Minot State University announced a total of 433 students were named to the Fall 2021 President’s List, 317 students were named to the Vice President for Academic Affairs’ Honor Roll, and 15 students earned a spot on the Engagement Honor Roll.

Students who earned a term grade point average of 3.8 or higher while enrolled for 12 or more credits during the Fall 2021 semester were named to the list. The honor will show on the student’s transcript for the semester it was earned.

“It is a wonderful privilege recognizing our highest academic achievers at Minot State University through the President’s List. To these elite students I offer a sincere word of ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Job well done’ for their wonderful accomplishment,” Minot State President Dr. Steven Shirley said.

Students who earned a term grade point average of 3.5-3.79 while enrolled for 12 or more credits during the Fall 2021 semester were named to the VPAA list. The honor will show on the student’s transcript for the semester it was earned.

The Engagement Honor Roll is an opportunity for Minot State University undergraduate students to receive recognition for the engagement activities they participate in while a student at MSU, through inclusion of this distinction on their transcripts. Students must complete a minimum of 50 hours, verified by supervisors, in any combination of engagement activities in order to be recognized during any given term.

“It’s my pleasure to announce the Fall 2021 Vice President for Academic Affairs and Engagement Honor Rolls. The students on these two honor rolls showed their dedication and determination during another not-quite-normal semester. I congratulate each and every student who consistently showed up, put in the work, and earned the grade. Bravo!” said Laurie Geller, Minot State vice president for academic affairs.

MINOT STATE FALL 2021 PRESIDENT'S LIST

MINOT STATE FALL 2021 VPAA & ENGAGEMENT HONOR ROLL

Minot State University Department of Nursing, in partnership with Trinity Health, held its White Coat Ceremony for incoming Spring 2022 students on Jan. 11 in Ann Nicole Nelson Hall. The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage to emphasize the importance of compassionate patient care at the very start of training.

“The White Coat Ceremony is a wonderful opportunity to formally welcome our incoming nursing students to the nursing profession while also providing a unique opportunity to further exemplify our commitment in providing an education experience that is founded upon compassionate and patient-centered care,” April Warren, Minot State University nursing department chair. “The White Coat Ceremony highlights the importance of ‘Keeping HealthCare Human,’ in which holistic and high-quality nursing care is at the center of all patient care experiences. Each of these unique opportunities continues to foster our commitment to meet the needs of our ever-changing health care environment, while also graduating nurses who are caring, compassionate, and well qualified to transition into nursing practice.”

The University held its inaugural White Coat Ceremony for incoming Fall 2021 students. In conjunction with the Arnold P Gold Foundation/AACN grant, Trinity Health has sponsored the two ceremonies, covering the cost of the white coat for each nursing student.

Minot State is the first university to implement the North Dakota Department of Health’s new Health Equity Ambassador Program (HEAP).

“Health equity is making sure everyone has access to health resources and reaching out to those vulnerable populations who need just a little more help,” said Danielle Reinisch, Minot State nursing assistant professor and HEAP co-supervisor. “That’s one of the biggest differences between equity and equality. With equity, we’re reaching out to those who need a little more assistance. With equality, everybody is getting the same thing regardless.”

The NDDoH’s Health Equity Office (HEO) works to understand and reduce health disparities among all North Dakotans, defining health equity as giving everyone the same opportunity to the highest level of health care that meets their needs.

“While our first event is promoting the COVID-19 vaccine clinic on campus Jan. 21, we’re not restricted to keeping activities on campus,” added Heidi Super, Minot State biology professor, medical laboratory science program coordinator, and HEAP co-supervisor. “Our ambassadors are go-getters who already have a lot of ideas and are taking the lead, which is really exciting.”

Four health equity ambassadors — biology majors Achille Tenekeu Djauken and Paolo Panales and senior nursing students Shaena Richard and Stefani Thomas – will host a total of eight campus or community events throughout the program’s one-year period.

The events will primarily focus on disease prevention and health promotion while preparing the health equity ambassadors for future jobs, fellowships, and internships.

Minot State University’s Looyenga Leadership Center is proud to announce the Larson Leadership Scholars programs for MSU students starting in Fall 2022.

The Looyenga Leadership Center was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Edson and Margaret Larson Foundation to establish the scholars program. Twenty-four students will receive a $2,500 scholarship for one year, split between the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 semesters. Recipients must be a first-year freshman and will be required to live on campus in Lura Manor’s Leadership Living Learning Community.

“This grant allows us to take the next step in the development of our leadership offerings while assisting students with the cost of living on campus,” said Jim Sturm, director of the Looyenga Leadership Center. “This program will engage students on campus and in the community in order to develop their individual and team skills, directly contribute to the Minot State University mission, while creating an outstanding student experience.”

Along with an on-campus requirement, students will be required to take LEAD 101: Introduction to Leadership in Fall 2022 and actively participate in program events. The events may include speakers, community service projects, team-building events, experiential activities, and workshops.

Students interested in the Larson Leadership Scholars need to apply through the Minot State general scholarship application HERE. Deadline for the general scholarship application is Feb. 15. For more information on the Looyenga Leadership Center, see the Center’s WEBSITE or contact Sturm by EMAIL.

Join the Native American Cultural Center and Native American Cultural Awareness Club as they raise funds for the annual spring powwow at a series of bingo events.

Scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 24 and Tuesday, March 22, the bingo nights will begin at 6 p.m. in the Conference Center, located on the third floor of the Minot State Student Center, and are open to the public. The first event was held on Jan. 27.

“To have a powwow, you need dancers and drums,” said Annette Mennem, Minot State University Native American Cultural Center director. “They travel to compete for prize money, and that along with the other cost of having a powwow, these fundraisers are a must to make our annual powwow happen.”

Each night will feature five merchandise games and one cash 50/50 blackout, with the merchandise games running $5 a packet and $5 three-on-one for the blackout games. Popcorn and pop will be available, as well as raffle tickets for jewelry and a Native American quilt.

The 32nd annual Spring Honor Dance and Powwow will be held at the MSU Dome April 22-23 and will feature standard dancing, drumming, and an honor parade for the Minot State graduating class of 2022. Additional events are planned prior to the Friday night Grand Entry.

Minot State and the surrounding community provide many opportunities to listen to a variety of musical performances. If you find yourself in the audience wishing you, too, could play on stage, now you can with the Minot Beginning Community Band.

Director of Bands at Minot State David Rolandson has been an advocate for music education and community development since he began teaching and will be supervising the project.

The Minot Beginning Community Band is open to musicians ages 13 and up to give access to both children who missed their opportunity by only a few years and to adults who have longer wished to participate.

Each rehearsal will consist of two parts: an hour group lesson on the new instrument and an hour of full-band rehearsal. Students are also invited for additional private lessons on Wednesday evenings at no additional cost.

The informational meeting for the band is this Saturday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. in Old Main 121, the rehearsal space on the lowest level of Old Main. Rehearsals will follow suit every Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for the entire semester, with a performance scheduled on Sunday, May 1.

The cost for the semester is $50. Students who wish to play smaller instruments will be responsible for accessing their own instrument, and those who wish to play large instruments can rent one from the University. Scholarships are available.

The Minot State University Alumni Association will host two events in February to bring alumni and friends together.

The first event is the Alumni, Beaver Boosters, and Friends 2022 Appreciation Night held in conjunction with Minot State Athletics during home women’s and men’s basketball.

The appreciation night is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 11 starting at 5 p.m. at the Minot State Dome. The Alumni Association and Beaver Boosters have mailed cards for free admission and there will be free food on the third floor of the Minot State Dome. The Beavers will battle St. Cloud State with the women’s game set for 5:30 p.m. and the men’s tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

MSU President Steve Shirley and the Alumni Association will host a Florida Alumni and Friends Social Wednesday, Feb. 16 and Thursday, Feb. 17.

The socials are free with heavy appetizers and a cash bar and are open to all alumni and friends.

On Feb. 16, the Alumni Association will take over the Lighthouse Point Bar and Grille in The Villages, Florida. On Feb. 17, the location shifts to Downtown Social House in Fort Myers, Florida. Both events run from 6-8 p.m.

Two Ward County student competitions — MATHCOUNTS and the Spelling Bee — will be held on Minot State’s campus in February.

MATHCOUNTS, a math competition for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 9 in the Conference Center, located on the third floor of the Student Center, beginning at 10 a.m.

The Spelling Bee will follow two weeks later on Wednesday, Feb. 23 in the same location. The event will kick off at 10 a.m. and includes competitors in grades fifth through eighth.

Top students from the Ward County MATHCOUNTS competition will move on to the North Dakota state tournament in March at the Bismarck Ramkota Hotel. The top four individuals from each state will then compete at the Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS National Competition in May.

Likewise, top contenders at the Ward County Spelling Bee will move on to the State Spelling Bee in March at the Bismarck Event Center before potentially moving on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June.

Save the date: Mike Brandt will lead this interactive, hands-on session which will help you improve your teamwork. All employees are invited to come with your team on Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. See the POSTER for more details.

The Academic Hall of Fame Committee is requesting solicitation of nominations from Jan. through March 5. Members of the Academic Hall of Fame Committee who may be contacted for additional information include ANDREA DONOVAN, 858-3819; KRISTI BERG, 858-4337; or MELISSA FETTIG, 858-3377.  

A new state scholarship is available to North Dakota students who were previously enrolled in dual credit courses while in high school, called the North Dakota Dual Credit Tuition Scholarship. If a student was previously enrolled in dual credit courses in high school, they may to be eligible to apply.  To view the complete eligibility criteria and details about the scholarship, click HERE. There is a limited amount of funding available, so we encourage students who have completed at least one semester of college to apply HERE as soon as possible. Questions?  Please contact the ND University System (NDUS) or Minot State Financial Aid Office or call 701-858-3375.

Nominations for the Minot State University Board of Regents faculty and staff achievement awards are due in the Office of the President by April 15. There are separate forms and criteria for each award. In brief: 

• Faculty: nominations may be made by anyone knowledgeable about the achievements and contributions of the faculty member. Self-nominations are allowed. Self-nominations must include an endorsement by a faculty member or supervisor. Nominations must be specific for the area of teaching, scholarship, or service and must include a one-page supporting narrative. 

• Staff: nominations may be made by anyone knowledgeable about the staff member. A description of the personal characteristics and accomplishments of the nominee must be provided. 

More specific details are contained on the nomination forms: FACULTY REQUEST FOR NOMINATIONS and STAFF REQUEST FOR NOMINATIONS. The forms can also be found ONLINE. The awards will be presented at the MSU Employee Appreciation event on May 11, 2022.

Join the Sanford Health Plan team to see a preview of our enhances wellness portal and new ways you can earn your $250 wellness benefit online. Employees and spouses with healthcare coverage through Sanford Health Plan can earn $250 ($500 per household) in rewards in 2022. Discover your path towards improved health and wellness all while getting rewards. Register HERE for the 15-minute live events.

• Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m.

All employees that attend a live webinar can receive a certificate of completion vouch form for 3,000 points ($30). A recording will also be made available in late February. View the Dakota Wellness Program Guide 2022 HERE. Visit the Dakota Wellness website HERE.

Beavers are already allies; now it's our time to work together to move from allyship to action! As part of our year-long Stand Up 101 initiative, all Minot State students, staff, and faculty are invited to join Hollaback! and learn how to change yourself and your world by standing up to bias and hate. Three free live online training events will be held in February and March:

• Tuesday, Feb. 8, 12–1:30 p.m., 8 Strategies to Mitigate Implicit Bias
• Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1-2:30 p.m., Bystander Intervention in Public Spaces (specially customized for Minot State!)
• Tuesday, March 1, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Bystander Intervention to Stop Stigma around Learning Differences

Visit HERE for details about and links to join these sessions. No registration is required, and attending one of these trainings will move you closer to earning your Stand Up 101 award! Trainings with Hollaback! are sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and the Minot State University Diversity Council.

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.

• INT'L Paperworks 2022: From the first call for entries in 1969, the "Paperworks" competition has brought diverse artwork on or of paper, traditional and experimental, to the University campus and great Minot community. This year's exhibition features 47 artworks by artists from the United States, Australia, and France. Susanna Crum, from Louisville, Kentucky, is the first juror of the newly rebranded "INT'L Paperworks" annual juried exhibition. The exhibition is on view Jan. 13 to Feb. 12 in the Walter Piehl Gallery.
• Two Friends: "Two Friends" by artist Erin Wohletz, "America's 2021: Paperworks" Best of Show artist, will be on view from Jan. 13 through Feb. 24. Wohletz is an artist and printmaker originally from Las Vegas and currently working in Knoxville, Tennessee. "Two Friends" expands upon a body of work Wohletz created for their MFA thesis show titled "The Black Vortex." Traditional printmaking techniques and materials illustrate images and symbols in a way akin to naturalist prints, expertly drawn with a special attention to detail. Their naturalist prints display in pairs, as if each individual print is a page from the artist's personal journal laid out for the viewer to investigate.
• Art Seminar: Susanna Crum: Artist and printmaker Susanna Cum, "INT'L Paperworks 2022" juror, will be presenting to art seminar students at Minot State University's Aleshire Theater at 12 p.m. on Feb. 4. Crum conducts research-led projects that investigate maps and printed ephemera as social artifacts that meet at the intersection of past, present, and future. With cyanotype, lithography, video, and sculpture, Crum merges digital and analog technologies and emphasizes print media's roles in maintaining relationships, and erasures, between people and place.
• Reception: INT'L Paperworks 2022: Join us at the closing reception and online viewing for the newly-renamed "INT'L Paperworks 2022" on Feb. 4 from 6:30-8 p.m. Scheduled is a juror's talk with Susanna Crum and awards presentation at 7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.
• Receptions: Two Friends: Meet artist Erin Wohletz, "Americas 2021: Paperworks" Best of Show award winner, on Feb. 17 from 6:30-8 p.m. Scheduled is a live-streamed artist's talk at 7 p.m.  The reception is free and open to the public.
• Art Seminar: Erin Wohletz: Artist Erin Wohletz, "America's 2021: Paperworks" Best of Show, will be presenting in the Art Seminar series at Aleshire Theater at 12 p.m. on Feb. 18. The Knoxville, Tennessee based artist and printmaker's latest work explores gender identity, queerness, and authenticity of self. "Two Friends" reads as visual essays about their self-journey to nonbinary queerness. Artworks are paired together as open pages in a personal notebook or journal where Wohletz investigates and argues with themself. The prints are coded with symbols that the artist uses to deceive, or hide information from the viewer. At the end of the journal, Wohletz provides an index that’s used to interpret each symbol. Each print or journal page seeks to approach the artist’s investigation and internal argument from different angles in order to come to a conclusion which takes into account history, memory, risk, deception and feeling.

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.

• Living the Dream: Lithographs by Michael Barnes: Specializing in stone lithography, Michael Barnes is internationally recognized as a skilled and prolific printmaker. "My work addresses, in part, mortality, philosophical questions of existence, and the destructive nature and absurdities that so readily prevail for humankind," he said. "The images are concerned with the environment, social decay, and cynicism about the historical evolution of so-called 'civilization' and its effects upon our world." His works will be available to view through Feb. 28.  

Hartnett Hall Gallery
The gallery provides exhibition space for students, faculty, and community artists, and is located on the second floor on the west side of Hartnett Hall in Room 233. The Hartnett Hall Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Lindsey Buxbaum, former communication sciences and disorders (CSD) graduate student, Holly Pedersen, former CSD professor Cheryl Gilson, special education associate professor, and Lesley Magnus, CSD professor published a new research article. "What Do You Meme? Meme Humor Comprehension in Adolescents with Language Disorder or Hearing Loss," was published in the Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship about how adolescents comprehend meme humor. Read the publication HERE.

Wenjing Zheng, assistant professor of special education, along with her colleagues, has published a new article related to recognition of emotions in young children. You can read the article HERE.

Aundrey Livingston, operations supervisor in the Safety and Security Department, was named Minot State University's Staff Senate's December High Five Award winner.

Mindy Rudnick, accounting assistant, was named Minot State University's Staff Senate's November High Five Award winner.

Ryan Bent was selected as the ASC Student of the Month for December. He has contributed to the Academic Support Center’s programs as a POWER student assistant.