irvine, CA, is an attorney with the Law Office of John H. Hamilton. In 1997 he was the Orange County Deputy District Attorney.

Charles Bernardy ’82, ’84, Minnetonka, MN, retired after working for the City of Minneapolis for more than 34 years.

Kyle Meyers ’82, San Diego, CA, is a retired Abdo, Eick & Meyers, LLP (Abdo) partner after working there for 38 years. He and his wife enjoy playing pickleball, golfing, hiking and traveling.

Ignacio Plata ’82, Miramar, FL, is a regional sales director-LATAM for i2c, Inc., a global card processor. He has lived in the Miami, Florida, area for 30 years.

Doug Marek ’83, Jordan, MN, is a greens keeper with Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan. His wife, Sharon (Boucher) Marek ’84, works for Visiting Angels. The couple enjoys time with their three grandchildren and spending time on the lakes.

Dorian Chalmers ’84, Osseo, MN, is an original cast member of “Church Basement Ladies,” which is playing at the Plymouth Playhouse this summer.

Susan Krall ’84, Gold Canyon, AZ, was a human resource director - compensation and classification; she is now retired.

Becky Byrn-Schmid ’85, ’01, ’03, Maple Grove, MN, is retired.

Kevin Edwards ’85, Brainerd, MN, is a psychologist with a community mental health center in Brainerd. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.

Natalie Tyrrell ’86, North Las Vegas, NV, retired after serving as a judge for 24 years. She was named Judge of the Year 2024 by the Nevada Judges of Limited Jurisdiction.

Jodi (Balzer) Starks ’87, Owatonna, MN, retired after working 25 years as a seasonal tax accountant for CLA. She and her husband continue to farm with their son. They have four grandchildren.

Greta Grosch ’89, St. Paul, MN, is an original cast member of “Church Basement Ladies” at the Plymouth Playhouse. This summer will be the 20th anniversary production of the musical.

Don Johnson ’89, Eagan, MN, and his wife, Gayle (Lober) Johnson ’92, work together at the preschool that Gayle co-owns.

1990s

Brent Davis ’90, Cedar Rapids, IA, recently was promoted to senior principal engineer with Collins Aerospace.

Barbara (Keech) Baynes ’91, Mankato, MN, is a job coach with the State of Minnesota who has seven children, including triplets, and five grandchildren.

Sandy (Jamison) King ’91, Byron, MN, is a financial assistant rep with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She is newly married and also has a new granddaughter, Ella Mae.

Kjell Lindqvist ’92, Hollviken, Skane, Sweden, is the CEO and Managing Partner of Celelmi, a business that provides business simulations to corporations and educational institutions worldwide.

Pamela Weller ’92, Chaska, MN, retired as director of the Career Development Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato in May 2024.

Jennifer Groschen-Draves ’93, Maple Grove, MN, is the U.S. Navy Principal Program Manager with Crystal Group, Inc. where she specializes in the design/build of rugged technology solutions custom-tailored to the military’s operational needs.

Pamela (Lenort) Hansen ’93, Marietta, GA, is a retired registered nurse. She has two teenage grandchildren and a new baby grandchild.

Paul Somers ’93, South St. Paul, MN, is joining the cast of “Church Basement Ladies” playing at the Plymouth Playhouse this summer.

Jess Lang ’95, ’98, Minneapolis, MN, is a civil rights director with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board in Washington, D.C.

Marcia (Bowder) Lowrie ’95, Redmond, OR, is retired.

Kent Syverson ’95, Willmar, MN, has been published in “Senior Perspective – Prairie Edition.”

Mabel Paredes ’96, Minneapolis, MN, is a faculty member at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Russell Lofthus ’97, Sioux Falls, SD, is a retired elementary principal.

Jamie Zynda ’97, Green Bay, WI, retired after working in law enforcement and public safety, working with the Wisconsin State Patrol and as a firefighter, paramedic and police officer.

Beverly (Anderson-Glaser) Butler ’98, Victoria, MN, is the owner/president of ICON Interior Design and the CIO of her husband’s company, JB Benefits & Consulting LLC, a national business health benefits consulting firm.

Jennifer (Dark) Saxton-Rodriguez ’98, Edinburg, TX, is a professor of theatre at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Sonja Christensen ’99, Emmetsburg, IA, is a high school special education teacher in Estherville Lincoln Central.

Amber (Bakken) Jensen, ’99, Albert Lea, MN, received her master’s degree in literacy education and is an instructional coach with the Albert Lea Area Schools. Her husband, Jamie Jensen ’99, is the owner and vice president at Jensen Excavating & Trucking.

2000s

Mohammed Alsogair ’00, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, retired from King Fahd College.

Baldomero Valle ’00, St. Paul, MN, is an intercompany SME with Solventum. Prior to this he was the enterprise release manager for 3M.

Helen Meschke ’02, Mankato, MN, is a master scheduler with The Occasions Group in North Mankato, MN.

Sherry (Sell) Schultze ’04, North Mankato, MN, is the owner of Inspired Portrait Photography.

Anna (Harren) Adl ’05, Franklin, WI, is a special education program support teacher with the School District of Cudahy who serves on the Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children.

Molly Buckmister ’05, Pemberton, MN, is a social worker with Blue Earth County. She has three boys, including two twins.

Karen (Spaeth) Dvorak ’05, Eden Prairie, MN, is the chief marketing officer with Starkey.

Nathan Wardinski ’06, Madison, WI, produces and hosts the public radio program “Sounds of Cinema,” which is broadcast by 89.7 KMSU FM, the MSU radio station. He recently published his book, “Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust,” published by Lexington Books.

Laura Brennan ’07, Fairfield CT, is a goalie coach at Yale University.

Jessica Lind ’07, Richmond, MN, is a pharmacist and the director at Centracare. She is currently the president of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association.

Keri (Glaeser) Johnson ’08, St. Peter, MN, is the human resources manager at the St. Peter Food Co-op who is serving her second term as a St. Peter City Council member.

Bronson Lemer ’08, St. Paul, MN, recently published his collection of interrelated essays, “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship.” His work has been published in several publications.

Lindsay Case ’09, Minneapolis, MN, has joined Fox Rothschild in Minneapolis as counsel in the real estate department. Prior to this she was an attorney at Moss & Barnett.

Class Notes

2010s

Tony Broman ’10, Long Beach, CA, is a senior director, Facility & Campus Operations Strategy, with SoFi Stadium & Hollywood Park.

Katharine (Droog) Gudbjartsson ’10, ’15, Elko New Market, MN, married Daniel Gudbjartsson ’09 in 2019.

Leah (Schmidt) Cochran ’11, Owatonna, MN, is the manager of the Early Careers Talent Acquisition Team at Hormel Foods in Austin, MN.

Meghan (Ferguson) Tennyson ’11, Summerset, SD, is a funding specialist.

Maddie (Greene) Korva ’12, Shoreview, MN, recently began a new position as the Director of Marketing and Communications at GiveMN. She and her husband welcomed a daughter in January.

Christa (Johnson) Cole ’13, Burnsville, met her husband, Nathan Cole ’14, while living in McElroy. They have been together for 15 years and have three children.

Dr. Timothy Akhalu ’14, Kenosha, WI, is a healthcare project manager with Medical College of Wisconsin.

Rachel Ellison ’14, Chanhassen, MN, is a children’s mental health case manager with Scott County Health and Human Services. She and her husband have one daughter.

Amber (Hauschen) James ’16, ’18, Waterville, MN, is a coordinator with the Faribault Public Schools. She and her husband recently welcomed their daughter Autumn in February.

Dennis Herbert ’16, Lancaster, PA, opened an art gallery in downtown Lancaster with his wife.

Abena Faustina Larbi-Odam ’17, Maple Grove, MN, is the CEO of Odam Medical Group, a healthcare provider.

Ashok Vaddeplally ’17, Youngsville, LA, resides in Louisiana.

Kristen (Shaw) Perrine ’18, Lakeville, MN, launched her own photography business, Kristen Elizabeth Photography, in 2021. By 2023 she was able to pursue her photography full-time and left her corporate job to do so.

Ifeoma Odor ’18, Bloomington, MN, earned their Master of Social Work degree in 2021 and started their own practice, Mystic Roots Therapy LLC, in 2024.

Kaleb Mcguire ’18, Burnsville, MN, is a key account executive with Adobe.

Annie (Kunst) Rogers ’19, Hugo, MN, met her husband, Brandon Rogers ’19, in their last semester at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Both were studying business management. The couple recently welcomed their first child, Reese.

2020s

Kyle Hubert ’21, Lamberton, MN, is a police officer with the City of Westbrook police force. Chaz Vanatter ’22, Sioux Falls, SD, married Madysen (Frey) Vanatter ’22. Madysen is an ICU nurse at the Mayo Clinic and Chaz is an outside sales representative for Fastenal. They have one daughter.

Andrew Wangzhongquan ’23, Mankato, MN, is a manager with ASI Park Group.

Grace (Hall) Cooper ’23, Fontanelle, IA, is a registered dental hygienist with MATURA Action Corporation-I-Smile Program.

Chanthon Sok ’24, Rochester, MN, is a registered nurse with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Dakshata Shahi ’24, Mankato, MN, is a GIS Analyst with Waterloo Water Works in Waterloo, IA.

Thok Tutlam ’25, Burnsville, MN, is chairman of SSA.

Olivia Logan ’25, St. Paul, MN, is appearing in the production of “Church Basement Ladies” at the Plymouth Playhouse this summer.

University Archives Spotlight

Psychology professor Tom Collins and a student work with an electroencephalogram, or EEG, in 1978. Photo courtesy of University Archives.

In Memoriam

1940s

Dolores Wilhelmina (Rathman) Dorland ’43

Ardella Royona (Hecht) Draheim ’44, ’68

Arline Vernette (Nuessmeier) Karels ’44, ’75

Genevieve Yeteve (Strehlo) Adams ’45, ’60

Elaine Margaret (Himmelman) Anderson ’45

Rene Adell (Fenne) Jenness ’45

Marilyn Jeanette (Hanks) Wells ’45, ’65, ’69, ’80

Audrey Victoria Mae (Ross) Amundson ’46

Corinne Deloris (Landgraff) Danielson ’46

Jeanette Mary (Hanzel) Monahan ’46

Helen Marguerite (Palan) Cartin ’48

Glenna Grace (Alexander) Espenson ’48, ’51

Mary Joyce (Russell) Barker ’49, ’50

Jennette Yvonne (King) Dittman ’49

Margaret Ann (Mielke) Flaten ’49

Marjorie Marie (Bollig) Schwaegerl ’49

1950s

Mary Suzanne (Toews) Engler ’50

Edward Francis Gorman ’50

Delores Mae Lee ’50

Vivian Lee (Griffin) Malcomson ’50

Beverly Lucienne (Brandt) Stepka ’50, ’57

Fay Maxine (Wiese) Anderson ’51, ’69

Mary Louise (Brecht) Berg ’51

Darlene Marie (Meyer) Carter ’51

Harold Kenneth Cuff ’51, ’51

Blanche Estelle (Swanson) Dahlquist ’51

Robert Louis Halstead ’51

Mildred Lorraine (Bartlett) Horsman ’51, ’69

Jeanne Marie (Grotta) Hoyme ’51, ’58

Mary Ann (Lewis) Andersen ’52

Jean Vernette (Nelson) Lohre ’52

Joan Ann (Beske) Rindfleisch ’52, ’61, ’76

Lucille Beatrice (Shoen) Schutte ’52

Marilyn Georgine (Natvig) Thomas ’52

Patricia Ann (Jensvold) Arthur ’53, ’89

Yvonne Mae (Taschner) Burgi ’53, ’78

Casey Junior DeJong ’53, ’58

Lois Ann (Michels) Jagerson ’53

Dean Eldon McMullen ’53

James Nicholas Schmitz ’53

Carol Mae (Chesley) Williams ’53, ’56

Dean Doyle Houdek ’54, ’62

Helen Marie (Olson) Lerohl ’54, ’65

Bernice Emma (Williams) Wewetzer ’54

Dorothy Elaine (Nelson) Barnick ’55, ’59

Elna Imadee (Nelson) Diment ’55, ’56, ’73

Jerome Archie Erickson ’55

David Arthur Larson ’55

Margaret Sue (James) Robbins ’55, ’61

LeRoy Adam Bieber ’56

Josephine Frances (Beniak) Brandli ’56, ’64

Ethelyn Arlois (Strom) Cuperus ’56, ’58

Terry Frank Itnyre ’56, ’58

Joan Patricia (Schneider) Judge ’56

Donna Mae Murphy ’56, ’59

Eugene Louis Roegiers ’56

Dorothy Cora (Brandli) Bjork ’57, ’59

Sheila Patricia Cunningham ’57, ’59

Jay Lloyd Fennell ’57, ’61

William Errington Frame ’57

Joyce Adele (Reinert) Fust ’57, ’59

Darwin John Lochner ’57

Myron Lowell Mehl ’57

Roger Clarence Ochs ’57

Joan Caroline (Trelstad) Peterman ’57

Dale Eugene Sorensen ’57

Darell Gene Theissen ’57

Donald Ray Wiegert ’57

Adriana Belle (Cramer) Williams ’57

Marlys Jeanne (Bartsch) Friesen ’58

Richard Harry Greengo ’58

Shirley Ann Hilbert-Hansen ’58

Clinton John Kind ’58, ’63

Gerald Edward Kintzi ’58, ’68

James Patrick Klahr ’58

Diana Louise (Schmiesing) Lantz ’58

George Brendan McCarthy ’58

Mary Lou (Avelar) Montellano ’58

Elizabeth Jean (Lohse) Olsem ’58

Ione Marjorie Rosenberg ’58

Joseph Joachim Stepka ’58, ’76

Gregory Noel Vetter ’58

Joseph Anthony Wech ’58

Howard “Lee” Williams ’58

Paul Wayne Austinson ’59, ’66

Doris Ann (Strohl) Berger ’59

Thomas Gerald Block ’59

Karna Lizbeth (Cronholm) Brewer ’59

Larry Merle Buendorf ’59

Norman James Falk ’59

LeRoy Harold Fischer ’59

Dorothy Ann (Quackenbush) Lawson’59

Richard H. Lees ’59

Robert Erling Lorentzen ’59

Arlene Mae Matson ’59

Gerald Arden Offerdahl ’59

Barbara Jean (Kubicek) Peterson ’59

Gilmore Rudolph Von Ohlen ’59

James John Welchlin ’59

1960s

Charles John Balzer ’60, ’67

Robert Claire Blockhus ’60

Harold Norman Helleck ’60

Herman Patrick Humbert ’60

Robert Carol Jacobson ’60

Philip Raymond Johnson ’60

Gene Samuel Kelley ’60

Gerald C. Langsweirdt ’60, ’68

James Thomas Lembcke ’60

Oliver Clifford Mangold ’60

Robert James Matuska ’60, ’65

Richard Arthur Muesing ’60

Charles R. Plonty ’60

Kenneth William Russell ’60, ’70

Larry Gene Schnoor ’60, ’64

Marcella Audrey (Watkins) Shimmon ’60

Roger Hamilton Shirley ’60

Jo Ann Mary (Beyer) Shofner ’60, ’63

Leo William Stangler ’60, ’64

Jerome W. Sullivan ’60, ’62

Thomas Richard Tretter ’60

Louise Helena (Strong) Wiesner ’60

Robert Merritt Adams ’61

Donald John Beckendorf ’61, ’73

Norman Clarence Bergman ’61, ’66

Allan Gerald Blaker ’61

Lonny Gene Eads ’61

Daryl Stanley Egerstrom ’61

Ivan Henry Geffert ’61, ’69

Wayne Carrol Hermanson ’61, ’74

John Ernest Jensen ’61

Robert Irvin Johnson ’61

Virginia Nancy (Hustad) Johnson ’61

Robert Rene Maes ’61, ’72

Mary Ellen (Parker) Mathwig ’61

David Robert O’Neil ’61

Laurel Dean Peterson ’61

Mary Jean (Mager) Regenscheid ’61

Charles Herman Schubbe ’61

Arthur Walford Seaberg ’61

James Edward Simser ’61, ’73

Stephen C. Sprint ’61

Flora Toyoko (Yonekawa) Watanabe ’61

Ross Garman Braland ’62

Arlon Bernard Gage ’62, ’68

Sharon R. (Golly) Grefe ’62

Carole Ann Hayes ’62

Douglas M. Johnson ’62

Dale H. Lehmann ’62

James Paul Losleben ’62

Angelyn Carol (Mau) Madson ’62

Ruth Alfrieda Mittelstadt ’62

David Levi Schauer ’62

Louise Lillian (Johnson) Smallidge ’62

Morton Wiley Smith ’62

Kostas Tsantir ’62

William Howard Werner ’62

Karen Maxine (Speck) Williams ’62

Lloyd Howard Allen ’63

Rita Mae Bartl ’63

Orin Paul Berg ’63

Roy Anton Berg ’63

George William Davies ’63

Susan Meryl DeVinny ’63

Kenneth Birdean Digre ’63, ’67

Jerome J. Flanagan ’63, ’73

Gary Otto Frederick ’63

Edward Francis Fujan ’63

Duane Richard Harves ’63

James Harrison Howard ’63

Hollis Nan Matson ’63, ’67

Dolores Lucille (Hoyles)

Windingstad ’63

John Howard Billingsley ’64

Genevieve Mae (Christofferson)

Carlson ’64

Frederick Aloysius Gengler ’64, ’64

Lois Bailey (Bailey) Hall ’64

Carl Marcus Johnson ’64, ’66

Carol Lee (Schulz) Johnson ’64

Janice Kay (Clark) Johnson ’64

Gene Gayle Knewtson ’64

Donald Charles Myers ’64

Eleanor Marie (Schlobohm) Neubert ’64

Benjamin Andrew Paulson ’64, ’66

Alice Madeline Smith ’64

Phyllis Ann (Sjogren) Smith ’64

Leo Raymond Vaske ’64

Jay Carl Vollum ’64

Roger L. Wangen ’64

Wayne Allan Becker ’65

Stanley Oliver Benner ’65

Janice Caroline (Zumach) Block ’65

Joyce Ann (Jacobson) Burgess ’65

Russell Oren Conway ’65

Wayne August Feder ’65

Robert Akio Fujimoto ’65

Jean Ann (Hansen) Hanson ’65

Donald John Harens ’65

John Bernard Holst ’65

Richard Thomas Kern ’65, ’79

Karen Lou (Hauch) Kirchoff ’65

Ronald Victor Lappi ’65, ’77

Janet E. (Bidelman) Liljegren ’65

Franklin Eugene Loncorich ’65, ’66

Charles W. More ’65

Mary Ann (Pluym) Muedeking ’65

Delores Ann (Holmberg) Ness ’65

Richard Nathan O’Meara ’65, ’68

Rita Mae (Krzmarzick) Powers ’65

Maxine Ann (Helling) Remme ’65

Paul William Reul ’65

Ronald Dean Sampson ’65

Barbara Ann (Bartlett) Seiler ’65

Jerome David Sonich ’65, ’75

Harold Wayne Westra ’65

Elmer Dean Abbas ’66, ’74, ’75

Allan Linn Adams ’66

Roger Dale Anderson ’66, ’75

James Herbert Baker ’66

Ann Marie (Conklin) Erickson’66

Darrell S. Folie ’66

Thomas Harold Golly ’66

Jeanette Margaret (Tollefson) Hanson ’66

Robert Harold Hoffman ’66, ’69

Richard Lowell Ioerger ’66

Douglas Francis Kodet ’66, ’78, ’86

Ruth Elisabeth (Sorlien) Larson ’66

Steven Donald Larson ’66

Bonita Jeanne (Lindquist) McVay ’66

Wayne LeRoy Opsahl ’66

Katherine Anne (Miller) Post ’66

Richard Roger Ripken ’66

Ronald William Shelton ’66

James D. Twisselman ’66

Wallace Edward Wierson ’66

Larry K. Anderson ’67

Ann Marie (Hallman) Borchardt ’67

John Mackey Bowen ’67

John Michael Brundidge ’67

Mary Josepha (Beckman) Carstens ’67

Gerald Eugene Connolly ’67

In Memoriam

Jan Cleve Dawald ’67

Leo Gene Fore ’67

David Arnold Gengler ’67

Gordon Noel Green ’67

Bonnie Lee (Blaisdell) Grussing ’67

Jon Jay Jelinek ’67

Rodney Myles Joyal ’67, ’71, ’81

Mary Margaret “Meg” (Leagjeld)

Leach ’67

Marlene Clare (Schultz) Lind ’67

Jerome Michael Loftus ’67, ’73

Gary Fred Mohlenkamp ’67

Marian Elizabeth (Clarke) Mulder ’67

Robert Charles Offerdahl ’67

David Paul Olson ’67

Charles Bruce Overby ’67

Rudy W. Possehl ’67

Dennis William Reschke ’67

Dennis Edward Tyrrell ’67

James S. Vevang ’67

Douglas Bruce Wolfe ’67

Thomas John Carlson ’68

Mark Harold Caspersen ’68

Leon A. Dahle ’68

Teresa L. (Olsen) Fogerty ’68

Raymond Eugene Gellerman ’68

Don Tilford Halvorson ’68

Joseph Anthony Hobson ’68

Robert Al Johnson ’68

Larry Wilbert Kelling ’68

Linda Lee (Wick) Klein ’68

Douglas William Lerud ’68, ’77

Thomas John Macho ’68

Judith L. (Olson) Mosca ’68, ’78

Thomas George Muellerleile ’68, ’83

Michael John Schoenbauer ’68

Alice Marie (Fischer) Schwichtenberg ’68

Ralph Dickinson Searles ’68

Ellen P. (Griffin) Shaffer ’68

Theoline N. (Quamme) Stoffregen ’68

Tedd Monroe Baumgardt ’69, ’92

Mary Florence (Schramski) Brose ’69, ’91, ’95

Bruce Gordon Brumm ’69

Donald D. Hamilton ’69

Michael John Hammill ’69

Donald Willis Hansen ’69

Jacqueline Marie (Johnson) Hanson ’69

Donald Russell Johnson ’69

Steven L. Larson ’69, ’75

Yvonne Karren (Dorrian) Matuska ’69, ’76

Michael E. Moore ’69

Marcia Kay (Twait) Oliphant ’69

Paul Alfred Schmidt ’69, ’78

Raymond August Seys ’69, ’72

John Andrew Stegner ’69, ’76

Charles Martin Thompson ’69

Julie A. (Stender) Timmerman ’69

Thomas Joseph Wencl ’69

Rose Mary (Griggs) White ’69

1970s

Linda Marie Anderson ’70

Larry Roger Blackstad ’70, ’75

Michael Allen Blair ’70

Andrew Allan Bromeland ’70

Carleton Harold Carlson ’70, ’74

Kenneth Dale Carpenter ’70

James Thomas Cyson ’70

Kathleen Louise (Babic) Handzlik ’70

Jack Duane Hill ’70

Carol Ann (Caulfield) Hirschey ’70

Norbert Huber ’70

Dean Ward Latterell ’70

Lloyd Peter Law ’70, ’73, ’76

Douglas Jon Leet ’70

Janice Marie Lieberg ’70

Bruce E. Lowry ’70

Gary Floyd Peper ’70

Philip J. Quisling ’70

Susan Annette Roehrich ’70, ’89, ’92

Michael James Sheady ’70

Gregory Arthur Smith ’70

Larry Dallas Sorenson ’70

Thomas Lee Wells ’70

Maxine Ann (Emerson) Anderson ’71

Mary Margaret (Erwin) Blake ’71

Rita June (Johnson) Bruinsma ’71, ’90

Robert Allen Dolash ’71, ’76

Naomi Ruth (Serum) Erickson ’71

David Norton Gunderson ’71, ’74

Hubert R. Henderson ’71

Roger Walter Heuer ’71

James Craig Hill ’71

Lloyd Erwin Krob ’71

Dennis Roy Largent ’71

David Charles Nester ’71

Laurence Anthony Neubauer ’71

James Marvin Palm ’71

Maradee (Williams) Rider ’71

Nancy K. (Cooley) Rogge ’71

Linda Mae Schuler’71

Donna Lee (Swanson) Schultz ’71

Robert John Shaw ’71

David Lynn Thompson ’71

John Henry Webbink ’71

Carole Ann (Halko) Williams ’71

Judith Marie (Schrader) Arends ’72

Patrick Raymond Bergen ’72

Douglas Jack Dobbs ’72

Elizabeth Ann (Bisson) Dockstader ’72

David Raymond Dowell ’72

Elsa Rosemary (Thompson) Hofmeister ’72

Alan James Holz ’72

Judith Maxine (Yarger) Hull ’72

Jana Jean (Wintermantel) Kelly ’72

Craig Reed Lloyd ’72

David Theodore Lohmann ’72

Cletus R. Pfeiffer ’72, ’88

David Lee Pike ’72

John Dean Richter ’72

Barbara J. (Dinneen) Robinson ’72

Roy Duane Rud ’72, ’76

Isabelle Beth Schommer ’72

Janet Louise (Cole) Schwartz ’72

Richard William Sexton ’72

Paul Eric Smith ’72

Richard Duane Waage ’72

Edward George Werner ’72, ’78, ’90

Stephen Joseph Wilmes ’72

James Bryan Bliss ’73

Gary Kent Brudelie ’73

Ann Brooke Christensen ’73

John Sidney Erickson ’73

Kenneth Raymond Friesen ’73

Kathleen Hilda (Remiger) Grose ’73

Mary Louise (Cahoon) Harden ’73

Dale Alvin Hawker ’73

Robert Harvey Langworthy ’73

Glenn Russell Larson ’73

Douglas Harold Prescher ’73

Wayne Allen Robertson ’73

Everette James Senske ’73

Daniel Norman Sween ’73

Monica Lee Beemer ’74

Sharon Kay (Baker) Dreyer ’74

Jacqueline E. (Coe) Knight ’74

John Douglas Lindahl ’74

C. Michael Lindstrom ’74

Donald James Lyke ’74

Dale Robert Miller ’74

John Harry Shockley ’74

Thomas Frederick Steiner ’74

Lowell James Anderson ’75

Mary Ann (Christensen) Bensch ’75, ’78

Richard Thomas Borrell ’75

Samuel Gerard Colling ’75

Danny Vance Hanna ’75

Larry Dean Hauschen ’75

Mary Elizabeth Kolb ’75

George Ralph Lambaere ’75

Laura Jean (Noy) Ringold ’75

Dale Michael Rollings ’75

William Carl Schultz ’75

Terry Michael Seaton ’75

Steve Byron Solberg ’75, ’84

Mark Paul Wood ’75

Bruce Irving Anderson ’76

Samuel Lee Armstrong ’76

Joseph James Dahlby ’76

Carol Jean (Schons) Engstrom ’76

Doris Marilyn (Linsmeier) Hansen ’76, ’80

Douglas Paul Thompson ’76

Robert Michael Young ’76

Richard Charles Dressler ’77

Brian Eugene Hanson ’77

Joseph Wills Hart ’77

David Richard Johnson ’77

Linda A. Malm ’77

Jay Ronald Ruckdaschel ’77

Maureen Ellen Toonkel ’77

Katherine Marie (Flom) Bergs ’78

Joe Candido Herrero Dungca ’78

Frederick William Ford ’78

Andrea Lea Ganrude ’78

George Alan Halverson ’78

Teri Lyn Hansen ’78

Wayne Fred Mundt ’78

Timothy Chris Ray ’78

Robert James Ringstrom ’78

Susan Marie (Behrens) Skogstoe ’78

Scott Richard Verdoorn ’78

Benjamin Michael Frantz ’79

Jeffrey Michael Matthews ’79

Kenneth Lee Nordby ’79

Jon Martin Noteboom ’79

Jean (Lovig) Peterson ’79

Paul Aaron Romberg ’79

Amy Lynne Thompson ’79

David William Von Guten ’79

1980s

Lawrence Alan Dick ’80

Mary Lou (Sullivan) Fink ’80

Cathy Ann (LeFebre) Haugo ’80

Howard Ellsworth Hewitt ’80

Kathleen Joy (VanderWal) Kaz ’80

Wesley Roy Lucke ’80

Mary Therese McCall ’80

Stanley Bruce Ruud ’80

Susan Ann (Hill) Schweim ’80

Wayne Wallace Tieman ’80, ’81

John William Cedergren ’81, ’82

Shirley Althea (Davidson) Eken ’81

Nancy Elizabeth (Hamilton) Green ’81

Bradley Wayne Haynes ’81

Ricky Glen Hovden ’81

Jerry Gene Koerber ’81

Ronda Kim (Kopischke) Mittelstaedt ’81

Kevin Joel Moret ’81

Eric Henry Romo ’81

Alan Martin Stults ’79. ’81

Diane Marie (Kolflat) Viesselman ’81

Kristie Ann Erickson ’82, ’94

Thomas Marvin Hall ’82

Russell Clark Hoeffner ’82

Richard Alan Keller ’82

Judy Kaye (Farris) Krueger 12/10/’82

Gene Lonnie Larson ’82

Michael D. McLoud ’82

Thomas Allan O’Dea ’82

Richard Dale Pooley ’82

Barbara Ellen Schultz ’82

Pauline Margaret (Wild) Sellner ’82, ’83, ’91

Michael William Standke ’82

Larry Eugene Ulland ’82

Rosemary Alice (Phillips) York ’82, ’89

Joel Charles Fasnacht ’83, ’92

Julie Ann (Renne) Hagemann ’83

Patricia Anne Hengel-Grbich ’83, ’86

Sandra Kay Houle ’83

Nicholas Joseph Kellen ’83

David William Robb ’83

Linda Kae (Richards) Saunders ’83

Marie Alice Scanlan ’83

John Willis Schuster ’83

Dawn Lamay Amundson ’84

Gary Wayne Berg ’84

Patricia Lee (Searl) Gipe ’84

Gregory Eric Hanson ’84

Debra Ann (Trom) Sands ’84

Brenda Joyce Sargent ’84

Laura Jean Schoenbauer ’84

Connie Kay Hansen ’85

Larry Joel Herke ’85, ’02

Richard Harold Lenzen ’85

Phyllis Ann (Haberman) Schlagel ’85

Denise Mary (Hunziker) Stensgard ’85

Donald Odell Thompson ’85

Jeffrey Paul Walker ’85

Janet Linda Baggenstoss ’86

John Martin Clemons ’86

Jane Ellen (Fitzgerald) Griep ’86

Deborah Ann (McCoy) Hansen ’86

Marilee Ruth Heggem ’86

Sarajane “Jane” (Lehman) Lecklider ’86

Jeffrey Matthew Leiferman ’86

David Darrell Shavlik ’86

Kathlyn Marie (Kremer) Vilendrer ’86

Tully James Wollenburg ’86

Stephen Matthew DiMeglio ’87

Margaret Mary (Pepper) Leif ’87

James Scott Mapston ’87

Barbara Ann (Pongratz) McCloskey ’87

Joseph Patrick Miheve ’87

Jane Frances Pollack ’87

LaRae Lynne Post ’87

Sheldon Owen Christenson ’88, ’91

Patricia Jean (Kinney) Grapentine ’88

James Peter Krapf ’88, ’00

Mark Alan Mueller ’88

Daniel Konrad Schroeder ’88

Patrick Edward Simmons ’88

Charles Kim Stivers ’88

Karla Kae (Riederman) Freeberg ’89

Orville Allen Hogen ’89

Patricia Ella Melvin ’89, ’90

Sharon Ann (Schacherer) Miller ’89

James Arnold Rose ’89

Connie Cecile (Stewart) Selnes ’89

Francene Ann (Haibeck) Zosulis ’89

1990s

Betty Ann Dilley ’90

Gregory Frederick Hoffarth ’90

Michael Kory Kennedy ’90

Elizabeth Ann Meder ’90, ’91

John Scott Cashin ’91

Marion Wieland (Wieland) Peck ’91

Elizabeth Ann (Peiffer) Abrahamson ’92, ’00

Helen JoAnn (Eggers) Anderson ’92

James Kevin Connell ’92

Catherine Theresa (Pehrson) Giefer ’92

Leo Edward Jaschke ’92

John Scott Panzer ’92

Michele Lynn (Wasmund) Schroeder ’92

Jerry Alan Copas ’93

Vonna Kay (Fredericksen) Dinse ’93

Rita Lanae (Johnson) Gibbs ’93

Stuart Jon Good ’93

Robert Michael Ingraham ’93

Amy Patricia (Gessner) Johnston ’93

Ralph Eugene Manecke ’93

Scott Thomas Moore ’93

Corey Alan Neseth ’93

Kristine Sigrid (Erickson) Paulson ’93

Gertrude W. (Walton) Peischl ’93

Tracy Lee Rustman ’93

Kimberley Ann Schmidt ’93

Darlene Judith Woods ’93, ’96

Sharon Bratlien Bratlien ’94

Christopher James Handrahan ’94

Michael Scott Park ’94

Kay Michelle (Greeley) Wrucke ’94

Corey Jon Youngberg ’94

Renate Joan (Konitzer) Carlson ’95

Nguyen Phuc Dang ’95

Andrea Marie Hintz ’95

Karen Lynn MacArthur-Rohr ’95

Jane Earley

Kathleen Ardith (Stamp) Milbrett ’96

Jayna Jo (Howard) Campbell ’97

Susan Faye (Cox) Larson ’97

Lisa Ann Stevens ’98

Jason Allan Westerlund ’98

Curtis Gordon Wille ’98

2000s

Bryan Keith Thygeson ’00

Denina Rae (Corle) Kantola ’02

Curtis Alan Krause ’04

Kristi Noel (Kjergaard) Eickhoff ’05

Cindy Rae (Stillwell) Sparrow ’05, ’08

Steven Ray Block ’08

Mikayela Christine (Munson) Barden ’12, ’20

Annika Joy (Obermeyer) Olivo ’12

Jennifer Lynn (Lamoreux) Olson ’12

Megan Renae Satre ’16

Allison Michelle Boelter ’18

Jenna Lee Mennen ’22

Faculty & Staff

Kent Garfield Alm

Mavis Marie (Bartsch) Anderson

Marcia Lou Baer

Karen Lucille Baker-Mathews

Fred Clinton Bock

Mark Lawrence Boone

Mary Florence (Schramski) Brose

Yvonne Mae (Taschner) Burgi

Nguyen Phuc Dang

Jane Earley

Russell J. Fricano

Daniel A. Hanel

Doris Marilyn (Linsmeier) Hansen

Robert Harold Hoffman

Jean Dorothy (Wolff) Humphries

Longtime Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities Jane Earley passed away in August.

Earley presided over several transformational endeavors and ultimately became the namesake of MSU’s Earley Center for Performing Arts, which houses the Andreas Theatre.

“That annex would simply not exist without her leadership and generosity,” noted Paul Hustoles, Distinguished Professor Emeritus who served as Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance for 35 years.

“She made the impossible possible,” Hustoles said. “She made dreams happen.”

Dorothy Jean (Ferguson) Jensen

Clinton John Kind

Dawn Denise (Ballinger) Leech

C. Michael Lindstrom

Frances Ernest Lombard

Nancy (Rose) MacKenzie

Ralph Eugene Manecke

Andrzej A. Markowski

Robert James Matuska

Joan Harriet Miller

Judith L. (Olson) Mosca

Tito S. Ortega

John Whitacre Otis

Jean (Lovig) Peterson

Manfred Albert Guido Poitzsch

Michael Louis Roozen

Larry Gene Schnoor

Charles Theodore Sehe

James Edward Simser

Louisa Ann (Stokes) Smith

Cindy Rae (Stillwell) Sparrow

Mikel Scott Stratton

Ray Victor “Vic” Swenson

Nadine F. Tope

Glenn Murray Wasicuna

Bill Rene Webster

Marvel Ruth (Albertson) Hoffman Welch

Rose Mary (Griggs) White

Friends

Beverly Jean (Anderson) Brine

Bertha Jane “B.J.” (Krueger) Larson Kittleson

Judy Arlene (Krull) Koenen

Dana Lynn (Goodrich) Murry

Beatrice Elaine (Maas) O’Brien

James Herbert Pragman

Palm “Lynn” (Hostetter) Secott

Earley began her MSU career in 1969 as an Assistant Professor of English and taught in the English department for five years. In 1977, she became the founding dean of the new College of Arts and Humanities. She retired in 2009.

A devoted supporter of the theatre program, she missed few, if any, performances throughout her time at MSU and after retirement.

“Jane loved to individually greet students after a concert, recital, theatre performance or gallery showing,” Hustoles said. “She clearly loved the students and was dedicated to the faculty who taught them.”

Back to School

They met at a movie on campus. Nearly 60 years later, they had a return engagement.

By Joe Tougas ‘86

Ask him today about the 1965 Steve McQueen and Lee Remick movie “Baby the Rain Must Fall” and Murray Hanson ‘70 will tell you it was nothing to rave about.

But one spring night in 1967, when the movie was showing at MSU’s Old Main, he sat through it twice. It was all he felt like doing after being introduced to Mary Eastwold.

A first-year student from Leroy, Minnesota, Mary was attending the second showing with a friend who had been a high school classmate of Murray’s in Albert Lea.

“As we walked into Old Main toward the movie, Murray was walking out and he recognized my friend and they started a conversation,” Mary recalled.

The conversation ended, but something else began. When the women went into the film, Murray returned as well.

“I went in and sat in the back so I could see them again on the way out,” Murray said. “By the time they got back to Gage, I was making a call [to Mary.] I didn’t have to think about this one.”

Thus began a romance that has lasted to this day. They married after graduating in 1970, with Murray then attending seminary school. He’d earned a double major in speech and political science, but felt a pull toward ministry.

Mary earned a teaching degree but didn’t teach, instead working in offices and raising their two children as the couple served churches in Storm Lake, Iowa, and later Rockford, Illinois.

Nearly 60 years after meeting at Old Main, the couple returned to MSU in spring 2025 to visit their grandson, Calvin, a presidential scholar.

“This was like a whole new world,” Murray said. “We were totally amazed by how many more buildings, what great facilities, and how everything had grown and expanded in a good, healthy way.”

During the visit, they met with KMSU station manager Dwayne Megaw—a highlight for Murray, who produces a radio show in Rockford. Mary appreciated that Carkoski Commons was named after her former supervisor, Chester A. Carkoski, assistant Dean of Students and Director of Housing from 1960 to 1973.

“I loved him,” Mary said. “It was a great experience working there.” She recalled MSU being known for its opportunities and affordability. As valedictorian of her high school class, she was offered a scholarship, grant, loan and campus job. “Those four things paid for everything. I had no second thoughts about going anywhere else.”

It’s common, Murray said, for people to wish they’d gone to a different school after hearing others’ experiences.

“But I always thought this was the right place. There was no question. For so many reasons,” he said. “And the fact that it’s where we met, that just cinches the deal.”

Murray and Mary at MSU graduation.

Murray and Mary

Old Main

About You

Name (including maiden)

Nickname

Graduation year(s)

Major(s)

Degree(s)

Mailing address

City State Zip

Home phone

Preferred email

Professional title or position

Employer

Work phone

About Your Spouse/Partner

Name (including maiden)

Spouse/partner

Graduation year (if Minnesota State Mankato graduate)

Professional title or position

Employer

Employer’s address

City State Zip

Work phone

Notes

How may we share the information you’ve provided to us here (contact information will never be shared)? Check all that apply: Print version of TODAY Online version of TODAY On University social media sites

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.

Friday, Sept. 26

Mail: Editor, Today 232 Alumni Foundation Center Mankato, MN 56001

Fax: 507-389-2069 Email: today@mnsu.edu

Online: today.magazine.mnsu.edu

Update your information online: mnsu.edu/alumni/update

Saturday, Sept. 27

• 10:30 A.M.

2:00 P.M. Football

• 7:30 P.M. Theatre production ‘The Roommate.’ Andreas Theatre

mankato.mnsu.edu/university-

Minnesota State University, Mankato is again the Best College/University and the Mavericks are the Best College Sports Team in the Star Tribune’s latest “Minnesota’s Best” readers’ choice poll. This marks the fifth consecutive year MSU was chosen Best University. Thanks to the #MavFam for making us the best!