Saint Mary's Newsroom

Angela Soto, a junior Environmental Biology student, presented with Dr. Moni Berg-Binder and Dr. Ben Pauli, Environmental Biology faculty, at the Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference / North American Invasive Species Management Association joint conference in Rochester, Minn., on Oct. 17. Their talk was titled “Combining education and research in an undergraduate invasion ecology class.” The course, taught during spring 2017, explored invasion ecology theory through class readings and discussions. One major element of the course required students to design and conduct original research that applied spatial analysis to a local invasive species. In addition to presenting, the conference gave participants, which included Alyssa Haram, a sophomore Environmental Biology student, opportunities to network with professionals and learn about the ecology and management of invasive species.

Photo caption: Angela Soto and Alyssa Haram, both Environmental Biology majors, attended the Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference / North American Invasive Species Management Association Joint Conference in Rochester, Minn.

On Nov. 3, four Saint Mary’s University students competed in MinneAnalytics’ third annual analytics event, which is designed to allow students to explore real-world data while enhancing and showcasing their skills. This year’s competition focused on predicting voter turnout for the midterm elections in Minnesota. Students had multiple weeks to analyze data before presenting their findings to judges from the analytics community at the main event.

The four students on the Saint Mary’s team presented a model in which they asked a voter a series of 20 questions relating to topics like healthcare. From their responses, the students predicted the likelihood that the respondent would vote in the most recent election. Although they did not win the competition, the Saint Mary’s team scored highest in creativity of their model and earned prize money. About 30 schools in total participated in the event.

Photo caption: Michael Ratajczyk, assistant professor of business, joined business intelligence and analytics majors Nicholas Marshall, Jacob Petraitis, and Emily Seykora, and physics major Toan Tran.

On Nov. 13, students in the Accounting Information Systems class traveled to Fastenal headquarters to present their process documentation projects to Fastenal’s accounting management at corporate headquarters. The month-long project had the students working directly with management and accounting personnel at Fastenal to understand, document, dissect, and flowchart three disparate processes in key areas of the Fastenal business. Students completed the project by presenting their findings to Fastenal accounting management and additional staff.

Photo caption: Taliya Harris presents at Fastenal headquarters.

Earlier this fall, 26 students enrolled in Plant Communities and Taxonomy or Introduction to Mammalian Ecology and Diversity got a chance to visit, learn about, and experience an entire new ecosystem far from campus. This multi-day field experience took students to North-Central Minnesota to experience Itasca State Park and the headwaters of the Mississippi River, as well as to the Deep Portage Learning Center near Hackensack. As the experience combined both mammalogy and plant ecology, Dr. Moni Berg-Binder and Dr. Ben Pauli were able to teach lessons about bat ecology, lead hikes in which students did plant and mammal identification, cross the headwaters of the Mississippi River, experience old-growth forests in Itasca State Park, and visit two different bogs. Students majoring in environmental biology who are exploring both the terrestrial and aquatic ecology of the Mississippi River watershed were able to see their classroom learning come alive.

Sophomores Anna Dale and Sarah Hardy share more than a passion for music. They also share a residence hall room at Saint Mary’s University and now the title of Elevator Pitch Competition winners. As part of one of their classes, Dale and Hardy went through the steps of forming a nonprofit, including creating a mission statement, writing a grant letter of inquiry, and even creating a board of directors. This is where they came up with the idea of “Ensemble,” a nonprofit organization which would provide children and young adults with a venue to learn and enjoy music.

Dale and Hardy pitched their Ensemble idea in the largest Saint Mary’s Elevator Pitch Competition ever, beating out 26 other elevator pitches. Hosted by the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the semi-annual Elevator Pitch Competition gives students an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges in less than 90 seconds and win cash prizes.

Photo caption: Sarah Hardy presents during the Elevator Pitch Competition.

James Perreault, a junior finance major at Saint Mary’s, had an opportunity to pitch his idea for a sanitizing system for wheelchairs and other hospital equipment, called UVCanopy, to medical professionals at Mayo Clinic as part of the Mayo Walleye Tank competition. To qualify for the competition, he first had to pass a Student Entrepreneurial Showcase, a collaboration between Saint Mary’s Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Collider Coworking, and the Mayo Clinic Office of Entrepreneurship. Perreault not only passed and qualified for the junior angler division of Walleye Tank, he also won the Audience Favorite Award and was the only undergraduate student to qualify for the competition. Other competitors included medical professionals and graduate students from Ivy League Schools.

UVCanopy uses germicidal Ultraviolet-C light to kill bacteria in a tunnel-shaped device. Perreault explains that medical equipment or wheelchairs would be pushed through the tunnel via a conveyor belt, eliminating human error, saving time, and reducing dependency on hazardous sterilization chemicals. Target users would be nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. Although he didn’t win, Perreault said several angel investors contacted him to tell him they’d like to hear more.

Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota alumnus Brother James Miller, FSC. The Vatican announced Nov. 8 that Pope Francis approved a decree recognizing Brother James died as a martyr on Feb. 13, 1982, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. While repairing a wall at the school where he worked, Brother James (also known as Brother Santiago) was approached by three men, who shot and killed him. It is suspected that Brother James was killed because he and the other Brothers fought to keep their young students from being forced into the military.

Brother James will be the first De La Salle Christian Brother from the United States to be beatified. The cause of beatification was undertaken by the Diocese of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and received the Decree of Validity in Rome in 2010 when Brother James was designated a Servant of God and a martyr for the faith. The recognition of the martyrdom of Brother James clears the way for his beatification; the date and location of the beatification ceremony were not immediately announced. As a martyr, Brother James must have one miracle attributed to him posthumously to reach the next and final step toward official sainthood, which is canonization.

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is celebrating the reaccreditations of two programs, the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) graduate program and the undergraduate School of Business.

The MFT program recently received formal notice of reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE). The program achieved the highest possible outcome — seven years of COAMFTE reaccreditation with zero stipulations.

“In 2018, there were 16 programs reaccredited by COAMFTE. Only three master’s degree programs, ours included, earned seven years with zero stipulations on accreditation,” said Samantha Zaid, Saint Mary’s MFT program director.

“It’s an exciting result that really shows the quality of the program and the wonderful community we are part of at Saint Mary’s,” she added. “From the application experience, student services, student resources (such as the Library and Writing Center), exceptional course-contracted faculty, quality community partnerships, and inspirational students, this achievement was earned by every person who makes this program great.”

The Saint Mary’s undergraduate School of Business also recently received reaccreditation by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE).

At a recent ceremony celebrating IACBE reaccreditation, Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., president of Saint Mary’s noted that the undergraduate School of Business should be proud of its excellence in teaching, curriculum design, and operational effectiveness, as reflected in the strong endorsement from IACBE.

“IACBE reaccreditation reflects the department’s ongoing commitment to offering high quality programs that provide tangible results to our learners,” said Derek Jackson, Saint Mary’s Business Department chair and associate professor.

Dr. Tom Marpe, Saint Mary’s Business and Technology dean, thanks Jackson; Dr. Shelly McCallum-Ferguson, business professor; Tammy Pape, administrative assistant; and all the business faculty members for their efforts in writing the self-study and preparing for the site visit.

Photo caption: Posed from left, Dr. Shelly McCallum-Ferguson, business professor; Dr. Tom Marpe, Business and Technology dean; Derek Jackson, Business Department chair and associate professor; and Father James P. Burns, president.