As we close the books on another year during this season of gratitude and thanks, now is an opportune time to reflect on several important milestones that occurred in 2023 at Minot State University. Read the entire message from Dr. Shirley HERE.

Minot State University and the Northwest Arts Center (NAC) worked in collaboration with the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara (MHA) Interpretive Center to repatriate a war shirt of Chief Drags Wolf to his descendants in late November.

An important piece of Hidatsa heritage, the war shirt has been in Minot State’s possession as part of the Ralph Hubbard Special Collection. Hubbard, a former professor at MSU, donated it as part of his extensive collection to the University in 1986.

“MSU and the Northwest Arts Center are proud of the long history we have collaborating with our tribal partners,” said Minot State President Dr. Steven Shirley. “Ensuring the war shirt of Chief Drags Wolf is returned home and properly displayed at the MHA Interpretive Center helps continue this collaborative spirit. Many students from the MHA Nation have attended MSU over the years, and we look forward to continuing to partner with our MHA friends and neighbors.”

Minot State began to examine its Native American Collection of approximately 450 items of clothing, decorative crafts, and other artifacts during the Northwest Arts Center renovation in the lower level of MSU’s Gordon B. Olson Library in 2018. During renovation of the new arts center space and collection restoration, members of the MSU community closely examined the entire Native American Collection.

In 2019, the Northwest Arts Center hosted representatives from the MHA Nation and the MHA Interpretive Center at MSU. Tribal historians and MHS Interpretive Center personnel toured the Northwest Arts Center and the Indigenous Collections stewarded by MSU-NAC. Priority for the visit was to start a working relationship between Interpretive Center and Arts Center staff for loans, consulting, and exchange of information.

Foremost among the collection, Chief Drags Wolf’s war shirt was identified as an item to be returned to his family and the MHA Interpretive Center. Greg Vettel, NAC director, worked closely with Amanda Watts, MSU humanities professor, and Annette Mennem, MSU Native American Cultural Center director, to develop a timeline and plan for the long-term loan and delivery of the shirt including working with Delphine Baker, MHA Interpretive Center director, and Zane Baker, MHA Interpretive Center collections manager. The project also included MSU art major, NAC intern, and member of the MHA Nation, Bernadine Stevens, whose great-grandfather had acted as a translator for Chief Drags Wolf.

“Minot State University’s and Dakota College at Bottineau’s Land Acknowledgement was written to be a living document, one that would demonstrate our commitment to the first peoples of the Northern Plains,” Mennem said. “The University provides a place and a person to assist student success of our Indigenous student population, which represents approximately 5% of the student body. It provides programs highlighting the contribution of tribal nations. We continue with this commitment to these nations by bringing Chief Drags Wolf’s hide shirt home to the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation.”

In November, Mennem, Watts, Vettel, Stevens, and other MSU personnel traveled to the MHA Interpretive Center in New Town and met with more than two dozen of Drags Wolf’s descendants, for an emotional ceremony returning the war shirt that included prayers, riders from the X’oshga Clan, and a drum to perform his song welcoming the war shirt home.

Minot State University and the Minot State Department of Nursing are pleased to announce a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dakota College at Bottineau guaranteeing admission into MSU’s RN to BSN nursing program.

The MOU is a commitment to meeting nursing workforce needs in North Dakota and the region for both Minot State and Dakota College at Bottineau. The MOU takes effect in Fall 2024.

“Minot State’s RN to BSN nursing program and Dakota College at Bottineau continue to grow their partnership and commitment to nurses continuing their education,” said Melissa Fettig, Minot State BSN completion program director. “The guaranteed admission will establish a dependable and smooth pathway to attain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Providing guidance and support to students in the early stages of their nursing education at Dakota College at Bottineau guarantees preparation for a seamless transition to our program. This collaboration emphasizes our unwavering dedication to advancing nursing education.”

The MOU guarantee allows DCB students to have a clear and secure path to continued education through early admission, a seamless transition, easy credit transfer, access to scholarship opportunities, and a 10% tuition savings on nursing courses.

“The new articulation agreement emits the strong relationship between Dakota College at Bottineau and Minot State University and our dedication to student success,” said Paige Baade, nursing director at DCB. “We have worked collaboratively to produce seamless progression from ADN to BSN and now provide students with guaranteed admission into the MSU BSN program. We are dedicated to lifelong learning and want an easy transition for students to continue their educational journey.”

The 2024-2025 Minot State General Scholarship APPLICATION is now available! The deadline to apply for MSU scholarships is Feb. 15, 2024. Please review the scholarship terms and conditions by clicking on, Undergraduate scholarship terms and conditions, found under the red “Apply Now!” button.  

Minot State offers a variety of scholarships funded by gifts to the University. Scholarships are based on academic achievements, financial need and other criteria defined by the donors. The scholarship amounts vary depending on student eligibility and the availability of funds. Some Minot State scholarships available for the 2024-2025 academic year require a separate application form from our general scholarship application. Visit the OTHER MSU SCHOLARSHIP page to locate applications for these scholarships.

For more information, contact the Minot State Financial Aid Office, 701/858-3375 or EMAIL.

The Minot State University Division of Performing Arts is thrilled to announce the Minot State University and Oslo Chamber Choir Apprenticeship Program. This program developed out of the recent visit from the Oslo Chamber Choir as Minot State University’s Artists in Residence program Fall 2023. Auditions are open for an MSU student who will be selected to be the 2024 Minot State University and Oslo Chamber Choir Apprentice. Roundtrip tickets to Oslo and lodging in Oslo are provided by the generosity of alumni donors. The apprentice will have the opportunity to work with the Oslo Chamber Choir prior to their 2024 spring/summer choir concerts in Oslo. This international opportunity is an exciting new step for MSU and the Division of Performing Arts students. We are grateful to the Oslo Chamber Choir and the generous donors who made this opportunity possible. For more information, see the Minot State University and Oslo Chamber Choir Apprentice WEBPAGE.

Fans are invited to help the Beavers “Defend the Dome” this Friday night as everyone gets in free to Minot State’s basketball doubleheader against NSIC foe Sioux Falls. Action tips off with the Minot State men’s team (11-3 overall, 6-2 NSIC) taking on the Sioux Falls Cougars (7-8, 4-5) at 5:30 p.m., then the Beaver women (4-13, 1-7) meet the Cougar women (6-7, 4-5) at 7:30 p.m. The evening will be filled with fun activities for fans which include some new promotions in cooperation with community sponsors: The Bravera $10,000 halftime shot and the I. Keating best seat in the house promotions. At halftime of the men’s game Friday night, one lucky fan will get the chance to win $10,000 if they can make a layup, free throw, 3-pointer, and half-court shot in 30 seconds. Fans also can sign up to win the best seat in the house to watch the game courtside at half court in a love seat sponsored by I. Keating. Both promotions will continue throughout the remainder of the Minot State basketball season. 

Western Plains Opera and Minot State University Theatre's Production of the Disney musical "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is holding live auditions on Friday, Jan. 12 in Ann Nicole Nelson Hall. If you are interested in auditioning, sign up for an audition time HERE. Audition materials can be found HERE. Reach out to Sarah Belfrage Honerman by EMAIL and Emerson Eads by EMAIL with any questions. 

The 24-25 CATALOG has been rolled over and you can start making edits to your department catalog pages. Please make sure you review your pages for both the undergraduate and graduate catalog to make any updates. The deadline is Friday, March 1. If there are no changes to be made, please click the green start workflow button to send your pages forward. No changes can be made after the deadline. 

If you need to make any curriculum or course CHANGES, those requests will need to be submitted to the Curriculum Committee by Tuesday, Jan. 23 in order to make the catalog deadline. Any changes that need to go to P&P, TEAC, or Grad council will need to be done prior to the Jan. 23 date. Please see the Curriculum Change TIMELINE for the deadline dates. 

Are you in the middle of growing your young business, or know someone who wants to start their own business? The region has a tool designed just for you!

The Start Up Minot Academy powered by CO.STARTERS is a cohort-based program with the goal of giving fresh minds the tools, insights and relationships needed to succeed in implementing their business idea. The Academy goes for 10 weeks, meeting one day a week for three hours. It is a hands-on course – NOT a lecture – where you will join like-minded individuals in a journey to figure out how your business will work. Guest speakers, experts in their field from the community, will be at every class to help bring real-life answers to your real-life questions. The class works well for new businesses, growing businesses or individuals with a business idea – all are welcome!

The next SUM cohort runs from Jan. 31–April 3, and will be held on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Carnegie Center in downtown Minot. To sign up for this $150 course click HERE and fill out the questions at the bottom of the page. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the Minot Area Chamber EDC economic development specialist Mark Lyman at 852-6000, or by EMAIL.

In collaboration with Carnegie Hall, the Minot Symphony Orchestra is participating in Link Up: The Orchestra Rocks, a music education program provided by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), during the 2023-2024 season. Nearly 2,000 area students participating in the Link Up curriculum in their school classrooms will attend a culminating concert on Feb. 2 at Minot State’s Ann Nicole Nelson Hall where they sing and play the recorder with the orchestra from their seats. This experience often serves as a students’ first concert and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. Students from a two-hour radius of Minot including Westhope, MLS-Mohall, Powers Lake, Kenmare, Minot, Stanley, Hazen, Rugby, Minnewaukan, Bottineau, and Lignite are already signed up to attend the free concert on Feb. 2. See attached PRESS RELEASE for more information.

Northwest Arts Center
The gallery is located on the lower level of the Gordon B. Olson Library, with its own entrance on the south side of the library. The arts center is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 1-5 p.m., and by special arrangement. It is closed holidays. 

Flat Tail Press
Flat Tail Press is an educational printmaking studio at Minot State University. The gallery is located in the landing space on second and third floor of the Minot State Student Center, west entrance. It is open Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-12 a.m.

Evan Borisinkoff, associate professor in the Department of Special Education, presented “Mentoring East African Disability Advocates: Our Experiences in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia” with Megan Roberts, associate professor in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics from the University of Oklahoma. The AUCD conference took place in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 5-8. A blog highlighting Borisinkoff’s presentation can be found HERE.

Emerson Eads, Minot State assistant professor of music, and Patrick Milian's songs "A Prime Number of Lines for Lili & Nadia Boulanger" and "A Prime Number of Lines for Raïssa Boulanger" have been recorded by soprano Arwen Myers, mezzo-soprano Hannah Penn, and pianist Susan McDaniel and are now released. They were commissioned by Entre Rios Books, and recorded by producer, Roderick Evenson, at the iconic carpenter gothic Old Church located in Portland’s West End creative and cultural district. The album is available on all streaming platforms including  SPOTIFY and YOUTUBE. A full book of poetry with readings by the poet, with piano preludes, is available HERE and more information on the album release is available HERE.

David Frantsvog, assistant professor in the College of Business, was a part of Wallethub.com's Expert Opinions section of their website. Frantsvog added his advice on three questions concerning signing up for your first credit card. Read Frantsvog's advice HERE.

Veronica Corey was hired for the role of communications and marketing specialist. Corey began in her new role on Dec. 27. The 2021 MSU graduate with a degree in multimedia studies, Corey spent the past three years working at SCHEELS in Minot as a social media specialist and social media leader. Her office will be in the University Communications Suite 304 on the third floor of the Student Center.

Amanda Francis, who has worked as a graphic design specialist in Minot State Design and Print Services for the past 11 years, was named director of the department effective Dec. 14. Francis takes over for Doreen Wald who retired on Dec. 13. Francis earned her degree in art at Minot State in 2002, has served the University as an adjunct instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Art Department, and was an art director/graphic designer for Results Unlimited Advertising and Marketing from 2002-2010. The Minot native is a small-business owner as a jewelry designer and mixed media artist.

Brendan Barnes, junior, was named NSIC Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 5. Barnes was named the Wrestler of the Week in recognition of his two wins in dual action for the Beavers over the weekend, a perfect performance that included a comeback upset of Anthony Herrera of St. Cloud State, the No. 3-ranked wrestler in the nation at 165 pounds on Friday night. 

Isaiah Bigby, junior, was named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award which is presented to the top defensive player in all of NCAA Division II football. Bigby is one of 48 players nation-wide to be in the “Great 48” honored for this prestigious award. The winner of the Cliff Harris Award will be announced on Dec. 28. 

Vilborg Jonsdottir was selected as the ASC Student of the Month for November. She has contributed to the Academic Support Center’s programs as a POWER Peer Mentor.

Knylen Miller-Levi, senior, who has been selected to participate in the Trillion Tropical Bowl the week of Jan. 18-20 in Orlando, Florida. Tropical Bowl showcases the top college football seniors to NFL scouts and GM’s who travel from around the country to the event. The weekend is focused on scouting, teaching, and football.

Nine Minot State student-athletes for the fall sports season have earned honors from the College Sports Communicators as three Beaver volleyball players and six football players were named to the Academic All-District Team. Minot State volleyball players Kendal Braun, Jaina Macauley, and Sydney Upton each were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team along with Beaver football players Lafayette Bade, Emmett Espino, Sean Hoover, Jonathon Leon, DJ Schneibel, and Aden Scott, who were also named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.

Six of Minot State’s best women’s hockey players will be on the ice representing the West All-Stars at the inaugural Women’s Midwest College Hockey (WMCH) All-Star game in late January hosted by Maryville University (Mo.). Minot State forwards Krissy Rink, Makena Welby, and Paige Kozak, along with defensemen Anna German and Paige Ackerman, and goalie Haylie Biever, were selected to the team. The West All-Stars will be made up of players from Jamestown, Midland, Minnesota, and Minot State.

Led by captain and Minot State Esports Club President Sawyer Goodwin, Minot State Esports placed third in the National Esports Collegiate Conference's Navigators West Division in League of Legends with a 2-0 win over the University of North Dakota on Dec. 6. MSU's starting five for League of Legends included Goodwin, Reid Tarbox, Dalton Harvey, Tam Vu, and Jonah Thomas.