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Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Saint Mary’s welcomes public to presentation about character education
WINONA, Minn. — As a Lasallian Catholic university with a strong reputation for preparing many of Minnesota’s educators and educational administrators, Saint Mary’s University has started a Character Education and Virtue Formation speaker series to explore and enhance programming about this topic.
The public is invited to attend the first presentation in the series, featuring James Arthur, Ph.D., the director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Dr. Arthur will speak on “The Idea of the Catholic University” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, in the Science and Learning Center, located on Saint Mary’s Winona Campus.
Dr. Arthur, also chair of the Society for Educational Studies, was head of the School of Education from 2010-2015 and deputy pro-vice chancellor from 2015-2019. He was previously editor of the British Journal of Educational Studies for 10 years and holds numerous honorary titles in the academe, including honorary professor of the University of Glasgow and honorary research fellow in the University of Oxford. Dr. Arthur was made an Officer of the British Empire by the queen in 2018. He has written widely on the relationship between theory and practice in education, particularly the links between character, virtues, citizenship, religion, and education. He established the Jubilee Centre in 2012; the Centre has grown in size, scope, and impact since its launch at the House of Lords in May 2012.
MCA jazz combos to perform two community concerts
WINONA, Minn. — The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) jazz combos will present two community concerts that are free and open to the public:
- Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. in the Academy Theatre in the Valéncia Arts Center, 1164 W. Howard St.
- Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Wellington’s Pub & Grill, 1429 W. Service Dr.
MCA is home to three jazz combos: the Duke, Dizzy, and Basie Combos. These combos are comprised of students ages 11-17 from the Winona area.
The jazz combo program, which began in September 2012 under the direction of Dave Gudmastad, has grown quickly. Each jazz combo rehearses for one hour each week, beginning in September and continuing through March. The combos help students learn the art of jazz in a small ensemble setting. The rehearsal sessions provide basic instruction in jazz-related rhythm, tone, style, concept, listening skills, and improvisation. A new session starts each September and January for young musicians interested in joining a combo. MCA also offers private music lessons and a variety of music classes.
MCA Music Division programs are made possible by the Hiawatha Education Foundation, Slaggie Family Foundation, Elizabeth Callender King Foundation, Hal Leonard LLC., and the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
About MCA
The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA), an affiliate program of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, is a nonprofit community arts school offering programming in dance, music, visual art, and theater. Classes, lessons, workshops, and camps are offered for students of all ages from birth through older adults at the Valéncia Arts Center. For more information about MCA or Galleria Valéncia, visit mca.smumn.edu, email mca@smumn.edu, or call 507-453-5500.
Saint Mary’s welcomes public Nov. 7 to next Catholic Virtue presenter, the Rev. John O’Malley, S.J.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The public is invited to Saint Mary’s University’s Cardinal Virtue presentations, scheduled throughout the 2019-20 academic year.
These speakers and topics were chosen to create thought-provoking dialogue as Saint Mary’s cultivates in its learners virtues that will guide them throughout their educational journeys and as they enter the world as leaders in their professions and communities.
The Rev. John W. O’Malley, S.J., professor of theology at Georgetown University, will present “Catholic Universities: Why Bother with Humanities?” at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at Saint Mary’s Twin Cities Campus, located at 2500 Park Ave., Minneapolis. A 7:15 p.m. social will follow.
RSVP online to smumn.edu/cvrsvp by Thursday, Oct. 31.
The Rev. O’Malley, S.J., is a historian of the religious culture of modern Europe. He has received lifetime achievement awards from the Society for Italian Historical Studies, the Renaissance Society of America, and the American Catholic Historical Association. In 2016, he received the Centennial Medal from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, “the school’s highest honor.” This August Harvard University Press published his latest book, When Bishops Meet, An Essay Comparing Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II. The Rev. O’Malley is a member of the Society of Jesus and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1959. He earned a B.A. and M.A. from Loyola University, Chicago, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
3+2 PA Program provides connections with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences
The inaugural class of the 3+2 Physician Assistant Program has begun its studies this fall.
Working in collaboration with Mayo School of Health Sciences, the five-year accelerated program will allow undergraduates to have an immersive educational experience at several state-of-the-art facilities.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity, not only for Saint Mary’s to continue to meet our mission, but it also provides us an opportunity to really interface directly with healthcare providers and healthcare provider educators,” said Todd Reinhart, Sc.D., dean of the School of Sciences and Health Professions at Saint Mary’s University.
“This is unique for us in that right away from a student’s first year, we’re working with Mayo Clinic to not only talk about the foundational sciences, but also the practice of being a PA. It really gives us the opportunities to integrate the perspective of healthcare providers earlier in our curriculum.
Three facilities, one journey
Todd Reinhart
Students who began the program in August will spend three years taking classes at the new Science and Learning Center on the Winona Campus, where they will study the foundational sciences led by Jeanne Minnerath, Ph.D., director of the allied health program and associate professor of biology.
Program participants will then make their way west to finish their studies and clinical work at both Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences and Saint Mary’s Rochester Campus. Dr. Reinhart pointed out that, in addition to traditional classrooms, students will be able to use the clinical skills labs and mock patient rooms — with either mannequins or actors as patients — to fully integrate their clinical experiences at Mayo Clinic as they learn about, and later take part in, the full array of care associated with being a PA, including family medicine, urgent care, pediatrics, surgery, and emergency medicine.
“It’s truly going to be a model environment for students to transition from the foundational sciences into a clinical care setting,” he said.
After completing four years in the program, students will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Biology-Health Science degree from Saint Mary’s University. Participants will then receive a Master of Health Sciences in Physician Assistant Studies degree from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences upon completing the fifth year, when they will be working with actual patients under the supervision of their Mayo instructors and other physicians, some of whom are regarded as the top experts and researchers within their specialized fields.
“With that relationship in place, we’re able to identify the best students in this area to receive some of the best training from world-class physicians, PAs, and other healthcare providers,” said Michael Huckabee, Ph.D., the PA program director at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.
The program is capped at 24 students for each incoming class, with 18 from Saint Mary’s and six from the University of Minnesota-Rochester. The initial pool of potential students included about 60 applicants. Dr. Reinhart expects that number to increase in the upcoming years.
On Sept. 18, all 24 students gathered at the Science and Learning Center to take part in what is known as Mayo Connections. The event, which will be held twice a semester for the first three years of the program, was led by Dr. Huckabee.
“It was a way to start talking to these first-year students about the discipline, what it means to be a PA, how it’s different than being a physician or nurse practitioner, and start to talk about professionalism as it relates to being a PA as well as working in the Mayo system,” Dr. Reinhart said.
‘A natural fit
Michael Huckabee
Although the idea had been in place for about three years before the program began this fall, it took a team, led by Drs. Reinhart and Huckabee, to go through every facet of the curriculum to seamlessly integrate the educational material from Saint Mary’s and Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.
“I could see the opportunity from a workforce-need perspective, but the only way that I feel Saint Mary’s could do this would be with a true academic health center collaborator, given the really intense clinical demands of that final year of the program,” Dr. Reinhart said.
On the other hand, Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences was looking to form an alliance with a liberal arts university that could provide a foundation of critical thinking skills, one that was also located in the region, Dr. Reinhart said.
“That’s really important to Mayo: to recruit the students who come out of this PA program to work in Mayo Clinic Health System,” he added. “It’s a natural fit.”
Program graduates will be poised to apply for jobs within Mayo Clinic Health System, should they choose to go in that direction. Dr. Huckabee said that the PA profession is expected to grow nationally by 40 percent in the next 10 years, giving graduates plenty of options once they hit the job market.
The program is in the middle of receiving provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), Dr. Reinhart said, adding that the commission is currently reviewing approximately 30 newly created PA programs this year.
“There is growing demand for healthcare providers at this level, where you can provide frontline and specialized patient care under the supervision of a physician,” Dr. Reinhart said. “Higher education in general and healthcare systems as well are recognizing the value of these frontline healthcare providers.”
Saint Mary’s students to stage Monty Pythonesque absurd comedy ‘The Knight of the Burning Pestle’
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s Department of Theatre and Dance will stage the comedic parody “The Knight of the Burning Pestle” Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 31-Nov. 3, in Page Theatre.
With a modern-day theatricality remarkably ahead of its time, this witty comic satire of theatre (and its audience) contains much revelry, popular songs, and audience interaction. Shakespeare’s contemporary (and sometimes collaborator) Francis Beaumont penned this crazy comedy around 1607.
In the show, a company of actors who are performing “The London Merchant” are forced to recreate their production on the spot, indulging the whimsical impulses of their audience and enduring their constant interruptions while improvising alternate characters and adapting their romantic comedy into an action-adventure parody. According to director Walter Elder, it’s a contemporary classic mashup of Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Cervantes, and Shakespeare.
Shows are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, through Saturday, Nov. 2, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Page Theatre.
Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the Saint Mary’s Performance Center box office, 507-457-1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at pagetheatre.org.
*Contains adult themes.
Halloween Fun Night is Oct. 29 at Saint Mary’s
WINONA, Minn. — Elementary and preschool children from the Winona area are invited to attend the annual Saint Mary’s University Halloween Fun Night from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Participants can come through the main entrance of the Winona Campus where they will be directed where to park.
Again this year, the Halloween Fun Night will be held entirely indoors in the Toner Student Center. Young trick-or-treaters should start out the evening at the Hall of Fame Room, where fun games will be offered, and the Cardinal mascot Big Red will greet pint-sized ghosts and goblins.
From there, groups of trick-or-treaters will be led through the halls of the Toner Student Center, where they can go station to station for candy, all while staying warm and dry.
As many as 700 youth participate in this free, safe, and fun event each year.
MCA tap dancers selected to perform at Twin Cities Tap Festival
WINONA, Minn. — A number of Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA) intermediate and advanced tap dancers were selected to perform at the Twin Cities Tap Festival on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis.
Under the guidance of instructor and choreographer Christine Martin, tap dancers performing are Deja Foster, Viva Graff, Hannah Graff, Elizabeth Hinz, Nadia Hocum, Annabeth Kerr, Mattie Kriesel, Izzy Livingston, Preston Meinke, Isaac Meinke, Justine Meinke, Carmelle Meyer, and Keeli Meyer.
The piece selected is an excerpt from “Symphony No. 143” (Eine Kleine Nachtmusick), which was performed last April during MCA’s Dance Repertory Company’s concert, “Classically Speaking.” Symphony No. 143 is an American tap dance inspired by the teaching of Fred Rogers including the themes of acceptance, respect, and love for oneself and one’s neighbor. Throughout the rehearsal process, the dancers have spent time exploring concepts such as gratitude, communication, confidence, and the power of artistic expression.
Winona area dance enthusiasts don’t have to travel to the cities to see the performance, they are invited to attend the dancer’s final dress rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. at MCA. This 15- to 20-minute preview performance is free and open to the public and will include the dance performance and a little explanation of the process.
About MCA
The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA), an affiliate program of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, is a nonprofit community arts school offering programming in dance, music, visual art, and theater. Classes, lessons, workshops, and camps are offered for students of all ages from birth through older adults at the Valéncia Arts Center. For more information about MCA or Galleria Valéncia, visit mca.smumn.edu, email mca@smumn.edu, or call 507-453-5500.
Photo caption: MCA tap dancers performing include, from left: back, Viva Graff, Izzy Livingston, Annabeth Kerr, Carmelle Meyer, Preston Meinke, Mattie Kriesel, Justine Meinke; front, Hannah Graff, Nadia Hocum, Deja Foster, Isaac Meinke, and Keeli Meyer.
Adult learners to graduate Oct. 12 on Saint Mary’s Twin Cities Campus
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — More than 440 adult learners will graduate from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and its Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs on Saturday, Oct. 12, where three commencement convocations will honor the graduates.
The ceremonies, to be held at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. at the Saint Mary’s University Center on Park Avenue in Minneapolis, will feature five graduates who have been invited to provide reflections as part of the ceremonies. Another seven graduating students will be honored with Saint Mary’s Outstanding Final Paper Awards.
Graduating students providing reflections are:
- Sarah Fox, M.A. in Counseling Psychology
- Jennifer Fogus, B.S. in Business Administration
- Kathleen Soucheray, Ed.D. in Leadership
- Patience Nakibirige, M.A. in Organizational Leadership
- Nancy Johnson, D.B.A.
Graduating students being honored with Outstanding Final Paper Awards are:
- Genevieve Cecelia-Florence West, M.A. in Counseling and Psychological Services
- Xiao Liang, M.A. in Health and Human Services Administration
- Rory Burton Feeney, Psy.D. in Counseling Psychology
- Rita E. Guadagno, M.A. in Special Education
- Arlene Joy Lawrence, Ed.D. in Leadership
- Nora Ulland Zibursky, Ed.D. in Leadership
- Nor Xiong, M.S. in Project Management
Get set to scream at annual Walk of Horror
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University fastpitch softball team is showing leadership on the field … and in planning new scares for this year’s Walk of Horror. Once again, these athletes are guaranteeing goosebumps for all those brave enough to face their fears.
The 23rd annual hair-raising fundraiser for the Saint Mary’s Cardinal fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 18-19 and 25-26, and Thursday, Oct. 31, in the campus bluffs. Walkers are asked to meet on the lighted path between the Cardinal baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.
Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs for approximately 20 minutes.
The cost is $6 for adults, $5 for students with ID, and $5 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate.
Saint Mary’s head fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller said the event is fun for all ages. The scare level is toned down for younger children and turned up for older and braver participants. Last year more than 1,100 courageous souls took the Walk of Horror.
Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses on their annual spring trip. For more information, contact Miller at 507-457-6923.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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