Saint Mary's Newsroom

Members of the Public Relations/Business Club and their faculty adviser Dean Beckman, chair of the Department of Communication, recently attended the PR North conference, hosted by the Minnesota Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

The conference included panel discussions and breakout sessions from professionals in the corporate, agency, and non-profit sectors of communications. The keynote presentation was from Dr. Cindra Kamphoff, performance management expert and author of the book “Beyond Grit,” who provided tips and advice on the power of positive thinking and a winning mindset. The students also met Saint Mary’s alumna Karina (Rajtar) Wiatros ’10, a senior account executive at Maccabee Public Relations in Minneapolis.

Caption: Attending the conference were, from left: Karina Wiatros, Dean Beckman, McKayla Collins, Olivia Osterbauer, Jerardine Mukamurakoze, Meghan Updike, and Danielle Miller.

As part of their 2018 tour, the Saint Mary’s Chamber Singers performed in the San Francisco, Calif., area. The 26-voice select ensemble is directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea of the Music Department. Tour performances throughout February and March included concerts at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels in Winona, and more.

The repertoire included a cappella works by Tomas Luis de Victoria, Stephen Chatman, Knut Nystedt, Mark Growden, David Conte, and Moses Hogan. The concerts featured the West Coast premiere performances of “Queen of Queens,” an English setting of a John Donne sonnet by Dr. O’Shea.

Caption: Chamber Singers performed at Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., as part of their 2018 tour.

Saint Mary’s will break ground this April on a new baseball clubhouse on the Winona Campus, made possible by a generous lead gift from alumnus Marc Weisenburger ’75 of Plymouth, Minn. Weisenburger made the gift in honor of his experiences at Saint Mary’s, both in school and on the field‚ particularly under the guidance of Hall of Fame Coach Max Molock. The $704,000, 2,500-square-foot facility will be located on the south side of the Gostomski Fieldhouse. The clubhouse will include a players’ locker room and a lounge where the student-athletes can gather, a coaches’ locker room, bathrooms and showers, laundry, and storage.

This is the latest in a series of recent and ongoing upgrades to our athletic facilities that enhance Saint Mary’s recruiting success, ensure that our student-athletes can train and compete well, and assure that our athletic programs are competitive. The clubhouse and the many other athletic program enhancements (e.g., the enhanced cardio facilities) are being funded through the generosity of alumni benefactors who cherish their experiences and want to help future student-athletes have the same great opportunities.

Caption: Baseball alumni including lead donor Marc Weisenburger ’75 (front row, center left) are funding a new clubhouse on campus.

Construction continues on the Saint Mary’s Cascade Meadow addition with the project on track for a summer 2018 completion. This 10,000-square-foot addition will allow the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs to deliver at Cascade Meadow a number of classes formerly housed at the Rochester Community and Technical College. The ribbon-cutting and celebration marking the opening is May 24.

In addition, the Cascade Meadow expansion will house the collaborative Saint Mary’s/Mayo Clinic physician assistant studies program (PA). The PA space includes faculty offices, classrooms, clinical labs, and simulation spaces to prepare students prior to their clinical rotations at Mayo Clinic. Recently, Mayo Clinic named Dr. Michael J. Huckabee to lead the physician assistant studies program. Dr. Huckabee will work with Saint Mary’s faculty and academic administration to finalize the curriculum and prepare for a 2019 program launch.

An initial exploration was recently completed regarding the opportunities and potential to develop and deliver a traditional nursing program. This review was favorable, and we’ve engaged an external consultant to help us further understand the faculty, accreditation, clinical, and facilities requirements to offer a nursing program.