Saint Mary's Newsroom / Campus Notes

The university’s long-standing theatre program in London is being expanded to serve all Saint Mary’s undergraduate students beginning in fall 2022. The plan is to partner with a university in London to make available a high quality international experience for our students, who would be considered “travel abroad” or international students in the United Kingdom.

Some potential partner universities have already been identified and more will be considered by a task force named for this purpose. The group will make a recommendation by the end of the summer 2021 so that students will know what opportunity is available to them for the following year.

The task force consists of:

• Susan Cosby Ronnenberg, dean of the College, chair of the committee
• Ned Kirk, department chair, fine and performing arts
• Jimmy Bickerstaff, professor of theatre
• Becky Vogel, director of the International Center
• Carolyn Ayers, associate dean of Integratus
• Moni Berg-Binder, associate dean of sciences
• Kristina Lemmer, director of admissions

The student experience is at the center of our strategic plan. With the recent retirement of our long-serving London program director, Gary Diomandes, and the cancellation of our London program in fall 2020 and fall 2021 due to the pandemic, the university is recommitting itself to this signature international experience in a new way. The plans for London 2022 and beyond help us allocate resources in an effective and efficient manner (Goal 5 of the strategic plan), and we continue to create partnerships that foster innovation (Goal 3 of the strategic plan).

Eden Wales Freedman

Eden Wales Freedman, Ph.D., vice provost for faculties and academic affairs, has accepted a new position at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. She will begin her work as vice president for academic affairs at Clarke in July, and her last office day at Saint Mary’s will be Friday, May 14.

We wish her the best in the next chapter of her career.

In an unprecedented year, Eden met regularly with universitywide committees to respond to the pandemic and prepare for the coming academic year. She worked diligently to unite and centralize university structures and academic operations including library services, writing services, orientation and onboarding procedures for faculty, and organizing our first universitywide faculty advance day.

She describes working with colleagues at Saint Mary’s as “an honor and a joy.” “Nothing delights and motivates me more than the opportunity to do good work with good people,” she said. “I found both at Saint Mary’s. I am grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to join this vibrant community and to work collaboratively toward its success.”

Beginning July 1, Matt Nowakowski, Ed.D., program director of the Doctor of Business Administration, will serve as interim vice provost, a role he held prior to Eden’s arrival last year.

We appreciate the dedication and hard work all of you have put in throughout this past year as we collectively faced the pandemic, and all of its challenges, together. In thanks for going the extra mile to ensure uninterrupted learning and putting students first — and in lieu of our missed end-of-the-year employee dinner — Father Burns has approved an additional courtesy day on Friday, July 2, so that you can enjoy a long 4th of July weekend. As you know, Monday, July 5, is already a scheduled holiday in honor of the national holiday. For the full year calendar, please see the full list on Blackboard, under the Human Resources Tab, third column.

Another important calendar change includes celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by recognizing the holiday in his name on Monday, Jan. 17, in addition to commemorating the man and his work throughout the week.

Upon recommendation from our academic and operational leadership teams, we are shifting the launch of the bachelor’s completion in social work program at the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs and the bachelor of arts in social work at the College to fall 2022.

This decision allows us to focus our limited resources toward accreditation efforts for the Master of Social Work as well as launching other new programs, while still allowing us to launch the undergraduate social work degrees within a reasonable time frame.

We are sharing with the Saint Mary’s Community an overview of student withdrawal data collected by the College during academic years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. The executive summary was written in collaboration by the Student Success and First Generation Initiative office, the Institutional Research office, and the College Retention, Persistence, and Completion committee. The Student Success and First Generation Initiative office manages the survey data collection and provides the data collected to the Institutional Research office for initial analysis, which occurs each summer. Two hundred seventy-eight students completed the withdrawal survey, representing 90% of students who withdrew from the College during this timeframe. Students who are dismissed for academic reasons or who request a leave of absence do not complete the withdrawal survey.

View 2017-2020 Withdrawal Survey Executive Summary

As has been our tradition, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota honors both retirees and employees with milestone service awards each year at a spring employee service award event. As you already know, our response to COVID-19 required us to replace last year’s live events with a single virtual one, and unfortunately, we must do so again this year.

This year’s virtual celebration will again include keynote comments, announcement and recognition of employees who’ve achieved 5-year service increments, and a celebration of this year’s retirees.

We expect to share a link with you to this virtual event on or around June 15. We look forward to sharing our employee’s achievements with the Saint Mary’s community shortly.

By LMS Taskforce

As June 1 fast approaches, this signifies the end of Blackboard and for many, their first steps in Canvas. We know that it is going to require you to adjust to some changes, but we think Canvas has a lot to offer that will make your course experience a lot better. Please know that there are a variety of support systems available to guide you and your students through these changes. As a reminder, please funnel all questions, concerns, and issues through the HelpDesk at helpdesk@smumn.edu. With their new ticketing system in place, emails and calls are quickly routed to the appropriate person or department to expedite resolution.

When I need help, who can I contact?

• Saint Mary’s HelpDesk
  • Email: helpdesk@smumn.edu
  • Call: 507-457-7800 or 612-728-5100
• Canvas 24/7 support (get in touch with a Canvas technician):
  • Chat: Log into Canvas, click Support (red bar on the left) and choose Chat with Canvas
  • Call: 877-601-4784

How do I find training opportunities and support resources?

• The CELT site has a cadence of training sessions being offered for Canvas ranging from basics to advanced, as well as training on other aspects and tools. View at celt.smumn.edu/calendar.
• The Instructional Technology site contains walk-through videos and support resources on many of the instructional tools used in Canvas (Zoom, Ally, Flipgrid, etc.). View at celt.smumn.edu/intech.
• Additionally, there are public support documents available.

How do students learn the features of Canvas?

• In messaging from both Student Central and Cardinal Central, students who are enrolled in courses in Canvas have been directed to visit community.smumn.edu/canvas to guide them through their initial steps into Canvas. This page also contains a short introductory video.
• Information on how to use the features of Canvas can be found in the Canvas at SMU (Student Orientation) course. This is available when they first log into Canvas. This course and all future courses are found on the Dashboard.
• Additionally, there are public support documents available.

How do I access earlier articles sent to faculty or students?

• Prior communications listed below have been shared to further guide the transition from Blackboard and Engage to Canvas. These have been made for both students and faculty.
  • Saint Mary’s is moving to Canvas
  • What does this mean for students?
  • What does this mean for faculty and staff?
  • Recommendations for incompletes and in-progress grades for spring 21 courses in Blackboard

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is proud to announce the following faculty members who were tenured and promoted.

Crystal Carlson

Crystal Carlson, associate professor of psychology, with tenure

Ph.D., M.S. – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

B.S. – University of Chicago

Dr. Crystal Carlson has been an assistant professor of psychology at Saint Mary’s University since 2014. She teaches a variety of courses in psychology and also teaches in Integratus, the general education program. She consistently manages a heavy advising load for departmental majors and first-year students. She also serves as faculty adviser to both the Psychology and Zumba Clubs, has presented to First Generation Initiative, has taught in the Countdown to College program, and is very active in overseeing quality student research projects. Dr. Carlson is committed to the individual needs of students and spends considerable time determining those needs and adapting pedagogically to ensure a high level of student engagement.

Dr. Carlson has worked tirelessly in various service capacities on behalf of the university, her discipline, and the wider community. She has multiple publications of articles and book contributions, conference presentations, and sustained efforts in the scholarship of psychology pedagogy. Her publications include:

Grison, S., & Carlson, C. (under contract). Psychology: Your guide to success. W.W. Norton.

Carlson, C. (in press). Developing community and a sense of belonging in your classroom. In M. Wong, L. Weiner, L. T. S. Yee, & J. Cerniak (Eds.), Incorporating Diversity in Classroom Settings: Real and Engaging Examples for Various Psychology Courses. Society for the Teaching of Psychology.

Carlson, C. (2019). Creating an inclusive learning environment. In S. Grison & C. Carlson (Eds.), High-impact practices: A teaching guide for psychology. W.W. Norton.

Carlson, C. (2019). Professional development opportunities for psychology instructors. In S. Grison & C. Carlson (Eds.), High-impact practices: A teaching guide for psychology. W.W. Norton.

Carlson, C. Jacobs, S. A., Perry, M., & Church, R. B. (2014). The effect of gestured instruction on the learning of physical causality problems. Gesture,14(1), 26-45.

Ryan, K. E., Gandha, T., Culbertson, M.J., & Carlson, C. (2014). Focus group evidence: Implications for design and analysis. American Journal of Evaluation, 35(3), 328-345.

Dr. Carlson has also worked collaboratively with Saint Mary’s colleagues on grant proposals. Her contributions to the development of the Integratus general education program have been substantial. Service to the university includes work on the following committees: Educational Standards Committee, Curriculum Committee (secretary), Integrated General Education Assessment Committee (chair), Library Committee, Learning Management System Task Force.

Molly O’Connor

Molly O’Connor, associate professor of psychology, with tenure

Ph.D., M.S. – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

B.A.Sc., B.A. – University of Minnesota-Duluth

Dr. Molly O’Connor has been an assistant professor of psychology at Saint Mary’s since 2014. She teaches a variety of courses in psychology and also teaches in Integratus, the general education program. She consistently manages a heavy advising load for departmental majors and first-year students. According to her advisees and her colleagues, she invests considerable time in assisting students and has a genuine interest in the development of the whole person.

Dr. O’Connor has been active and effective in scholarly activity. She has published and delivered presentations at conferences. Dr. O’Connor guides students in diverse research projects, both individually and collaboratively with peers. She was instrumental in the Saint Mary’s review of the Institutional Human Participants Research Board (HPRB), which led to the creation of the university-wide Institutional Research Board (IRB) that ensures conformity with both federal requirements and disciplinary best practices. Her publications include:

O’Connor, M. (2017). Annotation of “The Ocean Tides Residential, Educational, and Family Services Program: An Organizational History 1975-1985.” AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education 8, 2, Institute for Lasallian Studies at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Toussaint, L., Lange, L., Chen, W., Hodge, M., O’Connor, M. & Fleming, R. (2017). Control-oriented coping buffers stress responses in evacuees from a technological accident. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research. 22, 3, doi:10.1111/jabr. 12062.

Dr. O’Connor has collaborated with colleagues in various disciplines on projects and provided valuable insight into the design of interdisciplinary majors in Integratus. Her service to the university includes work on the following committees: Institutional Review Board (vice chair), Tegrity Replacement Task Force, Mental Health Task Force, Faculty Council (secretary), Celebration of Scholarship Committee, General Education Working Groups, Facilities Committee.

Brooke Lenz

Brooke Lenz, professor of English literature

Ph.D., M.A. – University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill

B.A. – University of Rochester

Dr. Brooke Lenz has been a member of the English and World Languages Department at Saint Mary’s since 2005.

Dr. Lenz has demonstrated a sustained record of excellence in teaching, as evidenced by her consistently fine student evaluations and the assessment of her department colleagues. She has a  contagious enthusiasm that permeates her teaching, and her portfolio narratives clearly indicate  that she is continuously seeking ways to improve her teaching, fully engage with students, and remain current in her discipline, which enriches and informs her presence in the classroom. In multiple respects, Dr. Lenz is representative of the ideal Lasallian educator. She inspires her students to do their best work, and she draws them into her love for English literature and the countless facets of the human experience that it illuminates.

Dr. Lenz has also contributed substantial efforts in the research and design of curriculum, and new courses have harnessed her considerable abilities with valuable results for the university, including the new health humanities major and minor.

Congratulations to these three outstanding faculty colleagues.