Saint Mary's Newsroom

The College Republicans, College Democrats, Student Senate, and the university (through the Office of Student Affairs) have partnered to put on a 9/11 memorial on the Winona Campus to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The memorial will be 2,996 American flags that will be set up in the grass by the plaza Thursday, Sept. 9, through Sunday, Sept. 12.

I ask the entire Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota community to join me as we wish our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith “Shanah Tova” as they celebrated Rosh Hashanah earlier this week.

Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” most commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year. This is the first of the two Jewish High Holy Days. Rosh Hashanah is a time of inner renewal and divine atonement and commemorates the creation of the world. It is the beginning of the “Days of Awe” – a 10-day period of introspection, prayer, and repentance that ends on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), on Sept. 15 this year.

One of the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching is solidarity. We are one human family! Additionally, community is the core component of the Lasallian educational mission.

Leon Dixon
Vice President for Inclusion and Human Dignity

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota has returned to fully in-person teaching and learning in fall 2021. On the Winona Campus, courses are continuing under their regular mode of operation. As such, students are expected to attend their classes in-person. Professors are not required to provide Zoom links for class attendance to any students other than those who are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19 or those who are feeling ill. Students who are feeling ill should contact Health Services for consultation. Faculty may count students as absent if they join a class via a Zoom link when the student has not been approved for remote participation by the COVID-19 Case Management Team or is not attending class because they are ill.

As students, faculty, and staff continue to upload COVID-19 vaccination information or file exemptions in the health portal, this additional information may be helpful:

• Use your Saint Mary’s email and password when accessing the health portal. Otherwise, appropriate forms will not be accessible to you.
• Be sure to complete the COVID-19 vaccination form in addition to uploading your vaccination card. Some individuals have only been uploading their vaccination card. The vaccination form must also be completed.
• Once you have submitted your vaccination card or filed your exemption, you will not receive a confirmation email. You can, however, go back into your portal later to check that the correct forms have been completed and uploaded.
• Notary publics can be found at most banks and at most post offices. If you are in Minnesota, you can find a notary near you using Find a Notary. In Wisconsin, you can find a notary public in your area by using the WI Notary Public Search. Narrow your search by using a city and a zip code. In Illinois, you can find a notary public in your area by using the Illinois Notary Public Search. A Google search with “Find a Notary in (insert appropriate state)” will result in similar notary search services by state.

As a reminder, all students, faculty, and staff must complete the process to document their vaccination or file an exemption by Friday, Oct. 8.

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at Saint Mary’s University is pleased to invite Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs (SGPP) and College faculty to register for this year’s virtual Fall Faculty Conference taking place on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Led by Peter Felten, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, assistant provost for teaching and learning, and professor of history at Elon University, this interactive virtual workshop will explore the meaning and impact of cultivating educationally powerful human interactions. The workshop draws from Felten’s research and his most recent book, “Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College.”

Last year as an integrated university approach, CELT brought together both SGPP and College faculty during the Fall Faculty Conference. Traditionally, this conference has been a culmination of a Teaching and Learning series that takes place over the summer. This year’s Fall Faculty Conference will play a slightly different role, making connections both to where we have been and where we are going. The emphasis on relationship-rich education will be crucial to our ongoing conversations related to diversity and human dignity, helping us think through how the connections we make and maintain as part of our Lasallian heritage, with our students and with each other, support student success as well as the continuous development of ourselves as educators.