Calendar

February 27
·   WOW! Event:  Band "Aflame"
February 28
·   SIFE Speaker of the Month Series
·   Diversity Program Dance Party
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Sub Section 31 Girls Semi-finals
March 1
·   Faculty Technology Presentation
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Sub Section 30 Boys Play-in
March 2
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    8AA North Girls Quarterfinals, Sub Section 30/31
    Girls Finals
March 4
·   Brown Bag Lunch Series
·   Monday Evening International Seminar Series
·   CSA Meeting
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Sub Section 31Boys Semi-Finals
March 5
·   Emerging Leaders Luncheon Series
March 6
·   Dean's List Breakfast
·   Spring Semester Convocation
·   Nature Northwest Press Conference
·   WOW! Event:  One Woman Play "Congresswoman
    Coya Knutson"
March 7
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Section 8A Girls Semi-Finals
March 8
·   Campus Preview
·   Residence Halls Close for Spring Break
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Section 8A Girls Finals
March 9
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    8AA North Boys Quarterfinals, Sub Section 30/31
    Boys Finals
March 11-15
·   Spring Break
March 11
·   Brown Bag Lunch Series
March 14
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Section 8A Boys Semi-Finals
March 15
·   Required Safety Training
·   UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments,
    Section 8A Boys Finals
March 17
·   St. Patrick's Day
·   Residence Halls Reopen after Spring Break

News Items

UMC Hosts High School Basketball Tournaments February 26-March 15
UMC Athletics will be hosting high school basketball tournaments February 26 through March 15.  At times parking may become congested, and we ask that you do not park in front of the Sports Center on the mall side, as this is a loading and unloading zone for buses.  The fitness center will be open during these times, but we ask that you use the back door by the Knutson classrooms.  Following are dates/times.  Thank you for your cooperation, if you have any questions please let me know.

--Stephanie Helgeson, Assistant Athletic Director

SIFE Speaker of the Month Series
On Thursday, February 28, UMC SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) Club will be sponsoring its third speaker in an ongoing “Speaker of the Month” series this year.  Thursday’s speakers will be Tim Lamb and Jake Blake from AFLAC Insurance. 

Mr. Lamb and Mr. Blake will be speaking about insurance topics relevant to college students.  Their presentation Thursday, February 28, at 6 p.m. in Dowell 212 is open to all.
--Steve Shirley, UMC SIFE Advisor

International Dinner Series Begins March 4
The annual International Dinner Series begins on Monday, March 4, with “China:  Civilization and Modernization,” presented by Baizhou Chen, a current UMC student from Xiamen, China.  The series continues March 18 with “Bangladesh: ‘Bangla’ is our Greatest Pride,” presented by Faiza Ahad, a student from Dhaka, Bangladesh, along with faculty member Aziz Rahman and his daughter, Nandita.  The third offering is March 25’s “Norway:  the Number One Country to Live In,” by student Petter Lovaas, from Sandefjord, Norway.  Dinner each evening begins at 6 p.m. in Brown Dining Room with program at 7 p.m. in Bede Ballroom.  The dinner is by reservation only and costs $8.00 per person.  For reservations or more information please call Brent or Angelika at 218-281-8538 or 218-281-8540.

Dean’s List Breakfast March 6
Please join us Wednesday, March 6, for the Dean's List Breakfast to celebrate the academic accomplishments of our UMC students.  Stop by anytime between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. (just before Convocation) to visit with our students and take part in a continental breakfast.  This is a great chance to congratulate students who are on the Dean's List for Fall 2001 (This means they have achieved a 3.25 GPA or higher).

I Hope that everyone from UMC will make a special effort to attend and greet these students!
--Doug Knowlton, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Olson to Speak at Spring Convocation March 6
Spring Semester Convocation is set for Wednesday, March 6, at 10 a.m., Bede Ballroom.  Classes are excused for this event only at individual instructors' discretion, but all faculty, staff, and students are highly encouraged to attend.  The guest speaker is Shawna Olson, co-anchor of “Fox News at Nine” on KVRR TV, Fargo.   Academic and athletic achievements will also be acknowledged.

Nature Northwest Project Focus of March 6 Press Conference
A press conference to announce details of the new Nature Northwest Project is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6, at 11 a.m. in room 131 of UMC’s Sahlstrom Conference Center.

The overall goals of Nature Northwest are to develop an inventory, economic assessment, and guidebook of nature-related recreational opportunities available across northwest Minnesota. The project boundaries include 17 counties in northwest Minnesota.  The boundaries follow the Red River of the North watershed boundary and also include a large portion of the Lake of the Woods region. 

John Loegering, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Natural Resources--Wildlife Management, and David Arscott, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor of Natural Resources, will be available at this press conference to provide details of the vision and scope of the project.  The two are UMC faculty members directly involved with the Nature Northwest Project.

One-Woman Show About Coya Knutson at UMC March 6
In 1955 Coya Knutson became Minnesota’s very first full-term congresswoman.   Described as a maverick politician, Knutson was popular with her constituency, but not with the political power elite.  When Knutson didn't fall in line with party leaders, the attacks turned personal and played on the fact that she was a woman. 

Political repercussions came in 1958, when leaders within her own party urged the writing of a notorious letter from her alcoholic husband.  That letter implied Coya Knutson was ignoring her family in favor of her career.  The letter was introduced at the DFL district convention in Crookston and became known as the “Coya Come Home” letter.  The next morning regional newspapers featured the letter prominently, and the story quickly became a national sensation.  The publicity from the letter is widely regarded as the main reason she subsequently lost a close election to Republican Odin Langen, ending her political career. 

Her story, which has been called a political soap opera, is the topic of a one-woman show called “Coya Come Back,” written and performed by Kathy Ray.  The show will be performed on Wednesday, March 6, at 8 p.m. in Bede Ballroom.  Admission to the performance is free, and the public is invited to attend. 

The performance is sponsored by UMC’s Concerts and Lectures Committee in observance of Women’s History Month.

Technology Workshops March 11-15
The ITC will be offering the following workshops during Spring Break, March 11-15, 2002.  I hope to see you at the workshops.  Please e-mail me to sign up for your desired workshops.  Many thanks for taking your valuable time for technology training.
--Dan Lim, Director, Instructional Technology Center

Grantseeking for Beginners
The Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) is offering a series of seminars, “Grantseeking for Beginners.”  The scheduled dates are:

• April 5 at the Northern Inn Conference Center, Bemidji;

• June 27 at the Earle Brown Continuing Education Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul;

• September 30 at the Earle Brown Continuing Education Center, UM, St. Paul; and

• December 12 at the Earle Brown Continuing Education Center, UM, St. Paul.

The program fee is $90. 

The Northwest Minnesota Foundations (NMF) is offering a $40 scholarship to the April 5 seminar for the first 50 registrants.  Call Northwest Minnesota Foundations at (800) 659-7859 or (218) 759-2057 and request to be listed for the $40 scholarship.  Then send $50 to MCF and register for the workshop.  You must be listed with NMF for the limited number of scholarships.  Space is limited – register early.  If you have questions, please contact Curt Almlie at University Relations via email calmlie@mail.crk.umn.edu or phone (218) 281-8436.
--Curt Almlie, Director, University Relations

Portfolio Upgrades
The U of M electronic portfolio that all faculty, staff, and students have access to has just received some significant updates.  You might want to check out the various features.  First, portfolio owners are able to share portions or their entire Portfolio with individuals outside the University community.  This means that Portfolio can now be used for sharing educational records and documents with family, friends, mentors, or when applying for jobs, internships, and graduate or professional school.  Second, an e-mail is automatically sent to people with whom portfolio folders are shared. Third, U Card photos are now included in each user's personal information section of portfolio.   This means advisors can see advisee photographs in the portfolio academic profile.

Here is the new website to access:  <http://portfolio.umn.edu/>.
--Doug Knowlton, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Access to Student Accounts Receivable via the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System

UMC students now have the ability to access additional information from both the on-line student access system (see: http://www.umcrookston.edu/register/register.htm ) and via the University's Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone system. The IVR now allows students to call the 218-281-8636 Crookston "Golden Eagle Informer" line and press option 4 for Student Accounts Receivable to get the following information:

• billing and payment policies

• bill and due dates for the academic year

• where and how to make payments

• student account balance

• minimum payment due and due date

• most recent credit balance refund check processed

• information on direct deposit of credit balance checks

• holds/service indicators on the student account

• direct deposit forms and third party release forms can be ordered

• students can also get automatically transferred to a Third Party Billing representative, to a Collection Representative to talk about their past due account, to a representative to talk about a return check item, to a Financial Aid Client Services representative, to Student Health Benefits Office/Boynton, to the Graduate Assistance Employment Services Office, as well as a Student Accounts Receivable representative

University of Minnesota students can also access the interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system from any of the following phone numbers:

218-281-8636 Crookston "Golden Eagle Informer" 

218-726-8088 Duluth "UMD Student Line"

612-624-5200 Twin Cities for the "Gopher Student Line"

320-589-6490 Morris "Morris Student Line"

--Bob Nelson, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Spring Break Sale at UMC Bookstore
Before you take off for Spring Break, check out the “Price Break” on t-shirts and shorts at the UMC Bookstore!  Savings of 30% on t-shirts, polos, shorts, children’s, spaghetti tees, and long sleeve baby doll tees.  The sale runs through March 8, 2002.
--Leela Hier, Program Manager, UMC Bookstore

Robert Nelson Review
In accordance with the University policy, employees in the Professional and Administrative employment classification are required to be comprehensively assessed on a regular 3-5 year basis.  Bob Nelson, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, is scheduled for review and evaluation this year.  A review committee has been appointed to collect and evaluate information concerning the achievements and progress of Dr. Nelson, in his role.  The University is committed to fostering the success of its administrative staff and enhancing each administrator’s effectiveness in a constructive manner.  This review process is an important means of strengthening the role of administrators within the University. 

Members of the review committee who have agreed to serve are:  Richard Nelson, Chair, Cleon Melsa, Phil Baird, Andrew Svec, Kami Mattson, and Steve Brandt (Student Association President).

We encourage your participation in the review.  Please feel free to offer your point of view to members of the Review Committee.
--Donald Sargeant, Chancellor

Dean McCleary Review
In accordance with the University policy, employees in the Professional and Administrative employment classification are required to be comprehensively assessed on a regular 3-5 year basis.  Dean McCleary, Vice Chancellor for Finance, is scheduled for review and evaluation this year.  A review committee has been appointed to collect and evaluate information concerning the achievements and progress of Mr. McCleary, in his role as UMC’s Chief Financial Officer.  The University is committed to fostering the success of its administrative staff and enhancing each administrator’s effectiveness in a constructive manner.  This review process is an important means of strengthening the role of the administrators within the University.

Members of the review committee who have agreed to serve are:  Judith Neppel, Chair, Robert Smith, Melissa Hower, Betty Arvidson, Gary Willhite, and Brent Massman (Student Association Vice President). 

We encourage your participation in the review.  Please feel free to offer your point of view to members of the Review Committee.
--Donald Sargeant, Chancellor

FYE Annual Conference Information
I recently attended the Annual Conference on the First Year Experience and Students in Transition in Orlando, FL.  I attended several sessions and received valuable information and ideas to implement within our FYE program.  I’ve attached my notes from the conference for your information.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the conference.
--Kami Mattson, Director of First Year Experience

FYE Update
I am pleased to inform you that UMC will be establishing a local chapter of a First-Year Honors Society on campus.  Thirty-six first-year students have been invited to become founding members of this organization that honors first-year students who achieve a 3.5 GPA after their first semester or first year of college.  Once we've established a local honors society on our campus, we will apply to become chapter members of Alpha Lambda Delta, a national, non-profit, honors society that honors academic excellence across the nation.  Once a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, students are members for life and receive benefits such as scholarships, fellowships and leadership opportunities.  For more information, please visit the Alpha Lambda Delta at http://www.mercer.edu/ald/index.html.
--Kami Mattson, First-Year Honors Society Administrative Advisor
--Jim Thomasson, First-Year Honors Society Faculty Advisor

This Week’s Special Dates

Birthdays
February 29 – Owen Williams
March 1 – Jerry Nagel

Reminder:  Faculty and staff are encouraged to share well wishes for birthdays, anniversaries, births, etc. with the rest of the campus.  Please send items for this week’s special dates via e-mail to Andrew Svec at asvec@mail.crk.umn.edu and/or Sue Dwyer at sdwyer@mail.crk.umn.edu. Thanks.

UMC Insight
UMC Insight, the weekly radio show about UMC, will air on KROX Radio 1260 AM Saturday, March 2, in its regular 8:45 a.m. time slot.  Tune in to hear Joas Petithomme talk about his new position as a diversity counselor at UMC.  This edition of Insight is hosted by Andrew Svec, director of communications.

UMC Insight files are also available via the Web at:
<http://www.umcrookston.edu/newsevents/insight/01-02/index.htm>

UMC Bulletin
The UMC Bulletin is posted at:
<http://www.umcrookston.edu/campusinfo/wkbulletin/bulletin.htm>

Attachments

• Weekly Schedule for March 4-10, 2002

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