Four Receive UMC Torch and Shield Awards for 2003
The University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) honored four individuals at the annual Torch and Shield Awards Program, held Tuesday, November 18, in Kiehle Auditorium on the campus. The Torch and Shield Award recognizes individuals who have provided leadership and who have aided in the development of UMC and the Northwest Research and Outreach Center. The award has been presented regularly since 1966, when the campus first began offering college courses. This year’s award recipients include George Marx, Jerry Rude, Mil Sahlstrom, and Don Sargeant.
Rude, Sahlstrom, and Sargeant were present to receive their awards. Marx, who was out of the country, accepted his award and addressed the audience via a videoclip taped earlier.
(from left) UMC Chancellor
Velmer S. Burton, Jr., Jerry Rude, Mil Sahlstrom, Don Sargeant, and Larry
Smith, Head of the NWROC
George
Marx
A native of Antigo, Wisconsin, George Marx earned his Ph.D. in animal science from the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota in 1964 and immediately began work with the Northwest Experiment Station (now the Northwest Research and Outreach Center - NWROC) in Crookston. His academic career and service to the region’s dairy farmers is highlighted by outreach and research totaling over 1,000 professional publications including book chapters, trade and industry publications, and scientific and technical journal articles. He retired from the NWROC this past June, but maintains the status of professor emeritus.
George has been a stalwart proponent and contributing member of the regional and national dairy industry. He is a member of the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, the American Forage and Grassland Council, the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, the National Mastitis Council, the Holstein Association of America, and the National Dairy Shrine Club. More locally, he is an ex-officio member of the board of directors for the Red River Valley Dairymen’s Association and the Red River Valley Holstein Association.
Recent honors, among many, have included the Lions International Leadership Award, the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation’s Distinguished Service Award to Minnesota Agriculture, the Red River Valley Dairymen’s Association Honored Dairyman Award, and induction into the Red River Valley Shows Agricultural Hall of Fame.
George and his wife, Karen, live in Crookston. The have four adult children.
Jerry Rude
Over the years, Jerry Rude has contributed much to the UMC grounds and spectacular gardens, which have drawn numerous compliments from campus visitors and various awards from the city and region. He began his career on the grounds crew at UMC in 1973 after a year’s worth of horticulture classes. His love of plants and landscaping led to a full-time position on the crew, but that did not stop him from pursuing and eventually earning his associate’s degree from UMC. He later went on to complete his bachelor’s degree in plant industries management from UMC in 1996.
In March of 1998 Jerry became the landscape and grounds supervisor, following in his father’s footsteps. His father, Curtiss Rude, held the same position at UMC from 1967 until 1971 when he was tragically killed in an accident on campus. Since the gardens at the campus entrance are named the Curtiss Rude Memorial Gardens, it only adds to the importance that Jerry and his staff place on caring for the plants on campus.
Jerry has been recognized for his distinguished service to the campus through several awards, and he was recognized for his work on the campus grounds with a special University of Minnesota award in 1996. He is an active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Crookston and currently serves as the chair of the church board as well as a board member of the Bluewater Bible Camp.
Living in Crookston, Jerry and his wife, Becky, are the parents of four children, Joshua, 26, Kristen, 23, Alissa, 19, and Micah, 16. They have also served as foster parents for the past 14 years.
Mil Sahlstrom
Serving as first lady of the new University of Minnesota Technical Institute at Crookston in 1965, Mil Sahlstrom set the standard for gracious hosting and steadfast support for the new two-year college and its leaders. The wife of founding provost Stanley Sahlstrom, she quickly emerged as a campus leader in her own way. Mil skillfully balanced a career of teaching and work in real estate with university life. She organized the UMC Faculty Women’s Association, served as a coordinator and original cast member of the “Faculty Frolics,” assisted with fundraising and scholarship drives, and hosted state legislators when they visited Crookston.
Mil was also active in the community, working with the Matron’s Club, renewing interest in the Crookston League of Women Voters, and promoting the fine arts. Serving on the Crookston Fine Arts Committee, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and as a charter member of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, she was influential in bringing performances by the Minnesota Orchestra to Crookston. On a lighter note, Mil is widely credited for introducing Crookstonites to borscht.
Not only did she and the founding provost help establish a new vision for higher education in northwest Minnesota, but they also raised four children, Kristine, David, Stephen, and Timothy. The couple, now retired, lives in St. Cloud.
Donald Sargeant
Over his 33-year career at UMC, Don Sargeant has served as a faculty member, as chair for agriculture division, as assistant provost and academic dean, and from 1985 to 2003 as chancellor. He is widely credited for leading the campus through a pivotal transformation in 1993 into a baccalaureate level institution and for initiating the nation’s first campus-wide ubiquitous computing initiative, which provided every full-time student and faculty member with a laptop computer. Don became well known in national higher education circles as a resource and consultant with expertise in integrating technology into college curriculum and managing institutional change.
Among numerous professional affiliations, he has served on the Minnesota Campus Compact, the Minnesota Telecommunications Council, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Presidents Council, the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Publications Committee, and has chaired the Distributed Learning Workshop.
Don has also been very active in the region and community. He is a past president of Crookston Jaycees and has been active in Crookston Rotary and Toastmasters. He has served on the boards of Riverview Healthcare Association, Glenmore Recovery Center, Red River Valley Shows, and Valley Technology Park. He has also served as a campaign chairperson for the United Way.
He and his wife, Mary Beth (who received the Torch and Shield Award in 1991), live in Crookston. They have two grown sons, Doug and Dan. This past year, the Don and Mary Beth Sargeant Endowed Scholarship Fund was established to honor the Sargeants and their contributions to the campus and community.
Posted 11/19/2003
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435