UMC Summer News - June 2001

Congratulations to the following 2001 faculty and staff award winners!
The following individuals were recognized with awards at the annual UMC faculty and staff recognition celebration, held May 17.

First Annual Horticulture Extravaganza June 15-16

The First Annual Horticulture Extravaganza on June 15-16 will showcase a wide spectrum of horticultural experts and topics on UMC’s beautifully landscaped campus. Jane Sims, Director of the Center for Adult Learning, expects over 150 attendees from Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba over the two days. “We have a wide variety of topics, including sessions that highlight University of Minnesota faculty and researchers in their area of expertise. This is a great opportunity for professionals and garden or landscape enthusiasts of all ages to learn about new techniques and new plant varieties.”

For information or to register, contact the UMC Center for Adult Learning, (800) 862-6466 ext. 8681 or (218) 281-8681, or e-mail your request to hbertsch@mail.crk.umn.edu. Visit the event’s website at <www.umcrookston.edu/cal/horticulture2001> to see the Father’s Day Gift Certificate offer.

Rocket eBook Reader

The Rocket eBook reader is available for check out during the summer. If you have a long trip via car or plane over spring break and like to read while you travel, the Rocket eBook reader is the way to go.

We have a reservation calendar for it so you can book it for your trip. Contact Owen (8395) or Liz (8397) at the UMC Library to see if the time you want is available. There are many open dates. A week or two is normal.

The attached document describes the Rocket eBook and has a list of titles loaded on the Rocket eBook at this time. eBOOK DOC
--James Carlson, Assistant Librarian

Wanted: Office XP Testers
We are looking for volunteers who would like install Office XP on their laptops to test it out. Please contact Peg Sherven, Jeff Sperling, and/or myself if you are interested. Thanks.
--Diane Moen, Chief Information Officer

Kiehle Renovation/Expansion Begins
Excavation for the renovation and expansion of Kiehle Building began May 29. The project plan includes renovation of about 22,000 square feet and addition of about 17,000 square feet. The project will expand the functions of Kiehle Auditorium, and the Music and Theater Departments, and will create a student technology center space on the second floor of the Library. The design also includes a renovated space for a UMC Alumni and Development Center and a new consolidated Technology Center.

Most of the expansion will take place between Kiehle Building and the UMC Library. Plans also call for the demolition of the existing south entry to Kiehle Building. A new entrance with a rotunda and elevator to the second floor will be built in its place.

Summer Recycling Issues
Just a friendly reminder that UMC's recycling program will be in full force this summer. The recycling committee would like to thank you for your cooperation and assistance, and we would like to remind you that your continued support is greatly appreciated. This is a program that our entire UMC campus should be proud of!

The recycling committee would also like to take this opportunity to introduce a new recycling container option for those of you that must frequently empty the cardboard containers for recycling paper.

28 qt. garbage basket w/ saddle basket

28 qt. paper recycling basket w/ saddle basket

Above you will find a container that can be attached to the interior or exterior of an existing garbage (see top left photo) to convert the garbage into the paper recycling bin and to utilize the saddle basket as the new garbage container. If you do not currently have a 28 qt. garbage basket, a paper recycling basket (see top right photo) can also be purchased.

Since the majority of waste on our campus is comprised of paper (office, colored, magazines, books, etc.), this would be a very appropriate solution for you to reduce your number of trips to the departmental paper recycling stations and to promote recycling while reducing waste.

The 28 qt. Rubbermaid paper recycling basket and Eldon saddle basket, at the special prices of $4.05 and $3.75 respectively, can be ordered from North Country Business Products in Crookston. Please let the chairperson of your respective department know if you are interested in obtaining either of these bins, and please encourage them to support the purchase of these recycling containers. I, Steven Brandt, will be collecting orders from each department chairperson and submitting the collective order for UMC.

Your continued support is needed to keep UMC's Recycling Program successful!
--Steven N. Brandt, President, Crookston Student Association

Updating Program Flyers and Web Pages
Attention academic program managers! Summer is an excellent time to update your program flyers and program websites. I have hired UMC student Cameron Brauer to assist with the updating of academic program websites (refer to those located at <www.umcrookston.edu/academics/degreesalpha.htm>), and John Zak and I are available to work with you on updating the one-page program flyers used for recruiting and promoting your degree programs. If you are interested in working with us, please contact me at 281-8435.
--Andrew Svec, Director of Communications

Website Access Reports
UMC’s main website hosted 999,998 visitors in April 2001 and 68,893 visitors in May 2001. Roughly 70-75% of the visitors were UMC related, 20-25% were non-UMC visitors from somewhere in the U.S., and a consistent 5% were international visitors. For more web access information about specific web pages, please refer to the reports posted at <http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/~asvec/webreports/>.
--Andrew Svec, Director of Communications

Pam Elf Hired in Biology
Pam Elf has been hired as an assistant professor of biology in the Center for Learning Foundations at UMC. The faculty appointment is a tenure track position. Elf will teach courses in anatomy and physiology and genetics at UMC, and she will teach and coordinate anatomy and physiology courses at Northwest Technical College in East Grand Forks. Previously she has served as an adjunct instructor for UMC. Elf is in the final stages of completing her Ph.D. at the University of North Dakota.

Chris Przemieniecki Hired as Women’s Soccer Coach
Chris Przemieniecki (pronounced per shem in es key) has been hired to serve as the head women’s soccer coach at UMC. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Coach Przemieniecki has over ten years' of collegiate coaching experience at the Division I, II, and NAIA levels. A former goalkeeper himself, Przemieniecki has played at the amateur, collegiate, and international levels. He has played soccer for Otterbein College in Ohio as well as for teams in Poland and Spain. Prior to his being hired at UMC, he most recently served as head men's and assistant women's soccer coach at Lambuth University in Tennessee. He holds an M.S. degree in criminal justice and a B.A. degree in sociology. We welcome him to campus!

Mark Huglen, assistant professor of speech communication, serves as guest editor of a special section entitled “Rhetoric, Politics, and Critique” appearing the Spring 2001 edition of the American Communication Journal. The Journal and his work are available online at <http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol4/iss3/index.htm>.

Sue Knutson, residential life building and grounds worker, has been named Employee of the Semester for Spring 2001 by the UMC United Staff Association (USA). She received the award during the annual faculty and staff recognition celebration, held May 17. Knutson was cited for her dedication to her job and to students. She has been employed at UMC for the past 13 years.

The Northwest Minnesota Foundation recently presented the Ruth Edevold Award for Excellence to Northern Great Plains (NGP) Inc., based on the UMC campus. The award recognized the FarmConnect project, which helps farmers market their products through a new approach to a farmer’s cooperative. Congratulations to Brent Sorenson and Jerry Nagel of NGP, who have been involved with the project. NGP Inc. is a network of businesses, institutions, organizations, and their leadership working together to build a strong economic and healthy ecological future for the people and communities on the Northern Great Plains. The NW Minnesota Foundation highlights the successes and commitment of others in the region by honoring individuals and organizations that have worked toward improving the quality of life for people of northwest Minnesota.

Richard Nelson, director of the Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources at UMC, has been selected to serve as one of six individuals representing the University of Minnesota system within the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Academic Leadership Program. Over the course of a one-year term, the program involves its members in three two-day seminars plus readings and participation in related activities on their home campuses between seminars. The overall format is designed to maximize interaction among participants, who then discuss and develop aspects of the seminar topic through case studies, workshops, and other group exercises.

Sue and Bruce Brorson are one of four couples spotlighted in a feature called “Love, University Style” that appears in the May 2001 issue of U of M Kiosk. The article focuses on couples who met and/or work together at each of the four U of M campuses. The article is available at

<http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/kiosk/05.01text/love.html>.

Summer Golf Events
Below is the schedule of UMC/Teambackers golf events for this summer. We hope you will look at our schedule and at your calendars to see if you can fit a couple of these outings into your work plan for the summer. You can put together your own teams or we can help you. Transportation is normally available from campus. If you have questions, please contact the Office of University Relations at 218-281-8439.

NWSA Reunion Set for June 29-30
NWSA Logo

Four individuals will be honored at the annual Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) Alumni Reunion to be held Friday, June 29, and Saturday, June 30, at UMC. Receiving the Top Aggie Awards will be: Evangeline Anderson Myhre ’46 of Warren, MN; Ray K. Johnson ’46 of Cincinnati, OH; Roger J. Kasprick ’51 of Collegeville, MN; and JoAnne Straus Carlson ’61 of Brainerd, MN. Honored classes will include 1926, 1931,1936,1941,1946,1951,1956,1961, and 1966.

Festivities begin on Friday, June 29, at 9:30 a.m. with a 9-hole golf scramble followed by lunch at Minakwa Golf Club in Crookston. At 7:00 p.m. alumni members and guests will take part in a social at the Northland Inn in Crookston.

On Saturday, June 30, reunion registration begins at 8 a.m. in UMC’s Sahlstrom Conference Center and continues all day. Campus tours begin at 11:00 a.m., with a pig roast scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on the Mall. Class meetings will be held starting at 1:30 p.m. with class photos at 4 p.m. at the Peterson Gazebo on the Mall. The Top Aggies will be honored at a banquet at 5:30 p.m. in Brown Dining Room.

Mary Feller of Admissions and her husband Chris had a baby boy on Sunday, May 20, at 12:42 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 22 inches long. They named him Jackson Christopher. Mom and baby are doing great!

Reminder: Faculty and staff are encouraged to share well wishes for birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. with the rest of the campus. Please send items for this week’s special dates via e-mail to Andrew Svec at asvec@mail.crk.umn.edu. Thanks.

Thanks for the Award
I would like to thank everyone at UMC for the Distinguished Service Award. It was truly an honor and very much a surprise to receive such an award. I can honestly say that when I came to Crookston in 1996 and began working at UMC as an Admissions Counselor, I never expected that five years later I would be getting married and settling into the region. I have experienced so much at UMC, and I thank everyone on campus for all of your support as you allowed me to grow both professionally and personally. UMC is a wonderful place to work, and I look forward to many more years on campus. Thank you again.
--Kami Trowbridge, Director of First Year Experience

Thanks from ROTC
Dear Chancellor Sargeant,
Thank you for your wonderful note, but moreover for your hospitality on the 5th. It was you and your staff who made our day so very special. Lt. Stanley has already reported to Wright-Patterson AFB and is getting settled.

My wife and I talked at length on our trip back to Fargo and were both amazed with the kindness and respect shown us at UMC. I will never forget that. After having served through some very tough times for the U.S. Military, it really does my heart good to be welcomed to a function like graduation. We feel we are on a roll with UMC and hope we can provide young people with a high quality place to finish their degrees.
--Col. Clark Wigley, Commander of Air Force ROTC Detachment 610

Thank You
Just a short note from my wife and I to thank you for inviting us to your recognition celebration luncheon and program on the 17th of May. Also to commend you and your staff on the new [golden eagle] image for the Crookston Campus. Super choice! Thank you.
--Earl J. Carlson, former head of NWROC facilities management, retired

Bulletin Schedule for Summer
Over the summer months there will be three “Summer News” issues. Here are the remaining scheduled release dates with submission deadline dates in parentheses.

The UMC Weekly Bulletin will resume its regular weekly publication on August 22, 2001. Deadline for submission for that edition is noon on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001.

Publication Information:

UMC Summer News is published by University Relations once a month in June, July, and August. Please send items for Summer News electronically to Andrew Svec, Director of Communications, at <asvec@mail.crk.umn.edu>

Disability accommodations will be provided upon request for all events. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.