Minot State University has set a new date for alumna Veronica (Cavallo) Pinnick ’04 to speak at the University. The rescheduled event will take place Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Hoffman Auditorium at the Cyril Moore Science Center.

Pinnick, a research associate specializing in scientific instrumentation at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will give a talk intended for all audiences titled, “Searching for the Fingerprints of Life in our Solar System using Mass Spectrometry.” The event is free and open to the public.

The original date was postponed due to the national government shutdown.

“I take education and public outreach seriously, and take every opportunity I can to spread the word about what we scientists and engineers are doing with your tax dollars,” Pinnick said. “We are doing such amazing science, such amazing engineering, and honestly awe-inspiring exploration that I can hardly help snapping up every opportunity I can to be an ambassador to the public.  I want you to be as excited about what we’re doing as we are.”

The hour-long address will include topics:

• Sample Analysis on Mars (SAM) instrument on the Curiosity rover currently on the Red Planet
• Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) which will be included on the European Space Agency’s ExoMars rover, scheduled to launch summer 2020
• Exploration of the ocean worlds of Europa and Titan
• Field work done on Earth (in Greenland and Chile)  (READ FULL STORY)

The first Minot State University Presidential Speaker Series guest Elizabeth Smart will come to Minot State’s Ann Nicole Nelson Hall on Wednesday, April 17. The presentation is set to begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m.

The Minot State University Presidential Speaker Series is being launched at MSU to bring in high-profile thought leaders to the Minot State campus to share their experiences and expertise.

Smart is the survivor of one of the most followed child abduction cases in the United States. She was abducted on June 5, 2002, from her home at the age of 14. Her captors controlled her by threatening to kill her and her family if she tried to escape. Smart was held for nine months before being rescued.

The Minot State Presidential Speaker Series featuring Elizabeth Smart is free and open to the public, but has limited space available and tickets are required for entrance. Tickets can be ordered by emailing the Minot State University Humanities department HERE or by calling 701-858-4240. Leave full name, address, telephone number, email address, and the specific number of tickets wanted with each order. Please note, postcards will be sent out with the number of people to be admitted on each card. There will be one postcard for one person if ordered singly, or, in the case of a group order, one postcard for multiple individuals. Minot State students will get a one-admitted card. With voicemail orders, speak slowly and clearly in order to get name, address, phone number, email address, and number of tickets needed. (READ FULL STORY)

Minot State University history professor Joseph Jastrzembski leads a program that broadens the region’s knowledge of the world and the world’s knowledge of the Magic City.

He is the executive director of a council that is part of the State Department’s professional exchange program, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The program was launched in 1940 and brings international visitors to the United States.

The Minot Area Council for International Visitors (MACIV) is an all-volunteer program and was nominated for the Excellence in Programming Award at the Global Ties U.S. National Meeting.

“The U.S. has embassies abroad, and these embassies will nominate people within those countries to come to the U.S. on a three-week visit,” Jastrzembski said. “The people who are nominated are people that they believe are up and coming leaders within those countries. They could be from any background. They might be in government; they might be in medicine; they might be in business; they might be in journalism.” (READ FULL STORY)

Ever wonder how a print studio can educate, inspire, create, and collaborate? What happens when you take professional artists, mix in a creative community of artists, students and faculty, add ink and paper, and turn them loose?

The result is “How the Beaver Got its Flat Tail,” an exhibition recording five years of exceptional prints, inspiration, and experiences catalyzed by Flat Tail Press, Minot State’s educational print studio.

The five-year anniversary exhibition opened on Feb. 27 at the Northwest Arts Center’s Walter Piehl Gallery. Headlined by the collection of art prints created by visiting artists working with Flat Tail Press, the show also features print and photography exchanges along with research initiated by the studio.

Founded in 2013 by Ryan Stander and Micah Bloom, associate professors of art at Minot State University, Flat Tail Press (FTP) strives to expand students’ art-making knowledge and skills, while developing professional relationships and practices. (READ FULL STORY)

The Minot State University Diversity Council, along with Minot Public Schools, hosted International Mother Language Day with poetry, song, and other performances Thursday, Feb. 21 at Minot State’s Ann Nicole Nelson Hall.

The United Nation's (UN) International Mother Language Day annually celebrates language diversity and variety worldwide on Feb. 21. It also commemorates events such as the killing of university students on Feb. 21, 1952. The students were protesting for Bangladesh to use their mother language, Bengali, as an official language.

The event was an immersion and celebration of languages and cultures at MSU, making campus life a more vibrant and richer community with a student body from around the globe. International Mother Language Day also featured free food along with the various performances. 

Minot State is again offering tax preparation services free of charge to individuals earning less than $55,000 a year, elderly individuals, military members, and tax payers with small businesses that meet certain guidelines, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

VITA was originally created by the Internal Revenue Service to assist low-income taxpayers in properly filling out and filing their tax forms.

“Taxes can be complicated,” said Nicole Wald, assistant professor in accounting and finance. “For people with tax situations that are not complicated, VITA offers a way for them to meet their tax obligation without an extra expense.”

All tax preparation work will be completed by fully-trained accounting students. This year seven Minot State students are participating in the program.

Services will be offered every week until Wednesday, April 3. Hours of operation are Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-7:30 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 701-858-3122 or by going ONLINE. Potential clients are reminded to bring all necessary documentation, including their ID and the ID(s) for their dependents, to their tax appointment.

The Minot State University Severson Entrepreneurship Academy is inviting all faculty, staff, and students to the Entrepreneurship Book Club.

The Entrepreneurship Book Club was established to encourage reading about various entrepreneurship topics and individual entrepreneurs. Club participants will read selected books on their own and join together to discuss topics from the book.

The Entrepreneurship Book Club has selected “Insurance Wars,” by Minot State alumnus Chuck Tompkins. Tompkins is the founder of Western Agency Insurance. In the book, he details how he grew Western Agency from “nothing to a grade-one agency that insures over 1,000 farms and ranches in the upper Midwest. The book is essentially an entrepreneur’s handbook on how to bootstrap a business.”

The club will hold its first meeting on March 28 from 12:15-2 p.m. in Old Main Room 402. For more information, contact TRACEY MAYS or JAYLON FLOWERS.

The Minot State University Alumni Association is currently accepting nominations for its annual Golden Awards. The Golden Awards is the highest award bestowed by the Minot State Alumni Association in recognition for an individual.

Recipients of the Golden Award are chosen based on outstanding service to the university or alumni association and distinguished leadership in the recipient’s career or community.

Each year, alumni and friends are nominated for the award.  A committee is then charged with the efforts of reading applications, gathering information about the nominees, and selecting the honorees. The Alumni Association places an emphasis on the recognition of individuals who have demonstrated outstanding support of time and talent to the university.

Along with the Golden Award, Minot State also honors an individual with the Young Alumni Achievement Award, given during the Golden Awards banquet. The criteria are the same as the Golden Award, except for one stipulation: to receive this award, the person must be between the ages of 21-39. 

The Alumni Association Golden Awards committee requests nominations be submitted by Friday, May 13. To nominate, fill out the ONLINE nomination form. For more information on the Golden Awards, please see the Alumni Association’s WEBSITE or contact Janna McKechnie via EMAIL. For a full list of past winners, see attached PDF.

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. It is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a late closing time of 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. The center is closed holidays.

• How the Beaver Got its Flat Tail: An exhibition recording five years of exceptional prints, inspiration, and experiences catalyzed by Flat Tail Press, Minot State’s educational print studio, on display Feb. 27-March 27.

Lisa Dooley, Title IX Coordinator, has earned her doctorate in educational leadership & administration with a concentration in higher education from the University of Mary. Her degree was conferred on Jan. 31.

Troy Roness, instructor in teacher education and kinesiology, hosted a book signing for his book, “Unbroken: Journaled Reflections of Recovery,” (available on AMAZON) on Feb. 21 in Swain Hall. In the book, Roness reveals his decade-long struggle with anorexia, including compulsive exercise and body dysmorphic disorder.

Tammy Wolf, an advising/retention specialist for the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning, was named Minot State University Staff Senate's January High Five Award winner.

Brenda Munson and Kyle Patterson earned the Staff Senate scholarship for the 2018-2019 Academic Year.

Samantha Brizee was selected as the CETL Student of the Month for January. She has contributed to the Center for Engaged Teaching and Learning’s programs as a new student orientation leader and office assistant.