|
President's Message
 As the pace quickens during these final weeks of the academic year, we also make time to appreciate the outstanding work of our students, faculty and staff. Pausing to recognize the talent, creativity and success so abundant at Bemidji State University is an inspiring reminder of why we do what we do.
I certainly found that inspiration in the scholarship and creativity of the 300 students who participated in last week’s Student Achievement Conference. Their presentations, posters and performances were indicative of what our students can accomplish with encouragement from faculty who see their remarkable potential. I commend all who made the day so meaningful, especially organizer Dr. Mahmoud Al-Odeh, who set a high bar for the entire event.
All of you have colleagues who regularly excel in their service to students and fulfillment of other shared values, such as diversity, sustainability and public service. You can help recognize them through BSU’s Awards of Excellence, to be presented April 27 at the Employee Recognition Breakfast. Please make time this week to complete an online nomination for one or more of the new awards. Nominations are due by midnight Friday.
Also upcoming are this Thursday’s American Indian Awards Banquet, the Beaver Nation Celebration for student-athletes on April 18 and the new student Leadership Celebration, on that same evening. In less than four weeks, on May 5, we will celebrate Commencement, the year’s most significant recognition event. I look forward to congratulating new graduates for the first time as BSU president.
Finally, thanks to all who took part in the Strategic Planning Town Hall meetings last Thursday. Your energetic engagement will help ground the exciting work of establishing a near-term vision for the university – and how we will fulfill it, together. If you could not attend, you can also share your thoughts online.
Throughout this busy month filled with pride and recognition, I urge you to stop and appreciate your own role in the success of our students, as well. Please know how grateful I am for all you do every day.
Faith Hensrud, Ed.D.
President
|
|
|
2017 Distinguished Minnesotan
|
|
|
Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig
Will Deliver May 5 Commencement Address
Justice Anne K. McKeig, the first American Indian to serve the State of Minnesota as a Supreme Court justice, is the recipient of Bemidji State's 35th Distinguished Minnesotan award. The Distinguished Minnesotan traditionally delivers Bemidji State’s Commencement address. BSU's 98th Commencement ceremony will be held May 5 at the Sanford Center.
|
|
|
|
Dr. Jan Doebbert (pictured) has joined the Executive Leadership Team as interim vice president for Northwest Technical College. Doebbert's hire headlines a full month for Faculty and Staff News, which also features faculty and emeriti presentations and a look back at a professor's recent trip to China.
|
|
|
President Hensrud Seeking Strategic Planning
Input Through Five Critical Questions
As a followup to two campus-wide Strategic Plan Town Hall meetings held in the Beaux Arts Ballroom on April 6, President Hensrud is asking faculty, staff and students to help shape the direction of work on a new university strategic plan. Those who were unable to attend the Town Hall meetings are asked to share their thoughts about BSU's direction, challenges and opportunities by providing anonymous answers to five critical questions. Please provide your feedback before 10 a.m. on April 14. Photos from the April 6 Town Hall meetings are included in the Gallery section, found below.
|
|
|
Voting Open for BSU Awards of Excellence Recognition Program
At the April 27 BSU Employee Recognition Breakfast, President Hensrud and her Executive Leadership team will unveil the new BSU Awards of Excellence, which will recognize and celebrate the dedicated work and service of our faculty, staff and administrators, both over the previous year and across employees' entire careers at the university. A similar program is in place at Northwest Technical College.
Everyone in the campus community is invited to visit the President's Awards of Excellence webpage to review a list of awards and to nominate colleagues for these awards prior to midnight on April 14.
|
|
|
Information Available Online
for 98th Commencement
Bemidji State's 98th Commencement ceremony will be held May 5 in Bemidji's Sanford Center. The Registrar's Office is distributing a memo via campus mail with information about Commencement, which will include several procedural changes from previous ceremonies. Information is also available online:
|
|
|
Tickets Still Available for NTC's
"Nite at the Races" Fundraiser
Tickets are still available for Nite at the Races, a scholarship fundraiser for the NTC Foundation, on April 28 in the Beaux Arts Ballroom. This 5:30 p.m. event, which includes a buffet dinner and a live and silent auction, lets participants bet fun money on a series of videotaped horseraces and compete to see who has the most winnings by the end of the evening. Tickets are $50 per person, $40 of which is tax-deductible. They can be purchased online at www.nwmf.org. Scroll down to “Events” and click on “A Nite at the Races.” For more information, call Ashley Johnson at 759-2057.
|
|
|
State Budget Fight Likely to
Intensify in Coming Weeks
Work on the FY18-19 biennial budget for the Minnesota State system will resume April 18 when the Minnesota Legislature from a spring break. Lobbyists for the system say the next several weeks will be critical to communicating the need for increased higher education funding and bonding for capital projects, renovation and repair. Although current proposals from the governor, House and Senate are well below the $143 million in additional general fund revenue requested by Minnesota State, and bond funding for Bemidji State’s Hagg-Sauer replacement project is uncertain, time remains to influence legislators from northern Minnesota and legislative leaders across the state. Watch Fac-Staff for specific advocacy requests in late April and early May.
|
|
|
|
|
Music Crowns DeKrey Scholarship Recipients
Three vocal music students won scholarships at the department's annual Don and Ione DeKrey Memorial Scholarship Competition March 25 in the Bangsberg Main Theatre. Thirteen students participated in this year's contest.
|
|
|
|
Students Form Mental Health Advisory Board
The need for increased access to mental health peer support and awareness on campus has brought a group of 11 BSU students together to form a new Student Mental Health Advisory Board.
|
|
Student Senate Elections
Continue Through April 16
Student Senate elections for the 2017-18 academic year are underway and voting continues until April 16. Three students are vying for the position of Student Senate president — junior Taylor Manzella, sophomore Ash Ullah and sophomore Merci VanBruggen — and junior Galen Hlavsa is running unopposed for the position of vice president. Visit bemidjistate.edu to learn more about the candidates.
|
|
|
Inaugural Leadership Celebration for
Clubs and Organizations Set for April 18
The Hobson Memorial Union will celebrate the accomplishments of BSU's student club and organization leaders at an inaugural Leadership Celebration April 18 from 4–6 p.m. in the Beaux Arts Ballroom. The awards will be given for Outstanding Student Leader, Outstanding Program or Event, Outstanding Student Organization and Outstanding Student Organization Advisor.
|
|
- President Hensrud hosted two Strategic Planning Town Hall Meetings April 6 in the Beaux Arts Ballroom.
- Several hundred students participated in this year's Student Achievement Conference, held April 5 in Memorial and Hagg-Sauer halls.
- Sophomore Amanda Tran won free room and board for next year at Housing & Residential Life's Room Selection Celebration April 5 at Wally's.
- Led by grad student Jordan Lutz, BSU has joined the Food Recovery Project – a nationwide program that encourages recovery and donation of unused food on college campuses. BSU has made two donations to Bemidji's Community Table.
- The Office of Communications and Marketing encouraged students to share their Spring Break experiences with us on social media using the hashtag #BeaverBreak17. We collected some of our favorite submissions and shared them on BSU News.
|
|
|
|
Yost Earns National Laurels After Perfect Game
Senior pitcher Jessica Yost earned NFCA National Co-Pitcher of the Week honors on April 5 after posting a 5-0 record, including a March 30 perfect game against Minnesota Crookston that saw her strike out 12 of the 15 batters she faced. She surrendered just one run in 24 innings of work for the week and notched 44 strikeouts against a single walk allowed.
|
|
|
|
Bitzer, Harms Win Post-Season Hardware
Student-athletes Michael Bitzer and Brendan Harms have won significant national honors following the conclusion of BSU's men's ice hockey season. Bitzer, a junior goaltender from Moorhead, Minn., was named First-Team All-America by the American Hockey Coaches Association, while Harms, a senior forward from Steinbach, Manitoba, is BSU's first-ever recipient of the Senior CLASS Award, given to the most outstanding senior in Division I men's hockey. Recipients must have notable achievements in academics, community involvement, character and competition.
|
|
|
|
Tennis Sets School Record With 12th Victory
Bemidji State tennis, guided by fifth-year head coach Mark Fodness, capped its 2016-17 regular season with a 9-0 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead on April 9, giving the program its school-record 12th win of the season. The Beavers will take their 12-5 record to Winona State University on April 22 to open the 2017 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. Sophomore Zoe Lindgren (pictured) leads the Beavers with 23 wins: 10 as a singles player and 13 in doubles with partner Morgan Opp.
|
|
|
|
