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Winona Campus NewsletterSaint Mary’s invests in online instruction certification
Saint Mary’s put students at the center of its strategic plan, Building a Future Full of Hope, and many of our students come to us online. This vision led to the inception, last year, of its first efforts to certify instructors as experts in online education. The 12-week, three course sequence offered through CELT and taught by Dr. Angela Velez-Solic of Rush University has been wildly popular with instructors over the last year, leading to over 400 course completions and 119 Saint Mary’s instructors completing the Advanced Online Instructor Certification course.
The initiative has had support from the highest levels at Saint Mary’s, including our president and provost of the university. In the previous fiscal year, Saint Mary’s invested in its future online with $119,000 in stipends to instructors who completed the course sequence, and this next fiscal year will bring an even more significant investment.
“In keeping with our Lasallian Catholic heritage, we deliver a quality education to our students so our commitment to faculty development and online learning is unwavering. With over 100 instructors completing the certificate this past year alone, it’s clear that our faculty share this commitment as well,” said Brian Schmisek, Ph.D., provost and dean of faculties.
Instructors who complete the courses receive a digital badge through the Credly service for each level completed, signifying their accomplishment and training. Saint Mary’s can use the badges to track who has been through the certification courses, but instructors can also share the badges on sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Here are some of the sample comments from instructors who have gone through the courses:
“I went into this course anxious and intimidated. I’ve come out the other side with a greater appreciation for online learning tools, design, and delivery, and I’m much less anxious about trying new tech.”
“As I continue to grow as an educator, I need and want to deepen my knowledge of and proficiency of the resources available to me to be an effective online instructor. Thank you for guiding me thus far on my journey.”
“Tying what we do in our fields with virtue/character education was very useful. Often we are not given the time, place, and space to reflect upon the ‘bigger picture.’”
“I have learned more than I ever thought I would. Seriously … I also absolutely love teaching and if online is the new normal, I certainly want to be good at it.”
“I leave this course experience with the valuable benefit of knowing what a top-notch, well-designed online course looks like — and inside our new learning management system, no less! Perhaps this final takeaway is the most beneficial of all.”
Saint Mary’s will continue to offer the Online Instructor Certification courses and the $1,000 stipend for completing the sequence throughout the next fiscal year for both full-time and course-contracted faculty who have been nominated by their deans. The next full set of certification courses will begin on July 26 at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels. The courses are offered asynchronously (you can choose how you want to work on them throughout the week) through our new Canvas learning management system and allow instructors to have the experience of being an online student while learning the best practices in online education. Instructors who are interested should contact their dean and/or program director (or chair) for a nomination.
Anonymous vaccination survey to aid in planning
Dear Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota community,
As we continue planning for fall 2021, it has become apparent that we need better data on the percentage of our faculty, staff, and students who are vaccinated. While the university is not mandating the COVID-19 vaccination for fall, we do strongly encourage students and employees to obtain the vaccination. You can use the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector to find out when, where, and how to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for institutions of higher education offers recommendations for institutions with fully vaccinated campuses and those without fully vaccinated campuses. As that guidance indicates, colleges or universities “where not everyone is fully vaccinated will have a mixed population of both people who are fully vaccinated and people who are not fully vaccinated on campus which requires decision making to protect the people who are not fully vaccinated.” Hence, the guidance recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated continue to correctly wear masks. The guidance also recommends the continuation of physical distancing of 6 feet for people who are not fully vaccinated. These recommendations have significant implications for the university as we plan for fall 2021.
Accordingly, we are asking you to complete an anonymous questionnaire about your vaccination status. The questionnaire is designed to give us some sense of the aggregate number of faculty, staff, and students who are vaccinated on each of our campuses. This will help us prepare and plan for the return to campus. We strongly encourage you to complete this survey NOW, but no later than July 9, 2021. Of course, please be honest in your responses since our goal is to plan for the protection of everyone on our campuses.
Faculty spotlight: Dennis Pedrick
The knowledge our students gain is directly impacted by the experience of our faculty members, which is why we are proud to have Dennis Pedrick as a member of our Business and Communication department. With decades of invaluable experience in a diverse array of industries, Pedrick is able to transfer his real-world knowledge to his students and loves watching them turnaround and apply what they learn to their own careers.
How long have you been teaching at Saint Mary’s?
3 years
What courses do you teach at Saint Mary’s?
I teach Business Decision Making and Business Statistics for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.
Please share a little bit about your professional experience.
I have 22 years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in business, and 30 years of experience in marketing research and management in retailing, hospitality, food manufacturing, higher education, and government service.
What is your favorite quote?
“You can lead a student to knowledge, but you can’t make them think.” (Unknown)
What are some of your hobbies?
Fishing, paddling, and biking.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
I enjoy watching students take concepts they see in class and apply them to their life and career.
What is your favorite classroom assignment and why?
Final projects where students take what they learned in class and apply them in situations that are relevant to them.
What is your contact information?
You can email me at dpedrick@smumn.edu or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Honoring and recognizing Juneteenth
This weekend, we at Saint Mary’s University recognize Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth) — the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth, which honors the end to slavery in the United States, is considered the longest-running African American holiday.
Although it’s appropriate and I am grateful Juneteenth has been recognized as a national holiday, to me, Juneteenth isn’t a day to be celebrated. We as a university — and all — should commemorate it, recognize it, and reflect upon the ultimate injustice and denial of human dignity that occurred for 400 years prior. Juneteenth is a good point of reflection for us as a community to stop and think about what happens when we keep our voice silent and don’t step up and say something, what happens when we don’t acknowledge the dignity in all human life. Juneteenth is a unique opportunity for us to put things in perspective. We have a lot to do and a long way to go. A good place to start is by being intentional about our actions, intentional about conversations, and intentional about building a better place.
I believe the beauty of Saint Mary’s — from what I’ve encountered during my first couple of weeks at this university — is that people aren’t afraid of the change that needs to occur. This is a building block needed to create the community that we are striving for, and I am optimistic about what we will accomplish.
If you would like to discuss this historic moment, related topics, or introduce yourself, I welcome conversations and encourage you to reach out.
Knowledgeable DBA instructor shares real-world skills
By Maura Sullivan Hill
Nancy Johnson, CPA, D’19 has always been fascinated by the stock market, particularly since she started working in finance in 1986. These days, she shares that passion with students by teaching in Saint Mary’s Doctor of Business Administration program (DBA).
“I leverage over 20 years of financial services experience to bridge the gap between curriculum case problems and real-world analysis,” Johnson says. “[My corporate roles] enable me to maintain relevant workplace tool and technology capabilities, and subject matter expertise for incorporation into the classroom.”
She spent 20 years as a financial analyst and equity trader in the Minneapolis offices of Piper Jaffray & Company (now Piper Sandler), working with traders at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street and rising to become vice president and then managing director of the company. She’s worked in other finance roles since then, and currently is a Principal in finance at Allianz Life in Golden Valley, Minn., in addition to teaching.
A recent graduate of the DBA program herself, Johnson says her return to the student side of the classroom after 15 years of teaching has made her an even better professor.
“Having recently been a learner, I have increased and renewed empathy for the challenges students face, reminding me of the impacts of providing more meaningful feedback and guidance,” Johnson says.
Johnson chose Saint Mary’s for her own doctoral education for its small class sizes, research opportunities, and the finance track. She was also inspired by the Lasallian, Catholic mission to nurture and empower learners to prioritize and recognize the value of blending ethical lives of service and leadership, a teaching practice aligning with her own teaching methods.
“I hope that students learn the technical concepts associated with the topics I teach, to reach their education and professional goals,” she says. “Equally as important to me is for students to develop the ability to recognize their capabilities and develop confidence to guide others along in their educational journey.”
Cardinals Connecting Cardinals seeking inaugural members
Do you want to be a leader on campus? Do you want to build connections with alumni and gain experience that can help you grow in your future endeavors? Look no further than Cardinals Connecting Cardinals (CCC), a student-led organization that aims to connect current students with alumni of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Members of the CCC will build connections with Saint Mary’s alumni, run events with undergraduate students on campus, promote philanthropy, and be a leader among fellow students. For more information, fill out the Google form.
TV updates
Beginning this fall on the Winona Campus, TVs in the residence halls will connect to cable via Wi-Fi, instead of using a coax cable. This fall, students will either need a Smart TV to be able to download the HBC application or have a Firestick or Roku stick. The Helpdesk has been busy with updating the Wi-Fi capability within the residence halls and will have all areas ready for your arrival. If you have questions, please contact the Helpdesk at helpdesk@smumn.edu or 507-457-7800.
Management training allows Hansen-Ley to make a bigger impact
By Maura Sullivan Hill
With undergraduate and master’s degrees in biology, Jessica Hansen-Ley D’21 already has the technical know-how to excel in her career in laboratory roles and quality control for packaging in the science industry. But now, thanks to the doctor of business administration program at Saint Mary’s, she has the management training to become a leader in the field.
“My professional experiences have driven me to love business administration and management practices. I wanted to challenge myself to a doctorate-level degree without having to sacrifice my family or my full-time job, and the DBA program at Saint Mary’s offered me the most flexibility and support to pursue that,” she says.
Hansen-Ley is a quality manager at Pelican BioThermal, which creates temperature-controlled packaging for the life science industry. (Think of the packaging and containers that ensure the refrigerated temperatures necessary to safely transport the COVID-19 vaccine.)
“What I have found most valuable during my journey in this program is learning to encourage myself to think openly and without restrictions. The faculty of the program and the assignments of the classes require you to get creative in the ways that you identify, process, and resolve challenges,” Hansen-Ley says.
Her dissertation research focused on the global impact of opioid overuse, and in the future, she will continue to think globally in her quality control work.
“My long-term professional goals are aimed at achieving executive leadership within quality and continuous improvement. I’ve found so much value in finding ways to harmonize processes of organizations that I’d like to be a part of further improving standards across industries around the world,” Hansen-Ley says. “Ultimately, I’d love to support finding ways to streamline implementation of approved regulatory and compliance requirements to encourage improved policy initiatives.”
Expanded access to food assistance (SNAP) includes more college students
In response to COVID-19, the federal government has expanded access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for college students. The federal government has also increased the amount of SNAP benefits those eligible can receive. Right now, because of the pandemic, everyone who qualifies for SNAP gets the maximum amount for their household size.
SNAP helps families and individuals make sure they get the food they need. It can be used like cash to buy fruits, vegetables, cereal, bread, meat, fish, dairy products, and more.
SNAP is an entitlement program, which means that every single person eligible for the program will get benefits. However, to be eligible for SNAP, students must also meet additional SNAP rules and income eligibility criteria.
Detailed information about SNAP eligibility and personalized assistance with the online application can be found at MNFoodHelper.
Students co-author study with former faculty member
Student to run, walk, or Rollerblade 250 miles in 150 days for Taylor Richmond Benefit Fund
Saint Mary’s University student Jordan Keeley is taking the school’s mission of service and running with it.
This summer, Keeley will run, walk, or Rollerblade 250 miles in 100 days to raise money for the Taylor Richmond Benefit Fund. The fund was formed by students in 2001 in honor of Taylor Richmond, the son of a former Saint Mary’s staff member who was born with a genetic disease that affects the immune system. In 2001, students and staff learned of Taylor’s disease and surprised Taylor by organizing a formal dance, with all proceeds used to fulfill his dream of going to Disney World. The dance has now become an annual tradition.
The money raised by the benefit fund is given to a different person every year who has a connection to the university. Past recipients have included a child with cerebral palsy, an employee with breast cancer, and a Saint Mary’s hockey player and Marine veteran who was injured in Afghanistan.
Donations to Keeley can be made on the Facebook page created for her fundraiser. Those who donate can also track her progress through the summer.
Keeley was recently interviewed about her summer fundraising goal by The Q Media Group in Redwing. The interview aired on KWNG, KCUE, WBHA in Wabasha, and KLCH in Lake City.
“I kind of thought to myself, like, ‘What would be something that I could do over summer that would be manageable for me, but could still make an impact for people on campus, as well as the community in Winona?’” Keeley told The Q Media Group.
She added, “I decided that something I could do every day was go for a walk or run or Rollerblade, and then I could just log the miles. And then I was like, ‘Well, I could make a challenge out of it.’ Then my challenge idea kind of turned into a fundraising idea.”
You can listen to the entire interview below:
Gostomski Fieldhouse closures in June
The Gostomski Fieldhouse courts (blue floor) will be closed from June 11-24. The entire Gostomski Fieldhouse will be closed from June 20-24.
Notification of Saint Mary’s research project
During the next two weeks, Dr. Benjamin Pauli of the Biology Department will be researching how train sounds affect wildlife.
As a part of the research, speakers that play train sounds will be placed along the trails on campus. The research is set to start Monday and will last two weeks. The sound will not play continuously and will follow the same schedule of trains as they travel through Winona.
The sounds should not disturb homes in the area. Signs will be placed along the trails to alert hikers.
Any concerns or questions about the research can be sent to Dr. Pauli at bpauli@smumn.edu.
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