St. Cloud State Magazine Spring/Summer 2022

SPRING / SUMMER 2022

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

PASSION FOR LEARNING Championing a St. Cloud State faculty of extraordinary teacher-scholars

MORE INSIDE:

PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS

INNOVATING IN AFFORDABILITY

Building strong foundations to springboard successful futures

Reducing costs for textbooks and class materials

PASS IT ON!

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twitter.com/stcloudstate facebook.com/stcloudstate youtube.com/stcloudstatehusky instagram.com/stcloudstate

PHOTO: DAVE SCHWARZ, ST. CLOUD TIMES

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14 PASSION FOR LEARNING — PASS IT ON! Dr. Matt Julius (on the cover, above) is a rock star in his field of ecology with a passion for teaching and research spanning from lake limnology to research on bone cancer.

He is just one of the teacher-scholars breaking new ground at St. Cloud State. Learn about St. Cloud State's inspiring faculty and how the It's Time initiative is making SCSU the region's university of choice.

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stcloudstate.edu

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE PRESIDENT 4 It's Time for a University of teacher-scholars

NEWS 5 Husky Express expands

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on Science Express mission 6 Huskies make history: Volleyball has record year 8 Endowed speaker series becomes University's first 11 SCSU joins multi-state research into sustainable farming practice 12 Olympians are made here

FEATURES 14 Passion for learning — pass it on!

Championing a St. Cloud State faculty of extraordinary teacher-scholars 20 Pre-professional programs serve as a springboard for successful futures 24 Innovating in affordability and improving the lives of students

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ALUMNI NEWS 28 Class notes 29 Q&A: Matt Andrew, vice president of

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University advancement 30 Belinda Lee ’16 ’20 is youth ambassador at World Expo in Dubai 32 Honoring the legacy of Ralph Heimdahl ’30 35 Noah Czech ’06 spearheads Lake George clean up

FROM THE PRESIDENT

DrRobbynWacker

IT’S TIM… FOR A UNIVERSITY OF TEACHER-SCHOLARS

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There’s a lot of conversation on campus these days about one of my favorite topics: nurturing the teacher-scholar model that is a cornerstone of our It’s Time framework for making St. Cloud State the region’s University of Choice – leading the way in preparing the educators, scientists and business and community leaders of the future with a world-class education.

At the beginning of my career in higher education, I had an amazing experience as a young faculty member at Iowa State University. With my newly minted Ph.D. in Gerontology I was excited to delve deeply into research about aspects of aging that I was so passionate about – and just as excited to be passing my knowledge and enthusiasm on to my students. How thrilling it was to recognize some of that same eagerness in their own studies as I was feeling. I was truly living the joy of being a teacher-scholar.

I knew then what I know now: Our students will have the best experience when engaging with teacher-scholars in an institution that values that balance between bringing significant research and knowledge into the classroom and teaching it in a way that grabs students’ attention and ignites in them a passion for learning more.

A big part of our It’s Time focus is on building and encouraging a culture of pride in our distinctive programs and dedicated teacher-scholars who shine in their academic work and in their classrooms.

On the pages of this magazine you will read about St. Cloud State University’s treasure trove of just such professors. The ones who are taking advantage of all the ways our campus is offering opportunities to share their professional experiences and help others find alignment between being an excellent researcher and scholar and being an engaging, effective teacher.

What does it mean to be a university committed to the teacher-scholar model?

To me as a leader, it’s ensuring that when we recruit and hire new faculty we seek out those who grasp the significance of being a teacher-scholar and who can articulate how they carry that philosophy out in practice.

And it’s valuing our incredible teacher-scholars and offering more and better training opportunities to spread that expertise and enthusiasm throughout the faculty ranks and into the classroom.

We are fortunate to have the human and technological resources to do just that – resources led by committed practitioners of the teacher-scholar model who have incredible experience and expertise to share.

The work of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is a big part of our support and celebration of teachers and scholars working together to share and develop their academic experiences and their ability to engage students. Its leaders are developing the new Scholarship of Teaching Learning program aimed at improving academic experiences for students.

The lifeblood of St. Cloud State University is the research, writing, teaching and learning our faculty develop in their students and incorporate in their scholarly endeavors. It is through this work that the real magic happens – when we take an individualized approach to student success by actively involving learners in the exciting process of exploring, experimenting, discovering and applying creativity and knowledge.

For 10 years we have been building and improving on The Repository @ St. Cloud State, sharing the work of faculty, staff and students in our St. Cloud State academic community with scholars and researchers throughout the world. The Repository @ St. Cloud State is a tangible, shareable

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resource that offers easy access to scholarly works that showcase the results of these life-changing projects in the dynamic, digital realm. This ongoing project provides a valuable resource for highlighting the quality and depth of academic excellence our teacher-scholars and our students have produced in the form of theses, dissertations, research papers and other scholarly projects.

I am excited about all the ways the reimagining of our university engages with and impacts our students, our businesses, our institutions, our communities and our world are being developed through our It’s Time initiative. It’s a living, breathing framework that is inspiring our University community and motiving us all to action.

We know that the world today is filled with challenges, and we know it is a future filled with hope, promise and opportunities for our graduates to conquer because they were educated by teacher-scholars who engaged them in the exciting research and knowledge they pursued and shared.

Dr. Robbyn Wacker President, St. Cloud State University

NEWS

Dr. Ramya Sivaraj works with students from South Junior High, District 742, in an after school learning opportunity thanks to the 21st Century Learning Center grant project from the Minnesota Department of Education administered by the United Way.

5 HUSKY EXPRESS EXPANDS ON SCIENCE EXPRESS MISSION More than a decade after it first brought state-of-the-art lab experience to K-12 students, the Science Express has been revamped to expand its mission as the Husky Express.

The Science Express first launched in 2010 to enhance the science curriculum of schools in the region that didn’t have the equipment and expertise to provide that training. Today it is going beyond science with convertible lab spaces for both science and technology equipment and the capability to adapt to offer experiences in any of St. Cloud State University’s many disciplines, said Dr. Kurt Helgeson.

Last fall the Husky Express went to a professional development event for current teachers in Mankato and Detroit Lakes to show off the latest equipment and techniques being used by technology education teachers. It became a mobile Make It Space for a robotics event. It transformed into a mobile science lab for two weeks for elementary students at the Innovation Science and Technology Academy in Blaine run by St. Cloud State faculty and education students. And it served as a classroom for St. Cloud State faculty members offering a customized training with Central McGowan.

Dr. Felicia Leammukda, Dr. Rachel Humphries and Dr. Ramya Sivaraj are turning it into a mobile teaching lab to offer a field experience for science education majors where students help to operate the lab and work with children to present lessons.

“My student was able to have a kind of field experience,” Leammukda said. “They get to work with students in an out of school experience. They get to teach their own lesson that they developed. They need that experience before they go out and actually teach or do their student teaching experience.”

Benedict Thoms-Warzecha is an Earth and Space Science/General Science Education major who worked with Academy students in fall to deliver a lesson he created with others for an after school program. “The students did really well,” he said. “Students asked a lot of really great questions which led us to a lot of side tangents, but the amount of learning that occurred that day was astronomical.”

Equipment and modification for Husky Express were made possible thanks to the TEC Network and the St. Cloud State Make It Space.

Central McGowan and TEAM Industries are supporters of the Husky Express and funded its rebranding.

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

HUSKIES MAKE HISTORY: VOLLEYBALL HAS RECORD YEAR

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By Mitchell Hansen ’17 The St. Cloud State University Women’s Volleyball team enjoyed a historic season in 2021 breaking records and earning awards while taking the program to new heights.

The Huskies finished the regular season 24-4 overall along with a near-immaculate 19-1 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play to claim their first regular season conference title since 1982.

Earning the No. 1 seed in the NSIC Tournament after a strong regular season, St. Cloud State cruised through the conference tournament en route to its first NSIC Tournament Championship in program history. As a result, the Huskies earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, reaching the tournament for the second consecutive year.

The year ultimately ended in December in Warrensburg, Missouri in St. Cloud State’s opening match of the NCAA Regional, but still saw a season concluding with a record of 27-5 overall and included a program record 17-match win streak from Oct. 1 to Dec. 2.

“We had a strong group of upperclassmen that knew how to compete, how to lead and played well in many big matches for us,” said Head Coach Chad Braegelmann. “We also had some fantastic women that contributed as great teammates off the volleyball court and specifically, were key parts to our success on the bench during HT TP S://TODAY.STCLOUDSTATE.EDU/MAG | SPRING / SUMMER 2022

NEWS matches. Their energy was infectious and they helped their on-court teammates be successful, by pointing out open shots, by helping with their confidence and being an ear for them when their teammates needed it. I could not be prouder of this team.”

The season was already an impressive one, but the accolades and accomplishments don’t stop there. Multiple Huskies set program records and earned personal achievements during the 2021 season.

Kenzie Foley and Linsey Rachel became the first hitters since the early 1990s to record more than 400 kills in a single season, and Maddy Torve graduated as one of the best setters in program history eclipsing 4,000 assists during the year.

Along with those achievements, Braegelmann was named NSIC Coach of the Year; Foley was named NSIC Freshman of the Year, AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year, and AVCA Division II National Freshman of the Year (first time in program history); and Torve earned NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year honors.

The Huskies also had four All-NSIC selections, four NSIC All-Tournament Team selections, eight Academic All-NSIC selections, one CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, four AVCA All-Region selections, two D2CCA All-Region selections, four AVCA All-America selections, two D2CCA All-America selections, and one CoSIDA Academic All-America selection.

It certainly was a historic season for the St. Cloud State Volleyball team, both in terms of overall team performance and individual outcomes. And the Huskies will look to only continue that trend of success in 2022 and beyond.

“I am so proud of the work these young women have put in to help elevate this program,” Braegelmann said. “They give up free time in the summer to make a commitment to their teammates and this program, to physically improve their fitness and to play volleyball together, as a team. That work has, I believe, shown a direct relationship to the improvement we’ve made on the volleyball court.”

2021 HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS

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» Academic All-NSIC Selections

» CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection

» 19-1 NSIC record, first regular season conference title since 1982 » NSIC Tournament Champions for first time in program history » Program record 17-match win streak » Second straight appearance in NCAA Regional, highest seeding in program history (No. 2 seed in Central Region) » Chad Braegelmann named NSIC Coach of the Year

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» » » »

All-NSIC Selections All-Tournament Team Selections AVCA All-Region Selections AVCA All-American Selections

Editor Kathryn Kloby, Ph.D. Contributing Editor Matt Andrew Content Producers Anna Kurth Mitchell Hansen ’17 Colleen Harrison John M. Brown Kelsey Whaley Design Marie Madgwick ’91 Contact us: ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY 720 Fourth Ave. S. St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498 University Communications ucomm@stcloudstate.edu 320-308-3152 stcloudstate.edu/ucomm Alumni Relations alumni@stcloudstate.edu 320-308-3177 or 866-464-8759 stcloudstate.edu/alumni St. Cloud State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regards to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or status as a U.S. veteran.

For additional information, contact the Office for Institutional …quity & Access, (320) 308-5123, Admin. Services Bldg.

Rm 121.

» D2CCA All-Region Selections » D2CCA All-American Selections

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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NEWS SCSU EARNS INDIAN EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT St. Cloud State University is one of just 29 institutions to earn an Indian Education Professional Development Grant from the Department of Education this year to help support Native American students preparing for a career in education.

The Department awarded $10 million through the program including $360,000 for St. Cloud State to support Native American students as they seek to become teachers and administrators. Students in

the program will have the opportunity to pursue the Early Childhood Education program through the College of Education and Learning Design. The college is recruiting the first class of students to start in fall.

The goal of the program is to increase the number of Native Americans teachers and administrators in schools that serve mostly Native American students in order to improve academic achievement and outcomes for those students.

“Representation matters. All students deserve the opportunity to be taught by educators who are diverse and who reflect their backgrounds and experiences,” said

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

“And we know that far too few Native American students have the chance to engage with Native American teachers in their schools and as education leaders and mentors in their communities. That must change.”

The grant includes funding to support students during their schooling with tuition and stipends and supports them through training and finding employment for their first two years of service after graduation.

St. Cloud State is the only university in Minnesota included in the grant.

IT’S TIM… IN ACTION

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND LEARNING DESIGN 8

33,000+ educators prepared for their profession

Diversity, …quity and Inclusion is a central focus of the University’s It’s Time initiative as well as preparing educators to lead change toward educational equity. Learn more at scsu.mn/itstime

ENDOWED SPEAKER SERIES BECOMES UNIVERSITY’S FIRST BENNETT MELIN ’63 IS GIVING BACK IN THE HOPES OF HELPING STUDENTS THINK MORE GLOBALLY

BY COLLEEN HARRISON

Melin makes a visit to Togo.

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NEWS

37 MILLION

$

RAISED TO DATE

$32 MILLION GOAL

115% GOAL SURPASSED

CAMPAIGN SURPASSES GOAL Publicly announced in April 2021, the campaign set a goal of $32 million with the hope of promoting academic distinction, a university of teacher-scholars, student success, annual support and expanding regional reach as well as other priorities for St. Cloud State.

The St. Cloud State University Foundation announced the Unleash the Future campaign has raised $37 million as of April 2022 — 15 percent over the campaign’s initial goal.

“We are honored by our donor community’s response to the Unleash the Future campaign, and we — along with faculty and staff — are thrilled to see so many of the campaign’s priorities receiving significant philanthropic support,” said Matt Andrew, vice president of university advancement.

Accompanying the fundraising success has been another significant milestone in the life of the St. Cloud State Foundation. For the first time, the Foundation’s endowment is now over $50 million. Of that amount, $16.7 million has been raised for scholarships.

“The ‘Unleash the Future’ campaign will conclude at the end of 2022, but there’s still more that we can accomplish,” Andrew said.

“For anyone in our community wondering about how they can help students as we drive towards the finish line, I’d say give us a call and you’’ll be amazed by the impact your gift can make.”

More information can be found at unleashthefuture.stcloudstate.edu or by calling the Foundation at 320-308-3984.

Alumnus Bennett Melin ’63 has made St. Cloud State’s first endowed speaker series possible. Announced in April, the Bennett D. Melin Family University Speakers Series was established to bring publicly recognizable thought leaders from the arts, humanities, sciences, business, religion, politics and other relevant areas of contemporary society to the St. Cloud State campus to engage students, faculty, staff and the greater central Minnesota community in thoughtful conversation and reflection.

“I think everybody wants to leave something behind,” Melin said of his decision to endow the speaker series.

Melin’s donation was inspired by his parents. Melin was raised by parents who taught their children to accept all people with respect and dignity. He has upheld this belief throughout his life as he has

worked, studied and traveled extensively throughout all seven continents.

He graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1963 with majors in history and geography. He began his international travels by independently visiting countries throughout the Middle East and what was then the Soviet Union. Melin drove himself through many of the countries he visited, including the USSR, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. In 1967 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to India and, after an exhaustive study throughout the country, the program concluded with a meeting and afternoon tea with then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

In 1969 he began his first international work assignment in Vientiane, Laos, a position he applied for through an advertisement on a bulletin board in Stewart Hall.

In 1971 he was employed by the oil indus-

try in Southeast Asia, where he worked for the next 20 years, starting out during the height of the Vietnam War. He then accepted work assignments in several African and South American countries until his retirement in 2007.

Meeting and working with “citizens of the world” for nearly 60 years, Melin said his respect and acceptance of international cultures has only grown and matured. He sometimes worries Americans don’t think globally enough, and tend to forget the U.S. population only accounts for about 4.25% of the global population.

He hopes the speaker series will continue for decades bringing international voices to campus and encouraging audiences to learn as much as possible about the world and all its cultures.

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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NEWS

INITIATIVE SUPPORTING AUTISTIC STUDENTS IN COLLEGE A new initiative is helping students with autism at St. Cloud State University find success and helping professors learn about the condition to better serve their students.

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The Supporting Autistic Students Success Imitative (SASSI) is offering students with autism a place to meet and share with one another and learn about support services available at St. Cloud State. It is also educating faculty and staff about strategies to best serve their students, even when they don’t disclose their diagnosis.

Luke Jarchow is serving as SASSI’s first student worker. He is helping to bridge the gap between neurodivirgent students and faculty members by serving as a mentor to other students and on panels to inform faculty and staff about the academic strengths and challenges of autistic students.

IT’S TIM… IN ACTION St. Cloud State is dedicated to offering individualized student support that meets students where they are and engages them in achieving their personal and professional aspirations through the It’s Time initiative.

SASSI is supported by a $25,000 Minnesota State Educational Innovations Grant and led by Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty members Dr. Theresa Estrem and Dr. Rebecca Crowell. The initiative is needed because graduation rates for students with autism and other neurodivergencies often lag neurotypical students. The data and information gleaned from their efforts will help inform best practices in serving the academic and non-academic needs of autistic students at St. Cloud State and throughout the Minnesota State system.

“There’s nobody in our region doing this work.

Out of 700 higher education institutions in the United States, only about 50 offer support for autistic students,” Estrem said. “St. Cloud State is the only institution in the region doing this work and is innovating this program within the Minnesota State system.”

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

SCSU JOINS MULTI-STATE RESEARCH INTO SUSTAINABLE FARMING PRACTICE FACULTY, STUDENT RESEARCH TO LOOK AT SOCIAL BARRIERS, BENEFITS

BY ANNA KURTH Dr. Ann Finan is meeting with farmers from across the nation this spring in focus groups interviewing them about how farm policy helps or hurts their use of sustainable practices.

She is working with colleagues at the University of Minnesota and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute to conduct the interviews and compile the data.

In fall, she will work with her students and colleagues in the St. Cloud State University Research Center to take what they are learning this spring and conduct a nationwide survey of farmers to look at the what the barriers are to farmers adopting perennial forage systems and how those barriers vary by social characteristics like gender, class, race and ethnicity.

Their work is part of a $10 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture as part of a multi-state team of researchers looking to study diverse perennial forage systems and to promote their adoption across the United States. The project includes more than 50 researchers and stakeholders from 23 universities, two USDA-Agricultural Research Service Centers, and 12 farmer organizations, industry groups, non-governmental organizations and government organizations. The project is housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and headed by principal investigator Dr. Valentin Picasso, an agronomist specializing in sustainable forage systems.

Perennial forage systems incorporate longer-lived crops like grasses or legumes that are usually grown to feed livestock in the form of pasture or hay. Perennial forages support healthier food for livestock, reduce soil erosion, and can even result in healthier food products in the grocery store. The project will investigate both the biology and chemistry of perennial forage for the environment and

the social benefits and barriers to using these systems, especially for racially and ethnically diverse farmers and women farmers.

Finan is a researcher with a background in sustainable agriculture and sociology. Her background and her position as the faculty co-director of the SCSU Survey Research Center made her and St. Cloud State a good match for the broader team.

“This grant gives our students an opportunity to see this applied social science research process firsthand,” Finan said. “We expect our faculty and students to be involved in not only the data collection process, but also in analyzing, presenting and publishing around this project for several years into the future.”

The five year grant started this fall and about $600,000 of the total grant will be used by St. Cloud State researchers as they study the social aspects of the agricultural systems to try and understand the barriers and opportunities farmers face in trying to support diverse perennial forage systems.

“This will be another opportunity for students to get involved,” Finan said. “And the insights we gain from this research will go on to inform content in classes exploring the intersection of society, science and technology, as well as our environmental sociology classes.”

IT’S TIM… IN ACTION St. Cloud State is a University of teacher-scholars who are breaking new ground in their research, scholarship and creative work. As faculty research, they integrate their work into their instruction to give students a high impact learning environment to develop a deeper understanding of research and the world around them.

Dr. Ann Finan ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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OLYMPIANS ARE MADE HERE

By Mitchell Hansen ’17 St. Cloud State University was well-represented in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China in February, with numerous current and former Huskies taking on the global stage.

Five Huskies past and present from the St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Team and two current student-athletes from the St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Team represented their countries in the Winter Games including Jenniina Nylund who took home the Huskies first Olympic medal. Their selections in the Olympics extended a growing list of St. Cloud State athletes and coaches to take part in the Olympic Games.

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NEWS

MEN’S HOCKEY A. In Men’s Ice Hockey competition, St. Cloud State Head Coach Brett Larson, senior forward Sam Hentges and senior defenseman Nick Perbix were part of the 2022 U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team. Larson made his Olympic debut as an assistant coach, while Hentges and Perbix took the ice as the eighth and ninth Huskies to be named Olympians in program history.

B. Along with that trio on Team USA, St. Cloud State alumni Patrick Russell (2014-16) and Oliver Lauridsen (2008-11) participated with the Denmark Olympic Team, marking the 10th and 11th Huskies to be named Olympians.

C. Both the U.S. and Denmark missed

Finalist Alli Beste presents her poster during Huskies Showcase in April.

HUSKIES SHOWCASE CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS

out on medals in Beijing, with both national teams seeing their runs come to an end in the quarterfinal round. Hentges finished the Olympics with one goal, while Perbix finished with one assist for Team USA. For Team Denmark, Lauridsen finished with one assist and Russell had three assists.

By Mitchell Hansen ’17

WOMEN’S HOCKEY D. In Women’s Hockey Competition,

“To me, the most valuable part of Huskies Showcase is that students share their research and creative activity with the public,” said Kristian Twombly, Faculty Fellow for Our Husky Compact. “After all, a critical skill in research is being able to relate your findings to the world. Huskies Showcase gives these students a platform to share their amazing work.”

Huskies senior forward Jenniina Nylund was part of the Finland National Team and junior forward Klara Hymlarova took the ice for the Czech Republic. The duo became the second and third Olympians in program history, joining Janine Alder.

Nylund enjoyed a historic run with Finland in the Winter Olympics, capping off her first Olympics appearance by earning a Bronze Medal and becoming the first-ever active player to earn an Olympic medal in University history. Nylund skated in all seven games for Finland, finishing with one goal.

Hymlarova and the Czech Republic saw their Olympics run end in the quarterfinal round, missing out on a medal. Hymlarova took the ice in four games, putting together a strong showing that resulted in one goal scored.

Huskies Showcase celebrates student research, creative and scholarly works and community engagement campus-wide. The showcase innovated to move online during the pandemic and was back with in-person presentations and engagement this spring.

St. Cloud State University’s Huskies Showcase launched in 2018 with the vision of celebrating undergraduate and graduate research, creative and scholarly works, and community engagement campus-wide.

In 2022, Huskies Showcase continues to expand and grow.

The goal of Huskies Showcase is to celebrate Huskies and the experiential learning, research and other high-impact practices taking place across campus, also highlighting collaborations between campus and community partners throughout the area and state.

Students present projects from academic to co-curricular forms of engagement centered around their research, creative works, applied experiences, volunteer and service projects, academic service-learning, internships, and more. Huskies Showcase strives to ensure every student has an opportunity to demonstrate the work they have completed during their time at St. Cloud State.

For five years, Huskies Showcase has featured all the work being done by students both inside and outside of the classroom. As it evolves and expands annually, the goal of showcasing that work and research will only continue.

IT’S TIM… CONNECTION St. Cloud State has long served as an important site for experiential learning for students. Through the It’s Time initiative, the University is expanding access for students to high-impact learning opportunities that align student learning with service opportunities within the community.

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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BY MARSHA SHOEMAKER

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PASSION FOR LEARNING Championing a St. Cloud State faculty of extraordinary teacher-scholars is a key pillar of the University’s It’s Time strategic framework for making SCSU the region’s university of choice.

PASS IT ON!

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The It’s Time focus on the teacher-scholar model builds on the university’s heritage of attracting and sustaining innovative, adaptable professors who are all in when it comes to integrating their research, scholarship and creative work into their teaching. Empowering them with support and resources makes them active partners in the initiative’s placement of greater value and attention on St. Cloud State University’s distinctive academic programs and individualized approaches to teaching and supporting students.

“We have many incredible faculty members who are internationally known research-focused, traditional scholars who remain actively engaged and current in their discipline and translate that knowledge and passion into active teaching,” said Dr. LaVonne Cornell-Swanson, associate provost for faculty and student affairs.

Biology professor Dr. Matt Julius is one example of a professor who’s a rock star in his field – researching, publishing and working with other international experts and bringing incredible perspective and passion to his teaching. A world-renowned expert on ecology and systematics of algae, large lake limnology, which is the study of biological, chemical and physical features of lakes and other fresh water bodies, Julius has worked for years with researchers in Japan and other parts of the world, has received offers of employment from prestigious institutions for his expertise; and published significant research on diatoms, systemics and evolution, taxonomy and nomenclature and aquatic ecology.

“I’ve declined opportunities because I genuinely love working with students here,” Julius said of his 20 years teaching in St. Cloud State classrooms, laboratories and field research sites – inspiring and motivating his students with his dedication and knowledge.

Currently serving as chair of the Biology Department – a role that often precludes teaching responsibilities – Julius chooses to teach a class and work with 17 undergraduate students involved in an array of his research projects.

Julius has written and published papers on a myriad of scientific research topics, including such consequential projects as bone cancer research. “Students are involved in all of these,” he said.

“I’m most proud of discovering new things and taking it back to the classroom … something we didn’t know before, something new that makes the world a better place … helping students make that transfer to the end of knowledge allows them to share the joy of discovery and learning.”

“I love the fact that we have so many first-generation students and I can give them the skill set to move up the social, economic and cultural scale,” Julius said. “We have amazing students. They are changing the world.”

A MOMENT OF TRANSFORMATION Julius relishes being part of the role public institutions have in changing lives and in turn contributing to the welfare of society.

“We have excellent examples of students new to this country work-

DR. MATT JULIUS works with students in an Integrated Science and Engineering Facility lab.

I’m most proud of discovering new things and taking it back to the classroom ... something we didn’t know before, something new that makes the world a better place.

– DR. MATT JULIUS, PROFESSOR

ing with first generation students,” he said.

“We all benefit from the dollars we invest to train them to become that workforce for the public good. The most transformative thing we’ve ever done in our country is the G.I. Bill that made us a world force. We’re at that moment of transformation again. We need to convince the public that we’re as or more important than the military because we educate the teachers, doctors, engineers and other professionals who change the world.”

Julius says he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, which is not to say he doesn’t see challenges in the system where he works. The bureaucratic process of being part of a state system and the lack of resources because of tight budgets and declining state support hinders and frustrates professors like him who bring in valuable teaching tools through grants that can’t always be implemented in a timely manner. “We have very good scholars here, but we still need to do better as an institution to capitalize on that,” he said.

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Among those fellow extraordinary teacher-scholars is Dr. Melissa Hanzsek-Brill, a professor of Mathematics Education who successfully puts theory into practice with her students and in her community. Along with igniting a passion for learning among her St. Cloud State students, she studies what makes students want to learn and pursues ways to develop STEM skills in young learners.

“When you’re a teacher you have to be continually learning; otherwise you can’t be effective,” said Hanzsek-Brill, who like Julius has successfully sought grant funding to develop innovative ways to help students pursue their dreams.

Her interdisciplinary work with four other faculty and administrators on the ACCESS grant that provides full-ride scholarships to low-income learners who show promise as future STEM students has been nationally recognized and featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“My role was the research end: what causes a student to pursue a STEM education – to develop and measure the importance of a sense of belonging to an institution and to a major.”

Hanzsek-Brill discovered in her research that the assumption by many that grade point average is the sole indicator of student success is not necessarily true. “If you don’t feel like you belong you may not stay,” she said. “If we can take measure of students’ sense of belonging, we can help the institution start to develop programs to intervene and help students at risk want to continue.”

INNOVATING ON ACCESS Another big passion of Hanszek-Brill’s is improving childrens’ early access to math skills. “I noticed there were always literacy conversations and resources to reach out to people who may not have access to good childhood reading, but while there was lots of conversation about math scores being down there was little about how to help improve them,” she said.

“So I thought, what if we did a program that provides preschool students and their caregivers access to quantitative material in math,” Hanzsek-Brill said. She approached the LEAF (Local Education and Activities Foundation) that supports St. Cloud

DR. MELISSA HANZSEK-BRILL with her student Anna Panek who worked on lesson plans for the early math learning program PAKCAT.

When you're a teacher you have to be continually learning; otherwise you can't be effective.

– DR. MELISSA HANZSEK-BRILL, PROFESSOR

ST. CLOUD STATE PROFESSORS SHARE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TEACHER-SCHOLAR Bill Gorcica, Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair and fellow teacher-scholars share what being a teacher-scholar means to them: scsu.mn/teacherscholar-videos

DR. MONICA GARCIA-PEREZ Economics

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DR. ED SADRAI English

School District 742 and its highly successful PAKRAT (Partners And Kids Reading A Lot) literacy development program that brings reading materials to young students and their families with the idea of starting a PAKCAT (Partners And Kids Counting A lot Together) program.

“Because of her leadership, LEAF has applied for and received two significant grants from the Morgan Family Foundation in support of the PAKCAT Program,” said LEAF Director Bruce Hentges. “As our PAKCAT grant coordinator, Melissa has donated hundreds of hours of her time and expertise to oversee the project for our district preschool students over the past several years.

Her expertise and passion for mathematics education has been the reason the PAKCAT program is flourishing, despite the challenges that the pandemic has caused. Melissa Hanzsek-Brill is a wonderful example of a dedicated St. Cloud State educator who is making a big difference for hundreds of students in District 742.”

“This is Melissa’s brainchild,” said April Seim, a pre-school teacher at Madison Elementary who implemented the PAKCAT activities with her students in January 2019.

Collaborating with District 742 pre-school educators, HanzsekBrill and students Anna Panek and Hodam Ahmed created math bags that go home with 3- and 4-year-old children in the district’s pre-school classes. The bags contain everything needed to provide 45 early math learning activities throughout the year. “Hopefully they are helping children and their caregivers understand the new approach to math in school,” she said.

The bags’ materials and written and videotaped instruction information are provided in English, Spanish and Somali. Panek, a senior majoring in Math and Spanish; and Ahmed, a senior Early Childhood Education major, provided the idea and expertise to translate the PAKCAT materials so families for whom English is not a first language can better work with them.

This year District 742 had 575 pre-school students. A small percentage had Spanish as their first language and 34 percent had Somali as their home language. “There’s an extra challenge for families that don’t have a strong sense of English or struggle with the language,” Seim said.

Ahmed discovered while working at a local day care center last

DR. ROXANNE WILSON Nursing

year that the staff had received the PAKCAT activities bags but had not implemented them in their teaching. Ahmed, who was born in Ethiopia in a refugee camp and came to America at age 16, sat down with the teacher and showed her how to use it. “The kids were so excited,” she said. “The experience was important for me to see what kind of tools to use in teaching.”

Besides translating activities into Spanish, Panek worked with assembling and distributing activities bags for children and has found this hands-on work with children has been beneficial to her education. “We spend time learning from textbooks and class, but don’t always have a chance to apply it,” she said.

“It’s been a huge game changer,” Panek said. “Melissa HanzsekBrill has been one of my strongest mentors on campus. She has brought me into understanding how important it is to develop connections in the community.”

Hanzsek-Brill, like Julius and many other St. Cloud State professors, embraces the It’s Time focus on supporting the teacher-scholar model. “The model emphasizes that you have to take theory and put it into practice,” she said. “It’s not new, but now we’re being really purposeful about valuing that to improve our teaching.”

INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK One of the most exciting aspects of having a faculty of teacher-scholars is the interdisciplinary work they do. Hanzsek-Brill collaborated with Biology professor Dr. Christopher Kvaal and Computer Science professor Dr. Mark Petzold on the ACCESS scholarship program and Julius worked side-by-side with Art professor Dr. Bill Gorcica, for example.

Gorcica, like Julius, has worked with international scientists on projects that have had the power to interconnect science, technology and art. In the campus Make It Space, art students have learned that they can use tools once reserved for engineers and scientists.

Over the past decade Gorcica has also worked with scientists in the United States and Japan on projects that teach people about water quality. The projects are generated by scientists, but art students are learning they can interface with scientists.

“Another thing I realized in Japan working with educators is

DR. SHAWN WILLIAMS Criminal Justice

KELLY JAMESON Finance and Real Estate

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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how they worked one-on-one with mentoring students,” he said, “We need more flexibility in education and need to do more mentoring with guidance.”

Gorcica said his is a small enough department to offer faculty and students that sense of belonging that Hanzsek-Brill’s research found to be so important to student success. “We teach better when we let them take ownership of their projects and their future. If you can build a network of friends and collaborators it offers a faster sense of community building.”

Throughout his teaching career Gorcica has brought together groups of artists who went out into the world to do projects.

Gorcica has collaborated with faculty and students often on interactive design projects, such as the Northern Spark overnight art festival in the Twin Cities.

“I work across disciplines between the arts and sciences, such as creating an interactive rowboat with software engineer Mark Gill for a TEDxStCloud installation or collecting microbes as inspiration for art with biologist Matt Julius.”

At St. Cloud State he mixes traditional and new media art working with faculty from other departments. “It’s a more interesting teaching environment and learning environment when we collaborate,” he said.

“It allows innovation to happen.”

Gorcica and six other outstanding St. Cloud State professors are part of an It’s Time-related project for sharing with colleagues what being a teacher-scholar means to them. Here is the link to their videos: scsu.mn/teacherscholar-videos

SUPPORTING TEACHER-SCHOLARS WITH SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY When Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair started her career as an educator, she taught the way she was taught: “That I was to be the expert but not necessarily a skilled teacher.” Through her multiple roles as associate professor of American Indian Studies, director of the Multicultural Resources Center and as a public scholar working with external communities, she has become a central figure in the focus on nurturing teacher-scholars at St. Cloud State.

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“The scholarship of teaching and learning was something I first learned about here at SCSU,” said St. Clair. “I understand this practice as connecting our work and training as scholars with our work as teachers. Now it is central to my identity.”

“I also consider myself a public scholar, said St. Clair, who is Dakota, a citizen of the Lower Sioux Indian Community. “For the past 10 years, I have been working on a project that considers spaces within the Twin Cities as sites that are sacred to Dakota people,” she said. “Students in my Native Nations of Minnesota class have been working on a multi-year project called Native SCSU. Students investigate and share through a digital humanities project on how the SCSU campus, St. Cloud, and Central Minnesota are Indigenous places with long and varied indigenous histories.”

In addition to her scholarship, community outreach and classroom teaching, part of St. Clair’s work is embedded in supporting others.

“My work has two arms to it – they are interconnected because the Multicultural Resource Center supports students, faculty, staff and community.”

The Center’s mission is to provide services and resources for students, faculty and community members to research, teach about and broaden their knowledge of historically excluded racial and ethnic groups of color, including the historical and contemporary experiences of people of color in the Midwest.

“I work a lot with other faculty in their teaching role, including antiracist pedagogy projects since 2008, facilitating others in analysis of how they work, teaching how antiracist pedagogy can be incorporated in their teaching and how it can ignite their love of teachHT TP S://TODAY.STCLOUDSTATE.EDU/MAG | SPRING / SUMMER 2022

ing,” she said. “All get connected through my work. I have spent a lot of time thinking, studying, and discussing how higher education disciplines, departments, and classrooms are sites where race and racism is experienced.”

St. Cloud State professors historically have had a strong commitment to teaching, said Dr. LaVonne Cornell-Swanson associate provost for faculty and student affairs. “We don’t just hire people to come and teach. We want to attract passionate, knowledgable experts who stay active in their own discipline in addition to teaching their courses.”

Besides the Multicultural Resource Center, the Office of Sponsored Programs and University Library are giving great support with showcasing research and publishing, Cornell-Swanson said. “And central to faculty development is CETL, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.”

According to its mission, CETL “supports and celebrates communities of scholars engaged in collaborative inquiry to achieve intellectual and personal growth.”

“The CETL model is central to development of new and engaged faculty,” Cornell-Swanson said.

Dr. Janet Tilstra, who has a cross disciplinary background with clinical training in speech language pathology and research training in educational psychology, is the CETL faculty fellow for the new Scholarship of Teaching Learning (SoTL) program aimed at improving academic experiences for all students. It’s a core part of St. Cloud State's It’s Time initiative.

Along with Graduate Director Dr. Aeriel Ashlee and emeritus faculty director for CETL Dr. Debra Japp, Tilstra is directing development of a cohort model to help create a stronger community of teachers and scholars. “Outside experts will be instructing and coaching a group of us in learning more deeply about what a teacher-scholar is,” she said. “Each of us is developing projects, working with student leaders in a pilot cohort.”

DR. BILL GORCICA works with scientists to integrate creativity with scientific research.

It's a more interesting teaching environment and learning environment when we collaborate.

It allows innovation to happen.

– DR. BILL GORCICA

IYEKIYAPIWIN DARLENE ST. CLAIR, associate professor of American Indian Studies and director of Multicultural Resources Center

19 MARK GILL, Visualization Engineer, coordinator of the ISELF Visualization Lab

“I’m very excited about the teacher-scholar model,” said Tilstra. “It’s about not working for our own, but to help students be practitioners, a model claiming that in a more formal way, with people devoted to their craft. It’s having the dedication to say that this is important enough that we’re going to formally commit to developing faculty driven by ‘how do I make my teaching better’?”

Tilstra, who has taught at levels from adjunct instructor to associate professor and graduate director in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, is sensitive to the variety of backgrounds and levels of experience represented among St. Cloud State faculty members. “I think I understand different roles they have,” she said.

“People are excited about the leadership and intentionality of being models of change,” said Tilstra. “Emphasis on the teacher-scholar model brings together a lot of what we care about. We’re making deliberate choices with the voices we listen to. We’re open to shaping things and we’re invested in progress.

There’s also a lot of magic infused in the technical expertise that Visualization Engineer Mark Gill conjures up to support teaching and learning at St. Cloud State. Talk to a professor in any field who’s incorporated imaginative technology into teaching and you’ll hear the name of the university’s go-to guy for making it happen.

Gill, who is coordinator of the Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility (ISELF) Visualization Lab, is another education professional whose work is empowering faculty and surrounding them with resources to engage students and ignite learning across disciplines with state-of-the-art technology.

In 30 years he has witnessed a tremendous change not only in his field but in the level of understanding students have in his work world of virtual reality and imaginative technology. “I’ve watched this field get closer and closer to mainstream,” he said. “When I started this was mysterious. Now potential students come through on tours and know what virtual reality is. They’ve seen it and understand it.”

“We’re looking at what to add to build a core group of people working together in a community of practice partnering across departments on common goals,” Tilstra said. “I think there’s a lot of magic in that.”

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

Dr. Marina Cetkovic-Cvrlje with pre-med students, pictured from left, Andrew Nordi, Hunter Harnett and Wengelawit Molla.

PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS serve as a springboard for successful futures

BY MARSHA SHOEMAKER AND COLLEEN HARRISON

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When the father of a potential pre-med student inquired about St. Cloud State’s admission rates to medical school, Dr. Marina Cetkovic-Cvrlje, chair of the St. Cloud State University Pre-med Advisory Committee, provided the data, then added: “Honestly, as a parent, I would be more interested in what a school can offer to my child to support his or her desire to enroll in medical school.”

That’s not to say that Cetkovic-Cvrlje isn’t proud of those acceptance rates for St. Cloud State pre-med graduates. They are high: 75 percent for the years 2007-2018. “In those 11 years 80 of our pre-med SCSU students have been accepted at either allopathic or osteopathic med schools; in the same period (2007-2018) — 107 applied to med schools.”

But what St. Cloud State offers that gives pre-med students their advantage is considerably more personal, targeted attention than at larger universities that traditionally attract greater numbers of pre-med majors, said Cetkovic-Cvrlje, known by students and colleagues as “Dr. C.” That and the roadmap professors in the pre-med program use to guide students to success can make all the difference in this especially challenging educational journey.

“As a university, St. Cloud State has put new focus on creating individualized support for students in specialized fields like medicine that give them a clear pathway to a successful career,” said President Robbyn Wacker. “Through our It’s Time framework we have put particular emphasis on building on excellence in academic areas of holistic health and wellness, applied science and engineering, education and leadership. The pre-med program is a successful example of how our students thrive in this supportive environment.”

Left: Sruthi Shankar ’18, pre-med graduate, fourth-year student at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

The work that I’ve done at St. Cloud State has really helped me realize how medicine has to be intimately connected with research, and I think that the future of medicine is really dependent on the physician being able to translate their clinical experience into the laboratory and vice versa.

– SRUTHI SHANKAR ’18

PHOTO: RICH RYAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MINNESOTA MEDICINE

ACHIEVING THEIR GOALS For more than a decade Cetkovic-Cvrlje, professor of immunology, has successfully shepherded students through the prerequisite academics and activities medical schools are looking for in applicants, taking a personal interest in helping them achieve their goals.

“Here we take the time,” she said of the faculty involved in the pre-med program. “We’re really good at supporting students. It’s a huge advantage for them.”

“From the beginning pre-med students at SCSU are given everything they need to be in training for medical school,” CetkovicCvrlje said. The program includes a specific package of required academics with several professors who get to know the students well and advisers who offer personal support through the Pre-med Advisory Committee.

Pre-med graduate Sruthi Shankar ’18, who is now a fourth-year student at the University of Minnesota Medical School, is among the many students who have flourished under the carefully structured pre-med academic program and the ample opportunities for research and other experiences that enhance students’ preparation for a medical career. “St. Cloud State University contains a hidden treasure trove of professors and opportunities,” she said.

Born in India and reared in Singapore, Shankar immigrated to St. Cloud in 2008 and attended local schools, then chose St. Cloud

Here we take the time.

We're really good at supporting students.

It's a huge advantage for them.

– DR. MARINA CETKOVIC-CVRLJE “DR. C” CHAIR, ST. CLOUD STATE PRE-MED ADVISORY COMMITTEE

State because of the range of learning opportunities it offered and her ability to live at home and help her family while pursuing majors in both Biomedical Science and Biochemistry.

Shankar found her place at the university with the guidance of her professors and helping other students navigate their way through the transition to college life, sharing her unique experiences as an example of how students can achieve success in life by remaining open-minded even when thrown into unusual life circumstances.

“It was really sort of a journey, but through this hard journey — especially with the help of many amazing professors who know my story and know where I come from — I’ve gained my footing.”

For Shankar opportunities to grow included the chance to get involved in student organizations like the Pre-med Club and Medical Professions Association, of which she served as treasurer – to be surrounded by other pre-med students who offer a sense of belonging and feeling that they are part of something, CetkovicCvrlje said.

There’s also the option of taking advantage of the international study experience at the University of Croatia, where CetkovicCvrlje earned her M.D. Approximately 80 percent of St. Cloud State pre-med students include this study-abroad opportunity in their undergraduate education. A month of studying abroad alongside Croatian students is a favorite memory Shankar has of her time at St. Cloud State.

As a student Shankar worked as a tutor in St. Cloud State’s Chemistry Tutoring Center and as a peer mentor for the University Honors Program, in addition to being a leader in co-curricular activities and connecting with her ethnic and cultural heritage through the India Heritage Club.

Cetkovic-Cvrlje also cites the extracurricular opportunities that St. Cloud Hospital offers, with “complete infrastructure and support.”

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

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While at St. Cloud State Shankar presented with fellow student researchers at the National Council of Undergraduate Research, earning a student research grant and second place at the St. Cloud State Student Research Colloquium.

On campus, taking advantage of undergraduate research projects is essential for pre-med students, said Cetkovic-Cvrlje. “The Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility (ISELF) building is very alive with research opportunities.”

“The work that I’ve done at St. Cloud State has really helped me realize how medicine has to be intimately connected with research, and I think that the future of medicine is really dependent on the physician being able to translate their clinical experience into the laboratory and vice versa,” Shankar said.

“My professors and mentors stayed with me through thick and thin, and they were definitely my guiding light,” Shankar said of her St. Cloud State experience. With continued inspiration to thrive and serve others with her education, she has continued to excel in medical school. In 2020, she co-founded MN COVID Sitters, a timely effort for University of Minnesota Medical School students to support medical providers and their families in the event of a COVID-19 surge.

While there are other pre-professional programs at St. Cloud State, pre-med is the most structured, for good reason, CetkovicCvrlje said. “Very few students can muddle through the pre-med program. It’s the most complicated. Here you have several professors who get to know the students inside and out.”

A number of students do come to St. Cloud State each year to pursue an education that will lead to graduate school for a variety of other professions. In recent years, 15 percent of St. Cloud State graduates have gone on to post-baccalaureate programs at 135 institutions.

A VARIETY OF DICIPLINES St. Cloud State offers a number of programs which prepare students for post-graduate work in professional areas for which a higher degree is required. Undergraduate preparation and advising is available for professional careers in Chiropractic, Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Mortuary Science, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant and Veterinary Medicine.

Pre-law is a good example of a field that offers students in a variety of majors a guided path to a profession. “Pre-law is not as specific as pre-med,” said St. Cloud State’s pre-law adviser John Baker. “But advising is available to students if they’re interested in law school and want to have that path,” he said. “For law school the most critical thing is the timeline: when to take the LSAT test, what classes to take.”

Baker’s unique background makes him an effective adviser to St. Cloud State’s students, who represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. He came to St. Cloud State after a career in the military, majored in political science, went to law school and became an attorney exclusively representing veterans. Now he is in his third career, teaching law enforcement in St. Cloud State’s Criminal Justice program – part of the School of Public Affairs HT TP S://TODAY.STCLOUDSTATE.EDU/MAG | SPRING / SUMMER 2022

DR. CARRIE HOLMES MCAT GRANT DEDICATED IN HONOR OF LATE SCSU PHYSICIAN

75%

of SCSU pre-med graduates are accepted to medical school 2007-2018

– and advising students interested in law.

“My joy now is with students,” he said.

Baker has a list of classes he tells students interested in law school they ought to take, such as philosophy, critical thinking, finance, communication and mechanics of public speaking.

“There’s also a prep course for LSAT through the Center for Continuing Studies. And St. Cloud State has a relationship with Mitchell Hamline’s law school that’s a 3+3 program.”

Through that program, admitted students do their first three years of undergraduate course work then their last year of undergrad is also their first year of law school, Baker said. “They still have to have the pre-requisites to get into law school but they can get through in six years instead of seven. Several students are trying to work through that now.”

Many other St. Cloud State students are preparing for graduate school in the College of Health and Wellness Professions, which is focused on delivering inter-professional education where students learn from experts in their field.

Throughout their course of study, students explore a range of disciplines, so they gain a greater understanding of their role in providing care to individuals and families, while meeting broader community needs.

Sean and Dr. Carrie Holmes with their three sons.

doctor I want to give my best to make sure that we can help those around us and make our communities better.”

A year and a half ago, the lives of the Holmes family changed forever.

St. Cloud State University men’s soccer coach Sean Holmes met up with his wife, Dr. Carrie Holmes — a physician with the SCSU Medical Clinic, at a campus Halloween event Oct. 29, 2020. The couple then parted ways. Hours later, Sean would receive a call that his wife had been rushed to the hospital, where she would pass away the next day.

Sean said his wife’s last words to him were about “getting her steps in” and having to get back to “serve the students.”

While he said not many people got to meet Carrie on campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing classes online, Sean feels many have gotten to know her through their story and through the grant that has been set up in her memory.

In the days following Carrie’s death, Sean and their three sons along with many family members, friends and colleagues, came up with the idea of the Dr. Carrie Holmes MCAT Grant. The grant is meant to pay for an expensive test needed to get into medical school, and Sean said the fund is dedicated to people who have the academic fortitude to get into med school, but face possible financial hurdles. It’s also a way to help people, a cause to which Carrie — a first-generation college student — dedicated her life’s work.

“She always felt that people help you along the way, so then you help some more people when you’re able,” Sean said. “She would have helped people for at least another 10 or 20 years through her work. So this is a way for her to keep doing that.”

An event took place in September inside Eastman Hall to recognize the grant. Sean said Eastman Patio became a special place for him and Carrie during their short time at St. Cloud State together, as they both loved its view of the Mississippi River. A plaque dedicated to Carrie will now reside in the gardens on the patio.

“Carrie came to our campus at an extraordinary time when her skills and compassion were especially dear to the staff and students whose lives she affected,” said President Robbyn Wacker. “In the midst of a pandemic she was a welcome addition to our medical clinic, just as she had been a bright light at her medical practice in Iowa focused on family and women’s health before coming to us.”

Alec Hafferman ’20 and George Ongoro ’21 were the inaugural recipients.

Hafferman earned his degree in Biomedical Sciences and is serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps while applying for medical school. Originally from Edgar, Wisconsin, he said his love for medicine initially came from working in an assisted living facility as a primary care worker.

“I want to carry that torch that Dr. Carrie Holmes lit,” he said. “I just see what Dr. Carrie Holmes meant to everybody, and that’s what I want to do. ... As a future

Hafferman said the community at St. Cloud State as well as his parents have gotten him to where he is today.

Ongoro is a lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps. Originally from Mogadishu, Somalia, he came to the U.S. as a child with his family as refugees. He joined the Army at 17 and then completed his degree in Biomedical and military sciences at St. Cloud State in between completing missions and other duties as a medic with the Army.

“What really sparked my passion for going into the medical field was when my two brothers got sick. Other people in my community were getting sick, and there wasn’t anywhere they could go for proper care. It made me want to heal people,” Ongoro said.

“I wanted to be the one to heal my brothers because I could see how much they were suffering at the time.”

Like Hafferman, Ongoro is honored to be a grant recipient and plans to make the most of his journey.

“The path to medical school is hard, and to be honest, it’s expensive as well. Hearing I was awarded this, I’m just grateful for someone being so caring to support my path to medicine,” he said. “It just makes it more worth it that, in the future, as I continue my path to medicine, I’ll be helping others. I will not only be helping patients, but I will also be able to pay it forward to others who are interested in medicine.”

She always felt that people help you along the way, so then you help some more people when you're able.

– SEAN HOLMES, ST. CLOUD STATE MEN'S SOCCER COACH, ABOUT HIS WIFE, DR. CARRIE HOLMES

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INNOVATING IN AFFORDABILITY

BY ANNA KURTH

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Jess VanderWerf is fortunate that she has very little she needs to invest in her classes outside of paying for her tuition and fees.

The graduate student’s course materials are often articles or open access materials in her Gerontology classes.

“In our program we aim to make it affordable by using articles,” she said. “We try to avoid using textbooks because who has that much extra.”

VanderWerf’s professors are innovating new ways of providing students with access to course materials that are affordable or accessible in ways beyond purchasing a textbook at the bookstore.

The zero-degree (Z-degree) movement seeks to make college more affordable for students by making sure they have no expenses beyond tuition and fees. Minnesota State’s community colleges have leaned into this movement in recent years creating many low or Z-degree associate degree programs throughout the system.

Within a Z-degree framework, faculty use a variety of resources to support their courses, typically not using or depending on a traditional textbook offered at the campus bookstore. Instead they use open access electronic textbooks, library mate-

rials or articles that can be accessed through open access databases or journals, or downloaded from the library.

St. Cloud State University is leading the effort at the university level as the first university in the system to be awarded an exploration grant as part of the Minnesota Z-Degree affordable courses model.

At St. Cloud State, university librarians who are leading the way by discovering options for affordable course materials and as part of a teacher-scholar effort on campus to empower their fellow faculty to investigate and incorporate affordable options into their classes, research and publishing.

University Library Dean Rhonda Huisman sees librarians at the center of the discussion on affordability. Librarians see and hear from students about the need to be prepared and the struggle to finance course materials. Librarians also understand the need for materials that match

HT TP S://TODAY.STCLOUDSTATE.EDU/MAG | SPRING / SUMMER 2022

Jess VanderWerf Gerontology Graduate student

There's always something going on at the library that can be used as a tool to help you succeed.

– JESS VANDERWERF

St. Cloud State University finds an intersection between innovations in the classroom and improving the lives of students by reducing textbook and material costs.

pedagogy and can help faculty explore alternative materials and figure out ways to make sure materials that aren’t open are accessible to students, she said.

St. Cloud State University Library launched its efforts in affordable textbooks in 2018 spurred on by a 2019 grant from the Minnesota State system. The system awarded $80,000 to four institutions, including St. Cloud State, to develop Open Educational Resource teams to support faculty cohorts developing open educational resources in their courses.

Nineteen St. Cloud State faculty members participated, including Library faculty, two of whom ended up writing their own textbook for a course as part of the grant.

TEXTBOOKS BECOMING OUT OF REACH According to Education Data Initiative, the average cost of textbooks and supplies for an undergraduate student is $1,200 per year. Since 1977, the price of textbooks has increased more than 1,000 percent. A study conducted by the Student Public Interest Research Groups in 2014 found that most students have refrained from buying a textbook because it was too expensive and almost half said that the cost of textbooks

impacted their decision on which courses to take.

“For some students, they can’t do it.

They don’t buy the book, and then they’re behind.” Huisman said. “The student then comes to class unprepared. They have other things they need to spend their money on — rent, food, survival, daycare, gas for their car.”

Through the It’s Time initiative St. Cloud State is leaning into higher education’s role as the great equalizer that creates opportunities for economic and social mobility for students. Affordable course materials are a big part of that commitment to provide access to low-income students, Huisman said.

Z-degree efforts come at a time when the textbook industry is changing in ways that make purchasing a book more convenient, but also more frustrating and expensive for students, said Jennifer Quinlan, St. Cloud State associate professor and student success librarian.

The textbook publishers are trying to make sure everyone is buying a textbook by including codes, which are the only way students can access special online mate-

rials such as homework and quizzes. The codes are only good for the semester. So, a student can’t share books with a classmate, sell their book after they are done or even re-use it if they need to retake the class, she said.

“The code is as expensive as the textbook,” Quinlan said. “That just makes me angry, and we plan to do more programming and education around textbook myths.”

Quinlan is learning about open access resources and has participated in facilitating the Minnesota State grant. Now she is sharing what she knows with faculty across campus by leading the Affordability Learning Circle once a month to get faculty thinking about options and resources for making their courses more affordable. This summer librarians are developing a bootcamp style workshop for faculty for the upcoming academic year.

STUDENT-LED EFFORT St. Cloud State librarians began working on affordable textbooks in 2018 after hearing from students and learning from their community college colleagues, Huisman said.

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With 30% of St. Cloud State undergraduates transferring in with existing degrees or credits, students come to campus knowing the impact of Z-degrees at community college and noticing the lack of these options on campus. Students are advocating for a change. Simultaneously, St. Cloud State librarians saw the need to shift what is happening at four-year institutions.

“We need to provide materials for students in a way that is more far reaching than just open access,” Huisman said. “We needed to figure out how to get these textbooks on the bookshelves in the library.”

Partnering with Student Government, one of the library’s first efforts at promoting affordability was creating the Textbook Affordability Project for Success (TAPS) program, which puts textbooks on reserve in the library for students to check out for two hours at a time – giving students who can’t purchase a book access to the materials they need for their classes.

The program now has more than 1,000 items on reserve for students to check out for their courses in 570 course sections.

The program has saved students an estimated $8 million in textbook costs since the program began. The cost per text at St. Cloud State has decreased from $190 in 2018 to $154 today, with those savings coming in many ways including faculty adopting textbooks for more than one year and choosing texts or materials that are affordable, Huisman said.

St. Cloud State is one of the Minnesota State institutions collaborating on a threeyear almost $1 million U.S. Department of Education grant to establish the Opening Opportunities for Education program, which creates open textbooks and open educational research for core teacher education courses for students studying to be teachers.

The grant estimates that the switch to open resources will save students $500 per year on textbooks for a total annual savings for Minnesota State teacher education students of about $600,000 per year.

AFFORDABLE E-BOOKS In the last two years the library has added 197,000 e-books to the university’s resources for students and faculty to access.

More than 30 faculty are using e-books as their texts, which are fully downloadable and can be integrated into D2L and printed or used with a screen reader.

Open access e-books are also leading the way on making materials accessible for students with disabilities, Huisman said.

Open access textbooks can be edited by the students themselves to expand the print size or be read with electronic readers without any added costs. Other library resources benefit from those same advantages.

“If faculty adopt library resources, we have screen-reading software that can assist a student who has low vision in downloading an article in a different format, or even listen to it on their commute,” Huisman said.

Master of Public Administration professors Dr. Shawn Schooley, Dr. Jim Cottrill and Dr. Shoua Yang are working on developing their own open textbook “Minnesota Government and Politics”.

Schooley and his colleagues took over editing the book in 2018.

They collaborated with other Minnesota State faculty and other Minnesota officials to write chapters in the books. They wanted to make it open access and electronic at the time but didn’t know how. Instead they worked with a company that could create it as a textbook at the lowest cost possible — $75 per book.

They are now working with Quinlan who introduced them to Pressbooks and are learning the software, so they can release the next edition as open access with the goal of publishing this fall.

REPOSITORY CELEBRATES SCHOLARLY, CREATIVE WORKS Alumna Dana Nixon published her thesis on relationship experiences of Latino/a-White couples in St. Cloud State University’s institutional repository in December 2015 when she was finishing her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Her thesis has since been downloaded more than 40,000 times and is the most downloaded thesis on The Repository @ St. Cloud State.

The Repository is one of the largest

Kristi Trujillo Psychology and Business Management student

Beyond affordability, the library remains the heart of campus ... where students see it as a refuge of quiet and relaxation.

– KRISTI TRUJILLO

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1.96

MILLION DOWNLOADS

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investments St. Cloud State University has made to open access resources. Since its launch in 2011, it has seen more than 1.9 million downloads from across the world.

The Repository highlights the work of teacher-scholars and students at the university across all disciplines.

Since 2011, almost 40,000 institutions have downloaded material from the repository in 231 countries, said University Archivist Tom Steman.

“I am amazed every single month at how many downloads there are and where these downloads are coming from,” he said.

“Obviously the majority are from the United States, but I mean it’s all over the world. The impact is all over the world.”

Much of what has been published in the Repository so far is student theses and dissertations. But it offers a range of possibilities for content including grant reports, white papers, historical materials or creative works.

HEART OF CAMPUS Beyond affordability, the library remains the heart of campus at St. Cloud State University where students see it as a refuge of quiet and relaxation, said Kristi Trujillo, a senior double major in Psychology and Business Management.

The library is a refuge for students who can go there any time to seek assistance or a quiet place to study.

“Freshman year I spent a lot of time at the library,” Trujillo said. “By now I know the study areas and the hidden study rooms. I really love reading too.”

“It’s a place where I can study quietly and not have distractions,” she said.

“Especially with having a learning disability, I found it’s nice to have my own area where I know what works. And having the sound where I want it helps a lot because I come from home with two younger siblings.”

Trujillo also finds the library is a place where she can host study sessions with

COUNTRIES REACHED

4,983

PAPERS AVAILABLE

Faculty and students can put white papers, posters, videos and more on the Repository. Faculty are starting journals on the Repository, and it has the capability to host symposiums and conferences.

The Repository also houses University history with Steman entering digitized materials including commencement programs, catalogs and yearbooks from the university’s more than 150 years.

It highlights in one place the scholarship of students and employees while raising the visibility of St. Cloud State, Steman said.

“We have a lot of untapped opportunity there for people to get their work out there and be visible or find a partnership with someone,” Library Dean Rhonda Huismen said. “A researcher at another institution could find their article and ask to work on a research project together. A graduate student researching if they want to go into the field could find a professor’s work and want to study with them. It’s really a resource for our teacher-scholars.”

friends, do a literature review, read a book in a quiet corner, or check out multimedia equipment that is needed for a special class assignment.

“It’s a good place if you want to clear your mind for a bit and be on your phone and scroll, there’s lots of places to be here in the library,” she said.

Trujillo is a member of the Student Library Advisory Board, which plans events for the library, leads textbook drives and advises library administration on new opportunities they see within the library.

One issue Trujillo is passionate about is accessibility for students with disabilities.

“There’s always something going on at the library that can be used as a tool to help you succeed,” said VanderWerf, who also serves on the Student Advisory Board.

“Students that don’t use the library, I just worry about because all the answers are here. It’s pretty great.”

Librarians are also there to help students understand the information they’re

reading and seeing.

“There’s this perception that exists that there’s no need for the library because everything is just so easy to find and this generation, they know how to use technology,” Quinlan said. “But the difference between now and 20 years ago is that getting access to information is overwhelming.

There’s so much information out there, but a lot of times it’s the same information just repeating itself.”

Students need help to find the original source and to evaluate the information their finding to be sure they aren’t being tricked or persuaded by it, she said.

“My colleague and I teach critical thinking and academic research courses.

The library can give you a set of tools to help make research easier,” Quinlan said. ”We can reach students wherever they are, and we can help them. The library is there for them 24/7. We’re also here to support faculty and help them in their teaching and research.”

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

ALUMNI NEWS SHARE WITH US

Births and adoptions Marriages and commitments Unless otherwise noted, cities are in Minnesota

’60s

/ ’19 JOSEPH DONLEY and Jacquelyn (Dodd) Donley, Greensboro, North Carolina, 12/18/2021. / ’19 SPENCER SCHACHT, Luverne, joined KOB 4 as a reporter. / ’19 KATHLEEN (EMMER) STORM, Delano, is a host and reporter for Bally Sports North.

’68 ’76 MARGARET HENNEN, St. Paul, earned the Pat Jackson Distinguished Service to PRSA Award from the Public Relations Society of America.

’70s

’78 DONALD SETTER , Moorhead, retired from D.S. Beverages, Inc. in December where he worked for over 50 years.

’80s

28

CLASS NOTES KEY:

your milestones, experiences, changes or recent additions to your family.

Visit stcloudstate.edu/alumni/update to update your profile.

’80 CAROL (MAUS) PAYNE, Clear Lake, earned the 2021 Sunny Andrews Award for Outstanding Commitment to Social Work Regulatory Board Service from the Association of Social Work Boards. / ’82 ROBERT BISSEN, Annandale, Virginia, joined the National Head Start Association as director of government affairs. / ’89 BRUCE MIDDENDORF, Centerville, was promoted to senior director of global support operations at Infor.

’90s

’93 GEORGE MILLER , Sebring, Florida, earned an ADESE Fellowship, a year-long program for church leaders who are doing social-justice based work. / ’94 AMY (FRANZEN) SOLUM, Monticello, is an accountant for the Central Minnesota Workforce Center in Monticello. / ’95 ’97 HOLLY HASSEL , Wausau, Wisconsin, is a new member of The Forum’s Readers Board. / ’97 HOLLY (DISSELL) CHRISTENSON and Matthew Christenson, Shoreview, 8/7/2021. / ’97 ’99 LISA (QUEDNOW) QUEDNOW-BICKLER , Rochester, was approved by the NFHS National Council for a four-year term on their Board of Directors. / ’98 MICHAEL BAUER , Elk River, has been appointed the director of Parks and Recreation for Rogers.

’00s

’05 BRIAN BERGSTROM, Brookings, South Dakota, is head football coach for Winona State University. / ’08 JENNIFER (SCHUTTS) LINDAHL and Mike Lindahl, Hudson, Wisconsin, daughter, Vayda, 2/18/2020. / ’09 DESIREE LEE, New York, New York, is chief technology officer (CTO) for data with Armis.

’10s

’11 MONAIE HEBERT, St. Paul, is a detention facilities inspector with the Department of Corrections. / ’11 BRYAN MORBEN, Minneapolis, has joined Fredrikson & Byron’s Minneapolis office and is a member of the Employment & Labor, Non-Competes and Litigation Groups. / ’12 CHAD JOHNSON, Becker, is executive director of Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity. / ’14 BOBBI BOOMGARDEN, Loveland, Colorado, joined the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority. / ’14 IAN HENDRICKSON, Buffalo, joined the Milaca School District as an elementary music teacher. / ’15 KERI (STEINMETZ) HAMEL , Minneapolis, joined the Xerxes Global Team as their corporate events and meetings manager. / ’16 JULIA CLIFFORD, Ham Lake, joined Bucknell’s Women’s Soccer program as an assistant coach. / ’17 DESIREE (LEIGH) CLARK , St. Cloud, is the civil rights, Title IX, affirmative action and compliance officer for the Minnesota State System Office. / ’17 ’19 PAIGE (ROSS) MALLINGER and Matthew Mallinger, Minneapolis, son, Wells, 11/8/2020. / ’17 KRISTOPHER (HAWKINS) OLIVEIRA and Alfredo Oliveira, New York, New York, 9/28/2015.

Kristopher leads the Gender + Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) at Princeton University as assistant dean for Diversity and Inclusion and GSRC director. / ’19 LAURIE PUTNAM, St. Cloud, was chosen as the superintendent for the St. Cloud Area School District and is the first woman to lead District 742.

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’20s

’20 KIRSTEN KRULL , Rochester, joins The Rink Live, covering prospects and junior hockey. / ’20 CARINA SCHNEIDER , Zimmerman, joined the Milaca School District teaching middle school band. / ’21 DOMINICK OLIVANTI, Virginia, stepped into the role of director of Vocational Services with Range Center where he serves the mentally and physically vulnerable adult population. / ’21 SANGEETA PRADHAN JOSHI, Sunakothi, Lalitpur, was appointed head of the Research & Innovation Unit at Advanced College of Engineering and Management.

Non-Grad

KARI PRYOR , Reno, Nevada, is vice principal at Fremont Elementary School.

ST. CLOUD STATE ALUMNI help power the state economy.

103,499 alumni over a 40-year span will contribute nearly $61.2 billion to Minnesota's economy.

ALUMNI NEWS to help the St. Cloud State community believe it was worth major investment from our donors. That’s a really important thing; you have to really believe you’re worth it to convey that kind of confidence to a donor.

Another challenge is that it had been over 20 years since the last campaign so in many respects we were starting all over again.

Q: What excites you about the future of philanthropy at St. Cloud State?

Q&A MATT ANDREW, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT, ANSWERS A FEW QUESTIONS AS HE PREPARES FOR RETIREMENT THIS SPRING

By Colleen Harrison Q: What was it that drew you to the opportunity at St. Cloud State?

A: After working in advertising for some time, I transitioned into higher education working in advancement — as an Associate Vice President for development and alumni programs for Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, my hometown. I was there for seven years and I was interested in moving up into a leadership position. I’d get inquiries all the time from various recruiters, and this one came my way. The headline caught my attention. It said, “In St. Cloud, Minnesota, they have two seasons: summer and hockey.”

So I read on and it intrigued me.

The community of students that St. Cloud State serves reminded me so much of my own journey as a first-generation college student. I saw this as an opportunity to build something. It was really the mission and the kind of students being served by St. Cloud State that motivated me.

Q: What were the challenges you encountered as you prepared for the “Unleash the Future” campaign?

A: The challenges are too numerous to mention them all, but one of the first things I sensed and understood here was that, the institution itself suffered from a lack of what I’ll call institutional self esteem. Faculty, other leaders, coaches — I don’t think they necessarily believed that their academic program or sport was worthy of a $1 million gift. So I think one of the challenges was that we had

A: As I conclude my time here, we are preparing and completing our strategic plan, which will guide the Foundation through its work over the next five years. The state of Minnesota, as with all states across the country, is not investing in its higher education systems in the way that it once did a generation or more ago. And there are a lot of reasons for that, but institutions like St. Cloud State have to seize control of their destiny, independent from whatever the state of Minnesota decides to invest in us. That means more and more private resources will need to be raised in order to meet and further our educational mission and our service to the students and, by extension, to the state of Minnesota. So I see philanthropy growing increasingly more important to the work being done at St. Cloud State.

Q: How do you want your time at St. Cloud State to be remembered?

A: I think all of us in any organization or any institution are really just momentary stewards of their institution or organization. I don’t expect that my name will be recalled 10 years from now. That’s not why I’m here. What I hope is that the Foundation — what I’ve left, and the energy and the movement toward a new era of philanthropy, a new way of thinking about it — those things will have been cemented and they will last, and that the success of the people who come in the decade after me and following that, they will benefit from the foundational things I’ve put in place that have created a shift in the philanthropic culture.

Q: What’s next for you and your family?

A: Nancy and I recently became grandparents to our first — a boy, Everett August Andrew, born to my son Alex and his wife Jordan who live outside of D.C. I think I’m going to look for ways that I can remain relevant and still contribute — probably somewhere within the realm of the philanthropic landscape. I also envision opportunities for travel and taking time to be with family and friends, and embrace the joyous things in life.

Alumni and friends who wish to honor Matt’s service to St. Cloud State are encouraged to make a gift to the Matt and Nancy Andrew …ndowed Study Abroad Scholarship at www.stcloudstate.edu/impact ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

29

ALUMNI NEWS ALUMNA ON THE WORLD STAGE Belinda Lee ’16 ’20 made her mark on the world as a U.S. State Department youth ambassador at the World Expo in Dubai.

Lee lived and work in Dubai throughout the six-month run of the expo introducing U.S. pavilion visitors to the diverse and rich culture of the United States.

“Each day I meet so many people visiting from all parts of the world,” Lee said during the Expo. “The conversations I have with guests make the day fly by. I appreciate that I get to share what the U.S. is like to visitors.”

Lee was one of 75 youth ambassadors representing 46 states and U.S. territories at the expo from October to March.

Lee and the rest of the youth ambassadors engaged pavilion visitors on American values, innovation, history and culture. The pavilion’s theme was “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Future” and it highlighted the history of U.S. invention up to today’s innovators and companies.

30

Visitors included a few alumni, students and staff members from St. Cloud State. Lee and her fellow ambassadors built connections with visitors from across the world, while also sharing their unique culture and background. As a Hmong woman from Minnesota, Lee said she sometimes received questions from visitors who have a specific worldview of the United States. She was able to share with them her Hmong history and heritage and help widen their understanding of the American people.

“I educate and inform visitors about the diverse communities that the U.S. has and broaden their view of where I come from,” she said.

“My role as a youth ambassador representing a diverse community is an important role to be in, especially on a global level at the World Expo.”

HUSKY PLAZA

– a new gathering place on campus featuring a bronze Husky statue designed by a commissioned artist Purchase an engraved brick for the plaza and add to the more than 650 bricks already purchased.

ORDER YOURS TODAY!

scsu.mn/bricks

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Lee credits her experiences studying abroad at St. Cloud State as she majored in Travel and Tourism and later completed her master’s degree in College Counseling and Student Development while working in the Center for International Studies, with preparing her for the role of youth ambassador.

THE SCSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION offers services and fun discounts to members of our alumni community.

OCTOBER 17-22

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A LOCATION TO STORE YOUR PHOTOS? DO YOU CREATE GIFTS WITH YOUR PERSONALIZED PHOTOS?

With each purchase, the St. Cloud State Alumni Association will receive an 8% rebate of your purchases for alumni events and programs. Shutterfly membership is subject to the Shutterfly terms and conditions.

www.stcloudstate.shutterflystorefront.com

31 DO YOU SHOP ON AMAZON?

Support the SCSU Alumni Association projects by going to smile. amazon.com and selecting St. Cloud State University Alumni Association. 0.5% of your purchase amount will go to the association.

MENTION YOU ARE AN ALUMNA/ALUMNUS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHER SELECT BENEFITS: Gear up with SCSU Huskies wear!

Watch for weekly sale items online.

www.scsuhuskiesgear.com Need a hotel or bed & breakfast location while visiting family or friends in the St. Cloud area?

stcloudstate.edu/alumni/benefits

SAVE THE DATES, HUSKIES! stcloudstate.edu/homecoming

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

HONORING A LEGACY ENSURING THE CREATIVE LEGACY OF RALPH HEIMDAHL ’30

BY COLLEEN HARRISON

32

While Ralph Heimdahl ’30 attended St. Cloud State University when it was a teachers college, his career turned out to be more animated. Heimdahl’s daughter, Martha Slavin, is ensuring her late father’s creative legacy carries on and benefits students at his alma mater.

Heimdahl finished his two-year degree in 1930, going on to teach art for several years before he was invited to attend Walt Disney’s animation school. Eventually he would teach animation there while working on such classics as “Fantasia,” “Dumbo” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Heimdahl was offered the Bugs Bunny newspaper comic strip in 1948. He would illustrate it for over 30 years. He also drew comic book covers and drew some of the children’s books that featured Bugs Bunny. He would later do some work for HannaBarbera on the Yogi Bear comic strips that published in England.

In 2019, Heimdahl’s daughter, Martha Slavin, started working with St. Cloud State Vice President of University Advancement Matt Andrew and University Archivist Tom Steman to bring some of her father’s work on the Bugs Bunny comic strips to the University Archives. By the end of 2019, the materials were housed at St. Cloud State.

Heimdahl, pictured with contest winners, was always good with children, said his daughter Martha Slavin.

“SCSU seemed the best place for my dad’s drawings. I wanted them to be saved and available to other people to look at,” Slavin said. “I hope that the collection will be a means of studying how an artist develops ideas — whether for comic art or other media.”

Slavin said it typically took her father about one day to design and draw one daily strip — first as a pencil underdrawing, then the final inked version with a brush. “When you are working on something in the art world, you spend your time in intense concentration. But it is also just a job in the end,” Slavin said. “He enjoyed it or he would have stopped and worked at something else. It was a challenge to him and he especially enjoyed the reaction from people who loved the strip and Bugs Bunny.”

Slavin said her father was a meticulous chronicler of his time as an artist. Heimdahl kept five binders full of information about his activities, including extra work he did for various charities, colleges and libraries, as well as every fan letter he ever received.

Slavin and her husband, Bill, provided financial support for Archives to hire staff to catalog and arrange the materials and records from Heimdahl. Steman said then-graduate student Marissa Hendrickson helped work on the project, which includes over a thousand illustrations.

Slavin said she hopes the materials give people insight into her father — who she said has been an inspiration to many, including those in his own family.

“My dad was a humble, quiet, serious person, but he never lost his child-like wonder. He was always seeing things in a different way,” Slavin said. “He had a good sense of humor, which would show up in his drawings. His drawings were not laugh-out-loud kinds of drawings. They would just make you smile.”

PHOTOS: ©WARNER BROS

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ALUMNI NEWS ALUMNI WE REMEMBER ’30s

’37 GERTRUDE (HOFFARTH) SCHAUBACH, 103, Crosby

’40s

’40 FLORENCE (VOLLMER) EMME, 101, Lakeland, Florida / ’43 ELNORE AHLBORN, 98, Pemberton / ’45 BERNIL (HAUSWEDELL) NEUMANN, 96, Annandale / ’45 ’72 JUANITA (HARRIS) LUSSENHOP, 95, St. Paul / ’46 ’69 JEANNE (ANDERSON) KOEPPL , 95, Brainerd / ’48 ELLWOOD ANDERSON, 99, Minneapolis / ’49 ALICE BLOCK , 92, Spicer / ’49 MARY (MANSUR) LATVALA , 92, Nashwauk

’50s

’50 VERNON HAHN, 98, Coon Rapids / ’50 LOREN MOSMAN, 97, Anoka / ’50 RUTH PEARSON, 91, Delphi, Indiana / ’50 ’65 JOAN CHRISTIANSEN, 93, Buffalo / ’51 ANNETTE (THORSON) GEER , New London / ’51 BONNIE (BERNARDS) HUMMEL , 89, Champaign, Ilinois / ’51 ROBERT LYNG, 92, Gold Canyon, Arizona / ’51 ’52 ’62 LAUREL (DEPUIS) Brainard, 91, Arvada, Colorado / ’51 ’55 M. KENNETH NOVAK , 92, Minnetonka / ’52 REUBEN LARSON, 92, Lake Elmo / ’52 RICHARD RUEGEMER , 90, St. Cloud / ’52 ’71 CAROLYN (SKOOG) FRISCH, 91, Brainerd / ’53 JEANNENE (HANN) FALLER , San Diego, California / ’53 ADELINE (DICKINSON) VOTH, 99, St. Cloud / ’53 ARLENE (RICE) ZIMPEL , 89, Plummer / ’54 ’64 BURTON LUNDBERG, 102, New London / ’55 DONAVON ROELOFS , 92, Midlothian, Virginia / ’56 JOHN CHISHOLM, 86, St. Paul / ’56 KENNETH GAMMON, 84, Georgetown, Kentucky / ’56 ARDYCE (BROCKMAN) JOHNSON, 87, Baxter / ’56 MARILYN LEINES , 86, Willmar / ’56 MARGARET (LAUERMANN) TURLO, 86, Palm Springs, California / ’56 JOAN (JOHNSON) WICKLUND, 85, Faribault / ’56 ’64 ’75 EUNICE (LATTERELL) CROSS , 89, Foley / ’56 ’66 PETER PETERSON, 87, Minneapolis / ’57 PETER ROBINSON, 86, Baudette / ’58 ’64 SCOTT PETERSON, 85, Minneapolis / ’58 ’65 CLARK SWENSON, 85, Buffalo / ’59 STANLEY LYNNE, 84, Ortonville / ’59 DALE SMITH, 85, Manhattan Beach, California / ’59 JEANETTE (STEICHEN) TAUFEN, 83, Cold Spring / ’59 ’68 DOUGLAS DION, 87, Mound / ’59 ’69 NORMAN ZIRBES , 91, St. Cloud

’60s

’60 DORIS (SMITH) FASCHING, 82, Hutchinson / ’60 JAMES LARSON, 84, New London / ’62 RODNEY BRODING, 81, Wadena / ’62 RICHARD GRIFFIN, 82, St. Petersburg, Florida / ’62 KATHLEEN (SPESCHA) MAMPLE, 79, Mahtomedi / ’62 WILLIAM REBISCHKE, 83, Waite Park / ’62 DUWAYNE SABROWSKY, 86, Avon / ’62 PAUL SAHLSTROM, 81, Milaca / ’62 ROBERT WEIR , 82, Red Wing / ’62 DIANE (WINICK) WILD, 80, Slidell, Louisiana / ’63 DAVID HUBERTY, 80, St. Cloud / ’63 NEIL JOHNSON, 83, Apple Valley / ’63 SALLY LAKE, 84, Monroe,

ALUMNUS'S WILD CARD KIDS COVERAGE NETS EMMY Ben Pluimer ’04, Mass Communications graduate, was part of the creative team at Nickelodeon that won a 2021 Emmy for the Outstanding Playoff Coverage category for the network’s alternative coverage of the NFL Wild Card game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints in January 2021.

“We tailored a live NFL broadcast for kids ... lots of slime and animation, SpongeBob and more,” he said.

The production is a prime example of what Pluimer loves about his job — each day is different.

“I love that every show, every commercial, every project is a new challenge,” he said. “I’m 15 years deep into this career and I love the feeling of starting a new show and seeing it on TV. I get to work with the most incredibly talented people every day.”

He works as a director, producer and showrunner. He has directed and created for the likes of Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Amazon, Funny or Die, ABC and Fox, among many others.

BY THE NUMBERS

There are more than 127,000 Huskies Alumni worldwide.

ST. CLOUD STATE MAGAZINE

33

ALUMNI NEWS Michigan / ’63 HAROLD OLSON, 82, St. Paul / ’63 PATRICIA SCHUMACHER , 83, Yucaipa, California / ’63 SHARON SOIKE, 79, Golden Valley / ’63 BONNIE (SWANSON) WIESE, 81, Belle Plaine / ’64 JUDITH (BAIRD) BORGERDING, 79, St. Cloud / ’64 ALLYN JOHNSON, 81, Cambridge / ’64 LEE KANE, 82, Geneseo, Illinois / ’64 MARIE KOSEL , 79, St. Stephen / ’64 ’71 JAMES KLEIN, 81, Edgerton, Wisconsin / ’65 MICHAEL KEABLE, 81, St. Joseph / ’65 ALVIN KERN, 79, Cold Spring / ’65 ALICE LEGUERI, 90, Cloquet / ’65 BEVERLY RYAN, 81, Minneapolis / ’65 KINSLEY THOMPSON, 77, St. Michael / ’65 ’67 JAMES PEHLER , 79, St. Cloud / ’66 PHYLLIS (MILLER) MYERS , 94, Litchfield / ’66 JOHN SARYCH, 78, Burnsville / ’66 ’72 BRUCE MCCLELLAN, 76, International Falls / ’67 DIANNE (SWANSON) BERG, 76, Big Lake / ’68 GEORGE CRANBROOK , 82, Maple Grove / ’68 JUDY (OLSON) RAMOLA , 76, Maple Plain / ’68 CLARENCE ROSS , 79, Poway, California / ’68 FRANCES SPITZACK , 78, Warsaw / ’68 THOMAS WILLIAMS , 76, St. Joseph / ’68 ’75 LEONARD LOKKEN, 76, Outing / ’69 DEAN HOFFMAN, 75, Appleton, Wisconsin / ’69 JUDY (CARLSON) LONG, 76, Aitkin / ’69 RONALD SWENSON, 76, San Jose, California / ’69 DAVID VOSS , 77, Danville, Kentucky / ’69 LANCE WITTE, 76, Phoenix, Arizona

’80s

’70s

34

HESSELROTH, 75, Minnetonka / ’71 PAMELA (HEFNER) HOPF, 72, Estero, Florida / ’71 WILLIAM MILLER , 74, New London / ’71 ROYCE NIES , 75, Sartell / ’71 RONALD OLIPHANT, 74, Lakeville / ’71 SHARON (MELBERG) WITT, 72, Bonita Springs, Florida / ’72 LAURA (SCHUTZ) HILL , 71, Cambridge / ’72 RICHARD STOWE, 75, Osakis / ’73 GARY BECKLUND, 80, Fergus Falls / ’73 MARY (WANSTROM) FRANZMAN, 92, Elk River / ’74 CAROLYN (TRETTEL) BECHER , 68, Paynesville / ’74 STEVEN COLEBECK , 72, Rochester / ’74 SHEILA GERMAIN, 69, Prior Lake / ’74 KURT MAYER , 79, Waite Park / ’74 PATRICIA SALTNESS , 84, Dawson / ’75 DEBORAH (REINMUTH) KUECHLE, 68, Ramsey / ’75 KATHERYN (NELSON) LODERMEIER , 68, St. Joseph / ’76 STEVEN LANDGRAF, 66, Arden Hills / ’76 JEFFREY RAJKOWSKI, 68, Coram, Montana / ’76 ALAN STARK , 67, Wayzata / ’77 BRIAN HOBERG, 55, Coon Rapids / ’77 BARBARA (CARLOCK) SEDLACHEK , 71, Los Fresnos, Texas / ’77 MARGARET VOSS , 67, Austin / ’77 ’80 GEORGE GREGORICH, 73, St. Cloud / ’77 ’93 KARIS (KOWALKE) WONG, 67, Plymouth / ’78 LORNA (DOBIE) JAMES , 94, Isle / ’79 H. ROGER LAMPPA , 88, Virginia / ’79 MICHAEL WENNER , 64, Sartell

’70 BYRON ANDERSON, 72, Minnetonka / ’70 ELIZABETH BIREN, 88, Pipestone / ’70 LYNDA (GRAVES) RICHARDSON, 72, Anoka / ’70 MARGARET (CASSEDAY) ZIMMER , 79, Waseca / ’71 JOHN

’80 BEVERLY (JACOBSE) NESTINGEN-LUNDEEN, 90, Red Wing / ’80 STEVEN ORN, 64, York, South Carolina / ’80 LUCIE (WONG) POWELL , 64, The Villages, Florida / ’80 CARY SWENSON, 63, Delano / ’80 THOMAS TORGERSON, 64, Pelican Rapids /

’82 JANE (KALLESTA) WINBERG, 83, Richfield / ’86 JOHN MOBERG, 55, Onamia / ’86 CONSTANCE (BELSHE) STENNES , 76, Eagan / ’87 TODD ANDERSON, 57, Tomah, Wisconsin / ’88 DORIS (JOHNSON) DEML , 83, Minneapolis / ’88 AVIS (LARSON) JOHNSON, 87, Hector / ’88 SHIRLEY (MCLEAN) LAMPE, 92, Belgrade / ’88 BARBARA ROSEN, 55, Mountain View, California / ’89 MARILYNN DICKINSON, 84, Bertha / ’89 JEFFREY KVAM, 55, Rockford / ’89 GREGORY LENZ , 71, Brooklyn Park / ’89 SCOTT PEARSON, 57, Dripping Springs, Texas

’90s

’90 ’92 JUDITH (BENSON) BENSON-SHERWOOD, 78, Becker / ’91 GAYLAN PEGEL , 72, San Antonio, Texas / ’92 STEVEN CARLSON, 55, New Ulm / ’92 LISA MARTINSON, 51, Ramsey / ’92 JAMES PUHEK , 52, Atlanta, Georgia / ’93 RICHARD GABLER , 56, Prior Lake / ’93 CHAD GUNDERSON, 51, Hutchinson / ’94 SHARI (MILLNER) DANZEISEN, 49, Annandale / ’94 CRAIG FEY, 49, Edgerton / ’95 ’01 WILLIAM VOGELER , 67, Alexandria / ’96 AIMEE CLEMENT, 48, Clive, Iowa / ’96 BRETT LEDIN, 48, Fairmont / ’96 DONALD RODEWALD, 62, Little Falls / ’97 JEFFREY DEJNO, 51, Eau Claire, Wisconsin / ’98 COURTNEY BEDNARZ , 47, Brooklyn Park / ’99 TERRY PARSON, 66, Mora / ’99 MILLICENT (LINMAN) VETSCH, 91, Monticello

’00s

’03 MEGAN (POTHEN) GRAHAM, 40, Faribault / ’05 MICHAEL ELHARD, 39, Eden Prairie

’10s

THANK YOU SCHOLARSHIP DONORS! BECAUSE OF YOU IN 2020-2021:

1,012

SCSU students awarded

1.29

$

MILLION

in scholarships

HT TP S://TODAY.STCLOUDSTATE.EDU/MAG | SPRING / SUMMER 2022

’19 SAMUEL GARLAND, 22, St. Cloud

’20s

’21 SUMMER SCHMITZ, 36, Willmar

FACULTY WE REMEMBER

JANE AMUNDSON, 78, St. Joseph / GERALD BUTNER , 86, Sartell / KENT CARLSON, 82, Rochert / CHARLES CRANE, 90, Sun City West, Arizona / GRAMER DAVIS , 84, New Ulm / ABDALLA HANAFY, 90, St. Cloud / MARY HOWARD, 94, St. Cloud / KEITH HUGHES , 85, St. Cloud / JOACHIM JANSKI, 85, Sauk Rapids / BEULAH KOCH, 100, St. Cloud / LYNDREN KUHLMAN, 86, Hazel, South Dakota / HELEN LEMKE, 95, Sauk Rapids / JOHN MCCUE, 88, St. Cloud / J. BRENT NORLEM, 87, Monticello / JOHN OLINGER , 94, St. Cloud / DONALD SIGGELKOW, 62, St. Anthony / JOHN SIMONETT, 87, Minneapolis / JUDITH STORKAMP, 70, St. Cloud / WARREN VETH, 92, San Lorenzo, California / DAVID WARNE, 68, St. Cloud / DARRELL WENTWORTH, 90, Bellevue, Nebraska / JOSEPH WIEHOFF, 63, St. Cloud / GEORGE YOOS , 98, Clear Lake

HEALING LAKE GEORGE NOAH CZECH ’06 WORKS TO CLEAN UP LOCAL BODIES OF WATER

BY COLLEEN HARRISON

Noah Czech ’06 has been a stormwater compliance specialist with the city of St. Cloud since 2007. For the past few years, he’s been part of a team working to clean up Lake George. The St. Cloud landmark has been on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s list of impaired waters in the state since 2012.

Czech said the lake has a rich history, starting as a wetland area before it was dredged and reshaped into a lake in the 1920s.

In 2002 the city completed a shoreline restoration project around the lake, renovations were made to complete the Lake George Municipal Complex in 2007, and in 2008 fishing piers were installed along with 28,000 square feet of brick walkways. Water quality studies were completed in 2010, and the lake was added to the state’s impaired water lists as a result of high phosphorous levels and poor water clarity.

Czech said in 2017 the city’s stormwater division looked at the lake and made it a priority improvement project.

The team started taking regular samples and worked on a watershed assessment plan. Czech said that essentially 100 years worth of pollutants had run off into the lake, leading to the high phosphorous levels — which can lead to algae and bring an unpleasant odor and look to bodies of water — and a lower-than-state-standard water clarity.

Before

Now, Lake George’s water quality exceeds state standards. The phosphorus levels have been reduced from 45 parts per billion down to 18 ppb, and the water clarity has improved from 5.8 feet up to 10 feet. The MPCA is expected to remove Lake George from the state impaired waters list some time this year.

Czech said the project has been a great way to educate the public, and that outreach along with taking care of storm drains and employing the use of streetsweepers will go a long way to help maintain the water quality of the lake.

He has always been interested in the outdoors and that is why he chose the Environmental Studies program at St. Cloud State as a student where he found his niche. While playing four years with the University’s baseball team, Czech enjoyed his coursework and eventually interned with the Sauk River Watershed District before moving into full-time work. Czech said his connections at St. Cloud State helped him find something he wanted to do locally, and the University is also where he met his wife, Laura.

Learning from faculty Dr. Chuck Rose and Dr. Mitch Bender helped him find a career that’s different every day, and Czech said he now comes back to his alma mater to speak in their classes.

“It helped me see that was what I wanted to do,” he said.

After

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Tyler Turriff is developing a bio-impedance analyzer for his senior design project as an Electrical Engineering major. A hands-on learning approach is found in majors across campus. https://itstime.startribune.com