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Winona Campus Newsletter
Alumni speakers for Department of Communication
The Department of Communication hosted two alumni guest speakers April 12-13. Journalism alumnus Michael Flicek ’17 spoke to Dean Beckman’s Beginning Newswriting class on April 12 about his role as editor of the Plainview News. Flicek addressed the challenges of being editor at a small newspaper and shared some of his favorite news stories with the students.
On April 13, Public Relations alumnus Rick Palermo ’16 provided advice to the Public Relations/Business Club about what it takes to make it in the sports media business. Palermo is a production assistant with Fox Sports North, a freelance broadcaster in the Twin Cities, and the co-host of a podcast on the Minnesota Sports Podcast Network. Read more about Palermo and his work.
Photo caption: Michael Flicek ’17 (front, center) with students from Beginning Newswriting class.
April 15 undergraduate admission report for fall 2018
We’re now at the critical last two weeks prior to the Candidates’ Reply Deadline on May 1, when admitted students make their final college choice. Having looked at the April 15–May 1 confirmed numbers over the past five recruitment cycles, we’ve experienced a low of 46 additional confirmations and a high of 114 in this two-week period. The only conclusion I can draw is that the Office of Admission will continue to work hard on recruiting the class. My sense is that, somewhere between these two figures is where you’ll find the number of new deposits we will add. Prayers are welcome in pursuit of our desired enrollment objectives.
The next meaningful update from this office will occur on May 15, when the dust settles a bit and we have a firmer handle on where the class stands. Regardless of the outcome, know that we will continue to recruit both new first-year and transfers right up until move-in day.
I want you to be aware that our final Admitted Student Day is this Friday, April 20, with 30 students pre-registered for this event. It’s one of our primary goals to have 70-80 percent of these students commit on Friday. As always, we appreciate all that you do to assist our recruitment efforts!
— Daniel Meyer, vice president for enrollment
Upcoming events:
Admitted Student Day
Friday, April 20
30 students, 42 guests
Spring Preview Day
Saturday, April 28
34 students, 68 guests
Saint Mary’s hosts Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium April 21
On Saturday, April 21, Saint Mary’s University’s Department of History will host the 5th annual Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium. Students from Bethel University, Bethany Lutheran College, University of Northwestern – St. Paul, Martin Luther College, and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota will present an array of research papers and projects in history. After three sessions of concurrent student panels, the day will conclude with a plenary session on “Students’ Religious Literacy in a Pluralistic Society,” featuring Dr. Amy Poppinga (Bethel) and Dr. Erich Lippman (Saint Mary’s). The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Science and Learning Center. Registration begins at 8 am. Please contact Tycho de Boer (tdeboer@smumn.edu) for more information.
Theology senior’s research is recognized
Caleb Kormann, a senior Theology major, had his research accepted to present at the Upper Midwest American Academy of Religion conference, April 14 in St. Paul (which was canceled due to a blizzard). His research, “The Word of Our Lives: Nouvelle Theologie and Dei Verbum,” was prepared through coursework in Contemporary Catholic Thought with Dr. Greg Sobolewski.
Saint Mary’s offers summer activities
WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University will offer a wide variety of camps and community programs for youth and adults this summer.
Activities include:
- Three sessions of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) enrichment classes where students ages 8–14 can make their own video games, mobile apps, or create virtual reality worlds. These classes are offered June 18–22, June 25–29, and July 23–27.
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes Youth Sports Camp for grades 2–8, June 26–28.
- Cross Country Camp for grades 7–12, June 26–30.
- Hockey Camp for Bantam, Midget, and high school players of all ages, July 4–18.
- Team Volleyball Camp for grades 9–12, July 22–25.
- Individual Volleyball Camp for grades 7–12, July 26–28.
- Men’s Soccer ID Camp for grades 9-post-high school, Aug. 4.
- Ceramics class for ages 12 and up, June 11, 18, 25, and July 2, 9, 16.
For more information or to register for these events, visit camps.smumn.edu or call the Saint Mary’s University Office of Event Services at 507-457-6921.
Local student artwork on display throughout April at MCA
WINONA, Minn. — Nearly 50 unique and colorful pieces of artwork created by local students are now on display in Galleria Valéncia at the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts (MCA), 1164 W. Howard St. The artwork was created by students of Jeffrey Morgan, who teaches K–4 at Washington-Kosciusko, Goodview and Rollingstone elementary schools.
Throughout April, visitors can view creative works that represent lessons on famous artists and their styles, including Modigliani-style self-portraits, Rousseau stylized landscapes, and pieces inspired by the classic book “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” Other projects explore color relationships and a variety of art materials and techniques such as string painting, still life, and collage.
The public is invited to visit Galleria Valéncia during regular office hours and during any programming. To check scheduling, call 507-453-5500.
MCA is in the process of setting up art shows for the 2018-19 school year. If schools, groups, or professional artists are interested in displaying their work, contact Megan at mca@smumn.edu.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Saint Mary’s in the news
Winona Daily News featured a letter to the editor written by Saint Mary’s alumnus Bill Figel. Read the letter online.
Winona Daily News featured an article about Dorothy Day’s granddaughter Kate Hennessy’s visit to Winona. Read the article online.
Looking ahead at the ‘Campus Notes’ schedule
The last two “Campus Notes” issues of the academic year will be Fridays, April 27 and May 4. The submission deadline for each issue is the Wednesday prior. Send submissions to Carissa Hahn at chahn@smumn.edu.
Help us tell the Saint Mary’s story
As part of our visibility and recruiting efforts, the Marketing and Communication Office is constantly striving to tell the Saint Mary’s story. Check out a recent article about Mike Komp M’13, M’14 (above).
We depend on our faculty and staff to help us identify our best stories. Remember to let Deb Nahrgang (ext. 6966 or dnahrgan@smumn.edu) know if you have alumni and student outcome stories we should feature, or if you are doing something highlightable in the classroom. These stories, quotes, and photos are also used in social media and in various marketing materials.
Combining business, data intelligence, and spatial technologies to do meaningful work
According to Mike Komp M’13, M’14 few people have ever heard of Armstrong Creek, Wis., pop. 409. Despite its lack of notoriety, growing up in that rural northern Wisconsin town instilled in Komp a love of land and a respect for agriculture.
This passion drove Komp to earn a bachelor’s degree in natural resources. He furthered his education at Saint Mary’s with an M.B.A. in 2013, followed by an M.S. in Geographic Information Science (GIS) (now the Data Intelligence and GeoAnalytics program) in 2014.
In his position as a technical program manager in ag technology at the Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Okla., Komp is using all three of his degrees as he returns to his roots — helping farmers while promoting sustainability and land stewardship.
“Both the M.B.A. and the GIS programs helped catapult me to doing some very exciting work related to technology and agriculture,” Komp said.
He describes his role as broad. “I focus on anything that has sort of an IT flavor related to agriculture,” he said. “That includes drones, remote sensing, GIS, and so on. I work to organize and coordinate teams to implement cutting-edge solutions.”
Noble is a nonprofit agricultural research organization delivering solutions to agricultural problems. The company focuses on research to help farmers and ranchers improve land stewardship and productivity. In this way, Noble strives to produce lasting benefits for humanity and the natural resources upon which we all depend.
“For me, it’s about bringing my technical skills into an environment where I can help people make a go of it in a rural setting,” he added. “My job is focused on the goals of producers and growers and agriculture, and that’s special to me; I’m pretty fortunate to get to do that.”
Komp is especially proud of a drone program he’s played a significant role in implementing. “We’re using drones to gather all sorts of data related to agriculture and remote sensing, which sets us apart from similar organizations,” he said.
“We’re using technology to quantify eco system services that farmers and ranchers provide back to society, so they can get economic return for those services. I’m at the center point of implementing all the technology for that program.”
He explained that for a long time, farmers and ranchers have been only compensated for food and fiber, what they are producing. “But in reality, they provide so much more by being stewards of the land, keeping streams healthy, and providing habitat for wildlife,” he said. “Around the country, people find value in what nature provides. Agriculture often gets a bad rap.”
Using soil sensors and satellite data, Komp said he and others at Noble are working to attach a dollar amount to these practices so they can demonstrate the value of what farmers and ranchers are doing in being good stewards.
“It’s our goal to put money back in their pockets when they’re going above and beyond what’s expected,” he said.
He believes every step of his career and his education has led him to his current position. “I worked for GeoSpatial Services (GSS) at Saint Mary’s full-time for six years before I decided to go after a new opportunity,” he said.
“The biggest thing that helped me at Saint Mary’s was the opportunity I had while working at GeoSpatial Services to pursue my M.B.A. at the same time,” he said. “Getting both the real-world business experience of GSS and the real-world applications that the M.B.A. group provided has really put me in a place where I can understand how the business side of things work and apply that day to day in everything that I do.
“I look at my time at Saint Mary’s as pretty formative for me,” Komp added, citing the relationships and skills he developed at GSS as being especially useful. “Geographic information science is a valuable skill in the marketplace right now,” he said. “It opens doors for you, no doubt about it.”
New cybersecurity degree advances online learning and growth
As a direct response to Priority 1 – Advance online learning and growth, Saint Mary’s University is launching a new online Master of Science in Cybersecurity program to start in August 2018. The program is designed to produce well-rounded cybersecurity professionals with both the business and technical expertise needed to prevent and protect against cyberattacks.
Saint Mary’s recognizes the urgent worldwide need for cybersecurity leaders. Nearly every day brings news of a cybersecurity attack, and global cybersecurity spending grew 7 percent in 2017, to $86.4 billion. In addition, the cybersecurity industry has far too few skilled professionals and a pressing demand for more.
Students will experience a curriculum designed by real-world cybersecurity professionals, including hiring managers, security executives and government officials. Students will receive a comprehensive education that provides a powerful combination of technology fundamentals, including risk management, network security and more, along with business leadership skills like communications, negotiation, and ethical decision-making. This crucial blend of skills will help graduates communicate the importance of data protection to colleagues who aren’t well-versed in cybersecurity procedures, ensure the implementation of their initiatives, and become the solution to cyberattacks.
Weekend retreat focuses on servant leadership
Advancing the strategic themes of leadership development and Lasallian mission integration through co-curricular learning, 50 students participated in a retreat this past weekend on the Winona Campus. The retreat focused on learning and reflecting on the foundation and development of servant leadership. It was led by Daniel Pearson, assistant men’s basketball coach for Canada’s University of Calgary Dinos, 2018 national champions. Pearson has traveled extensively to learn about servant leadership through interactions with Jean Vanier, Canadian Catholic philosopher, theologian, humanitarian, and founder of the L’Arche community; and the Sisters of Charity, the religious community of Mother Teresa.
The Saint Peter and Teresa Leadership Clubs (SPTLC) at Saint Mary’s collaborated with Campus Ministry to present this retreat. Outgoing SPTLC officers Jacob Mencacci and Mari Morales-Lozano were student leaders in this experience which served as an intentional student leadership opportunity. Campus Ministry leaders, Athletic Advisory Council members, and SPTLC members were all present at the retreat, made possible by a grant from the M & M Flynn Charitable Gifting Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation.
Weather Related Announcements
The Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota announce that the Twin Cities, Apple Valley, Oakdale, and Cascade Meadow/Rochester campuses are all closed Saturday, April 14, 2018, due to anticipated bad weather.
All classes are cancelled unless faculty members make arrangements to meet online. Students should check their email for course specific directions.
Winona campus remains open at this time. All Saturday programming will be held.
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