Saint Mary's Newsroom
Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
CDC guidance on vaccinated people
On March 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its first set of guidelines on how fully vaccinated people can visit safely with others. The new guidelines address how fully vaccinated people can visit with others who are also fully vaccinated and with other people who are not. The guidelines provide that fully vaccinated people may:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart.
- Visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or staying 6 feet apart if everyone in the other household is at low risk for severe disease.
- Refrain from quarantine and testing if they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 after contact with someone who has COVID-19.
A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine.
Fully vaccinated people should continue to take COVID-19 precautions when in public, when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple other households, and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of getting severely ill from COVID-19, including:
- Wear a well-fitted mask.
- Stay at least 6 feet from people you do not live with.
- Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings.
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Follow guidance issued by individual employers.
- Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations.
Visit the CDC website for more information.
Easter travel clarifications for Winona Campus
All Winona Campus students who elect to travel over the Easter weekend will be required to:
- Complete the COVID-19 travel request form by Wednesday, March 24.
- Participate in a 10-day soft quarantine upon returning to campus, which means:
- Student may attend classes, visit cafeteria, study in the library or other designated spaces.
- Student may not have guests, visit other residence halls, or participate in-person extracurricular activities.
- Student-athletes may participate in practices and strength and conditioning activities as scheduled by their coaches.
- Participate in mandatory testing upon return to campus.
Students who fail to complete the COVID-19 travel request form before traveling will be subject to:
- A $35 non-compliance fine for not completing the travel request form.
- 10-day medium quarantine, which means:
- Student may attend classes, pick-up meals only, and take recreation time alone outdoors daily.
- Student must remain in their residence hall room except for the above exceptions.
- Student may not have guests, visit other residence halls, participate in-person extracurriculars, or workout in Gostomski Fieldhouse.
- Student-athletes may not participate in practices, strength and conditioning activities, or competitions.
- Mandatory testing upon return to campus.
Students who wish to test prior to their departure should contact the Jay Johnson Wellness Center to schedule an appointment.
All students traveling must participate in mandatory COVID-19 testing upon their return on Friday, April 9. Those unable to participate must contact Student Affairs and submit a negative test result to the Wellness Center by Tuesday, April 13.
Students who fall into the following categories are exempt from travel-related quarantine and testing, if they have documentation on file with the Jay Johnson Wellness Center:
- Tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days.
- Have been been vaccinated.
Stay safe, Saint Mary’s
Cardinals,
With the state of Minnesota opening up more, we want to remind you to stay safe by avoiding crowded bars and establishments that do not require face masks.
Let’s keep our streak of minimal COVID-19 transmission within our Saint Mary’s community and move toward being in the green! This allows us to have athletic competitions and in-person events. It takes all of us to do this. We encourage you to stay on campus, socialize with each other according to our recent guest policy guidelines, complete the travel request form, wear a mask, and social distance.
Thank you for keeping our community safe and staying strong.
Together, we are still Saint Mary’s!
Student spotlight: Kayla Vang
Launching successful careers for our students is a major motivation for Saint Mary’s faculty and staff. Even while still working through their program, students are encouraged to push themselves professionally.
Kayla Vang is a student who is doing just that — she’s working hard to accomplish her career goals. Currently enrolled in our Master of Science in Accounting program, Vang’s professor and program director, Melanie Torborg, introduced her to the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification.
“My academic journey began at Saint Mary’s University in the fall of 2019, and I look forward to graduation at the end of spring semester 2021.
“In the winter semester of 2019, Melanie Torborg introduced me to the CMA certification. After some research and reflection, I became a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) to follow my objective of becoming a CMA. The CMA certification will expose me to an array of expert knowledge from accounting, finance, quality control to strategic financial management, to name a few proficiencies. Furthermore, the certification will prepare me to be more well-rounded in these competencies and refine my leadership skills to become an exceptional business leader.”
After being introduced to the CMA certification, Vang continued to work diligently through her M.S. in Accounting program, but never lost sight of this certification and what it could do to bolster her career. In December 2020, she worked with Torborg to apply for a CMA scholarship offered through the IMA. Shortly after applying, she was chosen as a recipient on behalf of Saint Mary’s.
“I want to thank Saint Mary’s University for providing me with this opportunity and the IMA for selecting me as a recipient of the CMA scholarship,” said Vang. “My CMA preparation journey will begin in late January 2021, and I plan to become certified within a year from my prep date. I also want to thank Melanie Torborg for sharing the scholarship opportunity with me. All my professors at Saint Mary’s University provided the knowledge tools that helped make this decision clearer. I am now not just thinking about getting certified; I am in the process of making it happen. Specifically, I want to thank Professor Catherine Rice for providing me with the adequate tools to instill the confidence that I needed in my technical abilities; Professor Renee Thompson for believing in me and championing my goals and efforts to grow personally and professionally; and lastly, Professor Ron Myszkowski, for his encouraging words.”
Saint Mary’s is proud and honored to share this wonderful accomplishment and wish Vang the best as she begins her CMA preparation. If you are interested in pursuing your M.S. in Accounting, we encourage you to learn more about the program today!
Father Burns hosts President’s Roundtable on character and virtue in business
Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., hosted the spring President’s Roundtable event this morning, March 16. The virtual event featured engaging dialogue on the integration of character and virtue in business. At these events, Winona-area business, education, and government leaders gather together (now virtually) to network and to hear updates on new and innovative initiatives happening at Saint Mary’s University.
Saint Mary’s strategic plan, “Building a Future Full of Hope 2025,” calls for a renewed focus on character and virtue education. Michelle Wieser, Ph.D., dean of the School of Business and Technology, and Michael Hahn, Ph.D., program director of Character and Virtue Education, led a panel discussion on how character and virtue education is being implemented throughout campus life, academic curriculum, and in the School of Business. They also facilitated small group engagements where attendees had the opportunity to share their professional experiences on this important subject.
For more information about character and virtue education at Saint Mary’s, visit character.smumn.edu.
Cardinal Update Live is April 15
Mark your calendars for the next Cardinal Update Live Thursday, April 15, at noon. A Zoom link will be shared closer to the event. All current staff and faculty from all campuses are welcome to attend and hear updates and initiatives happening across the university.
Next Character and Education speaker to address ‘Sport, Virtue, and Excellence’
On Wednesday, April 14, from 7 to 9 p.m., Dr. William Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, will present on “Sport, Virtue, and Excellence.” The event, hosted by Character and Virtue Education, will be live streamed with a limited number of in-person seats on the Winona Campus.
All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the event virtually, but registration is required at the Character and Virtue event website. A Saint Mary’s email account will be needed to register. For information about attending the event in-person, contact cve@smumn.edu.
Saint Mary’s hosts 17th annual Doctoral Research Symposium
Approximately 150 students, faculty, alumni, and guests gathered for the 17th annual Doctoral Research Symposium March 5 and 6. The event included people from the three current doctoral programs (Psy.D., DBA, and Ed.D.). It was held virtually using a new platform, Remo, as well as Zoom.
Friday evening included an engaging keynote presentation from Eden Wales-Freedman, Ph.D., vice provost of Faculties and Academic Administration, titled, “Trust me, I’m a Doctor!: The Power and Potential of a Doctoral Degree.” Student poster presentations were done at tables in the virtual conference center (on the fifth virtual floor!). Lisa Sanderson, associate director of Alumni Relations, offered greetings. Krista Soria, Ph.D., associate professor in the Ed.D. program, also presented “Publishing Your Research: Opportunities and Obstacles” with Jennifer Schultz, Ph.D., core associate professor in the DBA program, facilitating discussion.
Saturday included many more virtual conversations about student projects in the virtual conference center. Participants then moved to Zoom for more extended presentations including an Ed.D. Comp Exam Workshop, Carrie Bowler’s Ed.D. dissertation defense: “An Exploration of Women’s Experience of Advocacy Actions Throughout their Leadership Career within Academic Medical Centers.” Student projects that included complete or nearly complete dissertations included: “The Success of Boys and Single Gender Classrooms,” “The Impact of Attitudes Toward Mental Illness on Prospective Jurors’ Perceptions,” “The Lived Experiences of Hmong Women Leaders in the Hmong AG Churches,” and many others.
There was also a round of faculty presentations by:
- Jennifer Schultz, Ph.D., core associate professor in the DBA program, (with DBA students Danielle Campeau, Nathaniel Siats, and Belinda Gardner): “A Session on Sessions! Facilitating Academic Conference and Professional Meeting Sessions”
- Stacy Dean, Ph.D., director for university writing services: “Are We There Yet?: Strategies for Finishing (and Even Enjoying) Doctoral Writing Projects.”
- Molly O’Connor, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology, and Emma Erdahl, coordinator of academic administration: “Working with IRB”
Krista Ratcliffe, Ph.D.
Back in Remo Saturday, the event continued with a thought provoking and informative keynote from Krista Ratcliffe, Ph.D. (Arizona State University) titled “Rhetorical Listening to Cultural Logics of Race.” The day concluded with the very exciting Tenure Tank Competition facilitated by Kathryn LaBore, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Psy.D. program, where students “pitched” their research project to a distinguished panel of judges (Ken Solberg, Ph.D., Nancy Johnson, DBA, and Michael Lovorn, Ph.D.). Winning presentations were delivered by Nancy Duong (from DBA): “Successful Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Southeast Asian Owned Restaurant Experiences in the Twin Cities,” and Lindsay Barnhart (from Ed.D.): “Social skill Development in Preschool Children: A Comparison of Two Curriculum Models.”
Nurse anesthesia alumnus weathers COVID-19 storm as CRNA
For three years, David Johnson M’19 precariously balanced his work, family, and school schedule by utilizing time management skills — and a fair amount of caffeine.
As a student in the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Graduate Program in Nurse Anesthesia, Johnson would get up around 3 a.m. at his home in Duluth to make it to the Twin Cities Campus by 6 a.m. He would go to class (or clinicals), drive back home to tuck his children to sleep, and study for a few hours before calling it a day around midnight.
“Usually when I would leave, I would make a whole French press coffee, put it in a thermos, and I would just drink that all day,” said Johnson.
All of the effort, though, has been worth it.
David Johnson M’19
After finishing the master’s program in August 2019, Johnson, 33, became a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth.
Johnson began his current role in September 2019, just six months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a few weeks after new safety protocols took effect at hospitals, Johnson and his fellow nurse anesthetists — many of whom have degrees through the program at Saint Mary’s — decided to conduct research on how to properly use personal protective equipment (PPE) while mitigating the threat of contamination.
“We educated ourselves and then took that education to help calm the fears of our co-workers,” Johnson said.
On a larger scale in Minnesota, during the height of pandemic, CRNAs have been called upon to perform some duties that are generally done by intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, such as putting in central venous lines and intubating patients. That’s because Minnesota is one of a few states where CRNAs must hold both a registered nurse (RN) license and an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) license — along with an anesthesia certification.
Building ‘a good base’
Johnson began at Saint Mary’s in May 2017, after working at St. Luke’s as a RN in the general ICU for four years, following three years as an RN in Milwaukee.
“I wanted to build a good base of nursing knowledge and intensive care knowledge — and then make an informed decision from there,” he said.
He is grateful for his experiences as an RN, but always gravitated toward the idea of working as a CRNA.
“It’s everything that you can do as an ICU nurse, amplified by 100 in a lot of ways because you have to make split-second life or death decisions and be ready at any second to act,” Johnson said.
Johnson began to gain a sense of autonomy in particular while completing two clinicals at rural locations: in Hayward, Wis., and Aitken, Minn. The hospitals are just two of 40 locations where Saint Mary’s nurse anesthesia students can take part in clinicals throughout the region.
“There are things that you learn as an independent practitioner that you could never learn in the team approach, because you’re making the decisions for the anesthesia plan,” Johnson said, adding that his rural clinical helped train him into the CRNA he is today.
“I think that’s the real benefit we have at Saint Mary’s is the ability to have our students out in rural locations, for eight, 16, or 24 weeks,” he said. “Students in other programs only get perhaps two weeks of rural clinical, and then they’re working under an anesthesiologist the rest of their clinical rotations. They don’t have that ability to have that independent side that we have at Saint Mary’s.”
Additionally Saint Mary’s M.S. in Nurse Anesthesia program is one of just four programs in Minnesota to be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. It recently celebrated its 10-year reaccreditation.
Volunteering to help
Upon arriving at Saint Mary’s in 2019, Leah Gordon, DNP, Nurse Anesthesia program director, was touched by Johnson’s kindness. Gordon said she was fairly dependent on the students to help her appreciate the program’s nuances.
“David was one of the students who told me different things about the program — and did it in a really professional and respectful way,” Gordon said.
Furthermore, Johnson volunteered to interview prospective students before finishing. After graduating, Johnson became a remote part-time professor for a portfolio course on the variations of professional writing and presentations.
“I wanted [incoming students] to have as good of an experience as they could coming through school, and to be as prepared as they could be when they were done,” he said.
Photo caption: David Johnson M’19 and his wife, Melinda, find a way to balance two careers while taking care of their six children. David works as a CRNA at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, Minn., where Melinda also works as a surgical technician.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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