Saint Mary's Newsroom

Hey Cardinals,

Thank you to everyone who voted in last Thursday’s class officer and hall representative election! The results are in:

Sophomore class officers: Joseph Schauf and Sophia O’Neil

Junior class officers: Lyanna Novak and Samantha Carlson

Senior class officers: Gabriel Graves and Jake Emeott

Skemp, Heffron, Lasalle Hall representatives: Lillian Rose Klein and Enitan Tolu Onayiga

Saint Benilde, Gilmore Creek, and Saint Yon’s representatives: Ryan Stoynich and Larkin Clem

Brother William, Bishops, Saint Joseph’s, Hillside Hall representatives: Allison Moysis and Abigail Lang

Brother Leopold and Residencia Santiago Miller Hall representatives: Tara Nikolich and Noah Kiemel

Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary representative: Collin van Waardenburg

International representative: Cece Abel

To the winners, congratulations and thank you for your willingness to impact the Saint Mary’s community.

To the student body, Senate is here to serve as your voice to administration and the greater Winona community, so please do not hesitate to contact your hall representatives or class officers if you have any questions or concerns! Senate meetings occur every Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., beginning Tuesday, Sept. 29, and you are more than welcome to join us. Email me at kxarch16@smumn.edu for the Zoom link.

As a reminder, today is our last round of elections for the 2020-21 school year. Cast your vote for the representative at-large position today from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thank you,
Kendall Archer
Student Senate President

The Cardinals Nest

The Cardinals Nest is a show devoted exclusively to Saint Mary’s University athletics, hosted by Donny Nadeau, sports information director, and Dean Beckman, faculty athletic representative. The duo welcomed men’s soccer juniors Eli Szymanski and Wally Barros to their first show on Sept. 15 (watch), while Elise Amerogen and Rachel Kedl from the volleyball team made their appearance on Sept. 21 (watch).

Beyond The Nest

Saint Mary’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) created the Beyond the Nest initiative to highlight the many accomplishments, projects, and activities of our student-athletes off the field of competition. Beyond the Nest is highlighting various student-athletes and their project or club through the @SMUMNSAAC Twitter account, which will continue throughout the school year. Help celebrate these student-athletes and the numerous ways they stay active within our community.

Clare Pattersom (watch)
Taner Moris (watch)
Justine Schultz (watch)

Dear Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota community,

Many thanks for your dedication to our collective health, safety, and well-being. Due to our careful planning efforts and your diligent cooperation, we have had a successful beginning to the fall semester. Through careful consideration, analysis of the available data concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on our experience thus far, the university is planning for the continuance of academic operations in spring 2021. Accommodations and protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to promote the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff established for the fall will remain in place for the spring.

We plan for undergraduate students to return to the Winona Campus for in-person instruction and on-campus experiences for the spring 2021 semester, though with a modified academic calendar (see below).

For the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses, in consultation with the deans of each school, a hybrid approach, allowing some in-person instruction for select programs with online learning for others, is planned.

The COVID-19 planning webpage, Steadfast and Resilient, continues to communicate general and detailed guidelines. Additional updates will be made through the student CommUNITY newsletters to keep everyone informed of decisions as they are made.

Community is a hallmark of a Saint Mary’s education. We are committed to honoring and following safe ways to sustain the valuable relationships among our faculty, staff, and students as we continue to provide a challenging, motivating, and engaging higher education experience within our Lasallian Catholic mission.

CALENDARS

For our undergraduates in Winona, we will delay the start of the semester by two weeks to Monday, Jan. 25. To end the semester and have commencement as planned, despite a later start date, we will eliminate Spring Break and Easter Break and will move final exams back by two days. Classes will be held until 1 p.m. on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The university is planning Holy Triduum services to be celebrated on the Winona Campus, so students will be encouraged to stay. Easter Monday will be a regular class day. Finals will be moved to the first week of May (Monday, May 3; Tuesday, May 4; Wednesday, May 5; and Thursday, May 6).

Commencement in Winona is scheduled for May 8. A decision will be made later as to whether this will be a virtual or an in-person event. But either way, commencement will be on May 8.

For the SGPP, there are no changes to the spring semester or its terms. For example, as planned, there are no classes on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Commencement will be held virtually on Saturday, Jan. 23, as previously announced; and there are no classes on Good Friday or Easter Monday. May and June commencement ceremonies are as scheduled, though a decision will be made later as to whether each is virtual or in-person.

A four-year public facing calendar is available.

We trust that together we can continue to find workable solutions for the many challenges we face. In the meantime, thank you for your patience, understanding, and flexibility as we work to provide the best teaching and learning environments for our students and the best working environment for our faculty and staff.

Together, we are Saint Mary’s.

You’re invited to join this upcoming virtual event:

Lasallian Dialogue on Racism: A Global Pandemic
Thursday, Sept. 24, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. (CST)
Presented by the International Association for Lasallian Universities (IALU)

Join the conversation

Staffed by peer and professional tutors, the Writing Center will help you at all phases of the writing process, from understanding an assignment to brainstorming, drafting, and revising.

The Writing Center is fully online this semester, with two options for assistance: Zoom meetings and email sessions.  To make an appointment, go to write.smumn.edu, select UNDERGRAD (WINONA), and Get Help with a Paper (Winona). While you’re on our website, check out our many resources on grammar, citation style, and other topics!

If you have questions about how to make an appointment, please contact us at write@smumn.edu or 612-728-5154.

The Student Activities Committee (SAC) invites the Saint Mary’s community to the following events:

Zumba in the Plaza
Thursday, Sept. 24
7:30 p.m. in the Plaza
Masks are required the entire time. SAC hopes you enjoy this FREE workout class!

Disney Trivia
Saturday, Sept. 26
8 p.m. in the President’s Lounge of Toner Center by Campus Safety
Masks are required the entire time. Teams of four or less, preferably roommates or people in your “family unit.” Max of 40 participants. Incredible prizes are available to the first, second, and third place teams.

Want to be a part of the SAC planning team? All are welcome! SAC meets Mondays at 8 p.m. via Zoom. If you would like more information, email rise@smumn.edu.

New this week

DAY OF PRAYER & FASTING | THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
All people of good will are invited to take part in a day of prayer and fasting on Thursday, Sept. 24, for the intentions of God’s mercy on the country and the healing and conversion of our hearts, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic and civil unrest.

LASALLIAN DIALOGUE ON RACISM: A GLOBAL PANDEMIC | THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
Presented by the International Association for Lasallian Universities (IALU)
Join the conversation

LIFENIGHT | FRIDAY, SEPT. 25 | 7 P.M. | ST. THOMAS MORE CHAPEL
LIFENIGHT is back! Join us for student testimony, praise and worship, adoration, and confession!

Every week

QUO VADIS | MONDAYS at 7 P.M. | SAINT MARY’S 102
Life’s big question’s, Catholic answers. All faith traditions are welcome, Catholic or not. Contact Brian Kusek at bkusek@smumn.edu to sign up (or come play games in the plaza before at 6:30 p.m.).

APOLOGETICS | WEDNESDAYS at 4 P.M. | SAINT MARY’S 102
Want to learn how to explain your faith? Join the conversation on Wednesdays in Saint Mary’s Hall.

JOIN A BIBLE STUDY!
FOCUS Missionaries, peer ministers, staff, and seminarians all host bible studies for different groups with varying interests. Sign up by emailing campusministry@smumn.edu.

The Higher Learning Commission has approved the newest Saint Mary’s Accelerator.

The graduate certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship will be added to the suite of 11 others launched in August to create flexible pathways to degree completion for adult learners, a key component of our strategic plan. The certificate was designed by Christine Beech, D.M., executive director of the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and assistant professor of business, in response to the strong need for entrepreneurship education for the Rochester, Minn., market. While only available online in the spring, we are looking forward to offering it at the Rochester Campus, once restrictions due to COVID-19 have eased, as well as online.

These 12 newest graduate certificates are among 20 offered by Saint Mary’s and greatly expand our ability to reach new and more diverse audiences.