Saint Mary's Newsroom
Campus ConnectionAn update from the president to alumni and parents
Alumna organizes African immigrant conference
S. Miata Getaweh D’18 speaks at the African Immigrant Professional Development Conference.
On Sept. 22, more than 140 African immigrant professionals gathered at North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, Minn., for the first annual African Immigrant Professional Development Conference, which was organized by S. Miata Getaweh D’18, Doctor of Business Administration alumna. A number of Saint Mary’s University doctoral students were in attendance. Opening remarks were offered by Nerita Hughes, dean of business, technology, career and workforce development at North Hennepin Community College and current Ed.D. student at Saint Mary’s. The afternoon session commenced with Dr. Getaweh’s presentation “The Experiences of African Immigrants who have Successfully Matriculated to Managerial Positions in Minnesota.” This dissertation research was the driving force behind the conference and a first step to bring African immigrant professionals together for networking and professional development purposes. The evening session concluded with a panel discussion about achieving career success and encouraging participants to network, build social capital, understand the culture, and continue to stand up against discriminatory practices in the workplace. Keynote speakers and panelists included many leaders from the Twin Cities community.
Celebrating peace with other Lasallians
Fr. James Callahan presents during International Lasallian Days for Peace on the Winona Campus.
In cooperation with the International Council of Young Lasallians, Saint Mary’s University recognized International Lasallian Days for Peace during the week of Sept. 30-Oct.5. Guided by the theme Ignite our Hearts of Peace, the Office of Campus Ministry collaborated with the Lasallian Honors Program, the department of English and World Languages, the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and the Winona Interfaith Council to sponsor speakers and activities focused on prayer, dialogue, and community. Lasallian schools around the world are invited to recognize the days for peace each year.
The two main speakers were Fr. James Callahan of Worthington, Minn., and Justin Van Dalen of Rochester, Minn. Fr. Callahan spoke about creating churches of sanctuary to continue to welcome the migrant and build peace in communities. He also reflected on the ethical, spiritual, historical, and political reasons for which offering sanctuary to others is important. Van Dalen, an attorney, spoke about his experience of working toward legal rights in Uganda with International Justice Mission to build peace and freedom. Other activities included opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to pray together, a viewing of the documentary, “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” and hospitality for discussions was provided.
Adult learners graduate Oct. 13 on Saint Mary’s Twin Cities Campus
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — More than 500 adult learners will graduate from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and its Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs on Saturday, Oct. 13, 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 six graduating students will be honored with Saint Mary’s Outstanding Final Paper Awards.
Graduating students providing reflections are:
- Dinyar Mehta, M.A., Marriage and Family Therapy
- Yeezong Vang, Psy.D., Counseling Psychology
- Andrew Gau Xiong, Ed.D. Leadership
- Abdirahman A. Warsame, M.S., Accountancy
Graduating students being honored with Outstanding Final Paper Awards are:
- Annie Undis, M.A., Counseling and Psychological Services
- Megan Joy Monson, M.A., Marriage and Family Therapy
- Karen Marie Johnson, M.Ed., Learning Design and Technology
- Diane Mary Reineke, M.A., English as a Second Language
- Boonmee Yang, M.A., English as a Second Language
- Teddy J. T. Oberle, M.A., Human Development
Saint Mary’s invites vendors to Oct. 24 career fair
WINONA, Minn. — Employers, graduate schools, and other vendors are invited to register now for the fifth annual Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Career and Internship Fair, to be held 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Last year, the university welcomed many employers, graduate schools, and organizations to campus for the career fair, and this year, organizers are hoping to expand and improve upon the event.
Saint Mary’s graduates gain the advanced knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities necessary to be lifelong learners, successful workers, good neighbors, and ethical citizens — in other words, ideal candidates for employment at your company or enrollment at your school.
The event will be held in the Toner Student Center gymnasium and Hall of Fame Room at Saint Mary’s Winona Campus.
To register, go to smumn.edu/careerfairregistration.
For more information, contact Michael Hagarty by phone at 507-457-6695 or by email at mhagarty@smumn.edu.
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 22nd 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. 19-20 and 26-27, and Wednesday, 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.
Inauguration schedule of events
We celebrate the inauguration of the Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D. as the 14th president of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5-6. See you there!
SAINT MARY’S: A SIGN OF FAITH, HOPE, & KNOWLEDGE
Friday, Oct. 5, 2018
Inauguration Mass
10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
Saint Thomas More Chapel
Lunch
11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Gostomski Fieldhouse
Robing and Procession
Robing
1 p.m.
Toner Student Center Lounge (Trustees, Bishops and other Prelates and Stage Party)
Room 9, Toner Student Center (Delegates)
Gostomski Fieldhouse (Faculty, De La Salle Christian Brothers, and Flag Bearers)
Alumni Room, Toner Student Center (President’s Cabinet/AVPs/Deans)
Procession
1:30 p.m.
INAUGURATION CONVOCATION
2 to 4 p.m.
Gymnasium
Link for live stream: https://portal.
Inauguration Reception
4 to 5 p.m.
Gostomski Fieldhouse
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018
Student service project
Registration
9:30 a.m.
Lillian Hogan Davis Art Gallery Lobby
Service
10 a.m.
Soccer tailgate
Food, inflatables, giveaways, and games
Noon to 5:30 p.m.
Artisan Fair
Food, artisans, and music
Open to the public
1 to 4 p.m.
Plaza
Many participate in activities during Family Weekend
Families of students and members of the Saint Mary’s community visited Winona for Family Weekend, Sept. 28-30. A full slate of activities took place including music events, sporting events, the Fall Frolic, and more. See more photos from the event.
Local student wins science fair award
Anthony Thorsell, student in the Cochrane-Fountain City School District and son of Saint Mary’s staff member Lisa Thorsell and former staff member Patrick Thorsell, received an ASBMB Science Fair award for his project, Collection and Amplification of DNA on Various Surfaces. Thorsell’s project addressed the issue of obtaining quality DNA samples depending on the surfaces on which they were found. His research tested the amount of DNA that could be extracted from different surface types using polymerase chain reaction.
The ASBMB Science Fair award is presented to a middle school or high school student participating in a local science fair who demonstrates outstanding achievement in biochemistry and molecular biology research. The award carries a $50 prize and a certificate. Thorsell’s award was sponsored by the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota ASBMB Student Chapter.
Story and photo retrieved from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
Public invited to art exhibit at Saint Mary’s University
WINONA, Minn. — The public is invited to the opening reception for a new art exhibit titled The Bridge. The reception will take place Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries at Saint Mary’s University. There will be refreshments and an opportunity to meet the artists.
The Bridge includes collaborative work by artists Brooks and Tamara Turner from Minneapolis. The Turners work collaboratively and independently in sculpture and multimedia installation. Brooks received his bachelor’s degree in art and art history from Amherst College; Tamara received her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Manitoba. Both received master’s degrees in fine arts from UCLA in sculpture.
Brooks and Tamara find inspiration in the past, using historical and philosophical narratives to explore existential expressions of subjecthood as well as material intra-relations of forms, gestures, tool marks, and handprints. They have exhibited throughout the United States and Canada, but this is their first exhibition in Minnesota.
The exhibit will be on display Oct. 10-Nov. 20.
Artists’ statement
Through three installations that blend into each other, The Bridge brings history, politics, and philosophy together in one space through the conceptual and aesthetic examination of three figures and their historical context: Menachem Begin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Martin Heidegger. While none of these men met, their lives are connected spatio-temporally by World War II and conceptually by fascism.
At the center of the exhibition, a collaborative installation titled The Bridge collages together photographs, drawings, diagrams, and other research materials, obscuring the walls and enveloping the viewer in the fragments of a world, both past and present, real and imagined. A mother holding her child, a hut on a wooded hillside, nazi soldiers marching, a ship on fire, a bombed out building, classical figurative sculpture — these images form an open network of narratives, representations, and references, tying the sculptures to historical and philosophical realities across time and space.
Today, we feel the fragility of our democracy in the face of growing fascism in the West. Through formal and conceptual aesthetic techniques, these installations explore how the actions, philosophies, and politics symbolized in Heidegger, Begin, and Roosevelt are still tangled up in today’s world. By exploring the philosophical and historical labyrinth of the past, we seek to untangle the mythologies of our present political moment, and more importantly to uncover the fractal patterns of individual human impulses, fears, and desires.
The Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
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