Saint Mary's Newsroom

On Oct. 5, Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D. was inaugurated as the 14th president of Saint Mary’s University. A crowd of approximately 1,500 gathered on the Winona Campus to congratulate Father Burns on a day that was filled with pomp and circumstance. Saint Mary’s showcased its strong educational reputation and welcoming atmosphere.

During the inauguration ceremony, Father Burns spoke about what sets an education at Saint Mary’s apart from the competition: “If we are open and unafraid about forming our students and ourselves, not only in intellect, but in heart and soul as well, we will be living into that which truly sets our schools apart.

“In fact, we could even say that just helping our students is not enough, just educating their minds is not enough, and even just forming them generally is not enough. All of these are only part of our educational effort. Rather more deeply it is about forming them in a particular way, helping them to perceive, to know, to act, and to do the good in the right way at the right time for the right reason.”

With great anticipation, Saint Mary’s launched a new 3+2 Physician Assistant (PA) Program. It is a collaborative effort between Saint Mary’s and Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. Beginning in fall 2019, students chosen for this highly competitive program will spend three years studying on the Winona Campus followed by two years with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, with most graduate courses being held at Saint Mary’s Cascade Meadow facility in Rochester. Those two years will include substantial clinical experiences at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and throughout Mayo Clinic Health System.

At the completion of this program, students will receive a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s and a Master of Health Sciences degree in PA Studies from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. The ultimate goal of the program is to create a pipeline of talented PAs who will work for Mayo Clinic at locations throughout the Midwest, responding to a national need for quality healthcare. It is particularly prestigious since these new PA students will train at the No. 1 ranked hospital in the nation. Mayo is also ranked No. 1 in more specialties than any other hospital. For more information about the program, visit smumn.edu/PAprogram.

With help from skilled members of the business community, both regionally and among alumni, Saint Mary’s has formed a Business Advisory Council (BAC). The council will support and help the university’s School of Business on its Winona Campus. The BAC’s goal is to advance the learning experience of Saint Mary’s students and contribute to the quality of teaching and research of its faculty through their support. Innovative programs, recruitment and placement, and the competitive undergraduate business environment are among the topics for which the council will provide insight. The council is further subdivided into three committees with specific goals: Winona Business Community Committee; Internships, Co-op, and Mentoring Committee; and Development Committee.

Members of the Saint Mary’s BAC, a volunteer group of dedicated professionals, include:

• Jerome A. Colletti, managing partner, Colletti-Fiss, LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Terri L. Evans, VP/correspondent mortgage account manager, Merchants Bank, Winona
• Roger Haydock, law professor, William Mitchell College of Law, Spearfish, S.D.
• Sheryl Lisowski, controller, CAO, and treasurer, Fastenal Company, Winona
• Todd Paulson, chief financial officer, RTP Company, Winona
• Dick Pope, chairman, WinCraft, Inc., Winona
• DJ Prideaux, program manager, Sensata Technologies, Saint Paul, Minn.
• Randy Skarlupka, vice president of operations, Miller Ingenuity, Winona
• Maggie Sonnek, marketing professional and business owner, Mill City Creative, Wabasha, Minn.
• Angela Steger, retired financial representative, Northfield, Ill.
• Cathy Walsh, broker associate, Jameson Sotheby’s International Real Estate, Hinsdale, Ill.

Members of the Public Relations/Business (PR/B) Club visited two international companies with headquarters in Winona. In September, about 20 members of the club visited WinCraft, a nationwide leader in the manufacturing of licensed and promotional products that specializes in sports-related merchandise. The students learned about WinCraft’s communication, marketing, and sales strategies and then toured WinCraft’s state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution facilities. In November, PR/B Club students enjoyed a tour and “meet the managers” session at Fastenal headquarters. Students met with eight senior and middle managers to learn more about the Fastenal business operations and to explore internship and co-op education opportunities.

Photo caption: From left, Amber Collins, team sales manager at WinCraft, Liz Sagar, inside sales/collegiate sales at WinCraft, and Robert Gas ’12, Saint Mary’s alumnus and national account manager at WinCraft, address the Saint Mary’s Public Relations/Business Club during its visit to WinCraft.

Students majoring in biology, environmental biology, and psychology presented their undergraduate research at the Seven Rivers Undergraduate Research Symposium, sponsored by Viterbo University on Nov. 9. Ben Borash, Cole Van Houten, Erin Hettinger, Abbigail Propsom, and Austin Kleman gave oral presentations on the results of their summer internship experiences or their senior research projects. Joshua Balsiger, Michele Remer, and Mark Leonard presented posters of their work resulting from summer internships and an independent study. Kleman won an award for best oral presentation in the social sciences. Balsiger and Remer won a “People’s Choice” best poster award.

Photo caption: Environmental biology majors Cole Van Houten and Erin Hettinger presented their summer research on invasive wild parsnip at Saint Mary’s Cascade Meadow facility in Rochester.

Seven Saint Mary’s students and staff attended the Kente Summit at Macalester College in St. Paul on Nov. 2-3. Freshman Byron King, sophomores Shamauri Brown-Young and Raekwon Livingston, junior Aaron Kibirige, and senior Aldontae Guess attended the event, accompanied by staff members Octavia Brown, Countdown to College coordinator, and Naz Zerka, Wellness Center counselor. The event brings together male, undergraduate students of African descent from colleges and universities in Minnesota for keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and community building. Discussions focused on issues and experiences related to identity, intersectionality, inclusion, and intentionality. Many presenters were featured at the Kente Summit, including Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, host of BET News and a political contributor for CNN.

Photo caption: Pictured are (back row, from left), Shamauri Brown-Young, student; Octavia Brown, Countdown to College coordinator; Aaron Kibirige, student; Naz Zerka, Wellness Center counselor; (front row, from left) students Byron King, Raekwon Livingston, and Aldontae Guess.

Students of all majors gathered late September to attend a Business Mixer event, followed by a presentation on the Saint Mary’s data analytics program. The event was co-hosted by the Business Department and the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Saint Mary’s University and co-sponsored by Miller Ingenuity, WinCraft, and RTP Company. More than 50 people attended the event which was designed to connect students with local business leaders and increase their awareness of local career opportunities. Other local businesses in attendance were Fastenal, Watlow, and Benchmark.

Members of the S.O.U.L. Council (Serving Others United in Love) traveled to Chicago for a fall break immersion trip to practice leadership skills. The group of seven students and two campus ministry team members experienced outreach at various sites around Chicago including San Miguel Back of the Yards, the Maria Kaupas Center, Amate House, Su Casa Catholic Worker House, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. At each of these sites, students learned how each ministry approaches outreach, works toward systemic change to poverty and injustice, and supports members of the community.

Focusing on the pillars of faith, service, community, and transformation, these seven students will lead spring break trips to Flint, Mich.; Rochester, N.Y.; El Paso, Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; and Browning, Mont.; and will travel to New Orleans, La., in May.

Photo caption: Students participating in the S.O.U.L. trip to Chicago were, from left: back, Aldontae Guess, Theresa Cheever, Emma Mockler, and Oliver Perry; front, Jordan Malikowski, Aimee Boggs, and Yohanan Urbina.