Campus News 2020

SMSU announces the spring semester 2020 Dean's List

One thing was clear following the second annual Agronomy Field Day held August 5: There's a lot going on with agriculture at Southwest Minnesota State University.

Facilities Director Tony Nubile had been on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University once before, in 2002, as a member of the Trinity Bible College (Ellendale, N.D.) basketball team. And while it's true he'd like to forget the results of that 98-44 thumping at the hands of the Mustangs — he scored 6 points ­— it did make an impression on him. That why, when he saw the posting for the position, it piqued his interest. "I said, 'I've been to that campus.' It left a positive impression on me as a young person, and drew me to apply."

Leslie-Burl McLemore talked not only about Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was here on campus for MLK Day activities, he also praised the work of others, who paved the way and acted as the movement's 'foot soldiers.'

Residence Life at SMSU has changed during these COVID-19 times. Much of the credit for implementing the necessary adjustments goes to Jessica Bentley.

May Lee Moua-Vue, new Director for International Student Services and Global Studies, is excited to "bring the world to campus" by creating an environment where international and domestic students can thrive and become comfortable with one another at Southwest Minnesota State University.

SMSU students Bella Erickson and Carter McLaughlin are enthused about student interest in the upcoming presidential election.

Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) has been awarded a $580,000 grant from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (Minnesota State) and MDRC for their Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) initiative. SUCCESS is a national effort to improve completion at colleges and universities by designing, implementing, and scaling comprehensive student support programs, which have been proven to increase graduation rates for traditionally underserved students.

Southwest Minnesota State University is ranked 26th in the nation for Best Early Childhood Education Program for 2020 by Study.com.

Southwest Minnesota State University is ranked 8th in the nation for the Most Affordable Colleges for Online Master's Degrees for Out-of-State Students by AffordableSchools.net.

Although Lee Kanten's globetrotting days are over, he feels the best of his creative days may still be ahead of him. Kanten, a 1974 alumnus, and his wife Jeanie (Strube) have moved from the Twin Cities, where they owned the video production company Lee Pictures Inc., to Ortonville, population 1,916, on the southern edge of Big Stone Lake, on the South Dakota border. It's his hometown, and he's glad to be back.

Little did Don Stanwick know then, but that first food service job busing tables at Tony's Pizza in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, as a 15-year-old would be a springboard to a career in the industry.

An experienced nurse and teacher is the newest face within the RN to BSN program. Faith Johnson joins the faculty on a fixed-term basis, replacing Nancyruth Leibold, who is on sabbatical.

To protect the health and safety of students and employees from the threat of COVID-19, Southwest Minnesota State is requiring a mandatory self-assessment of all employees, students, contractors/vendors and visitors prior to entering campus buildings starting on Monday, August 10.

Ever wonder why people like shopping at thrift stores? So did SMSU junior Hanna Vos. Vos is a Kingsley, Iowa, native and this year's Undergraduate Research Conference Library Research Award winner. She earned a $250 award for her research project entitled "The Sociology of the Secondhand Shopper."

Six individuals will receive Alumni Association awards as part of Homecoming 2020, with a theme of "Mustangs Come Together — Six Feet Apart."

A trio of Southwest Minnesota State University academic programs will be offered on the campus of Lake Superior College (LSC) in Duluth starting in the fall semester, 2020.

Sariah Cheadle made SMSU Theatre history at the recent Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region V event in Sioux Falls by being the first SMSU student to ever take first in an award category.

A group of Southwest Minnesota State University current and past employees have banded together in an ambitious project to sew masks for new students who will arrive on campus for Move-in Day on August 20.

Southwest Minnesota State University's Celebrate Science Week presentations will go on as usual this week. The work of the students will just be shown a bit differently, is all.

Isatu Shirek has stories to tell. And she's getting that opportunity at Pioneer Public Television in Granite Falls, Minn.

Eight Southwest Minnesota State University students have been selected for prizes as part of the Finals Week Registration Sweepstakes.

Southwest Minnesota State University will add club shooting sports beginning in the 2020-21 academic year.

Southwest Minnesota State University students have been honored for achievement during the 2019 Fall semester of study.

Homecoming 2020 at Southwest Minnesota State University will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10, with a theme of "Mustangs Come Together — Six Feet Apart."

Faculty, staff and students have been adjusting to a new learning environment at Southwest Minnesota State University since returning from an extended spring break on March 30. And while those adjustments have in some ways affected every area of the University, students enrolled in the RN to BSN program at SMSU are perhaps most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The way Office of Admission Director Matt Suby sees it, the technology being used by SMSU to recruit students in these COVID-19 times is "right in the wheelhouse of today's students," he said.

Mustang Market recently received a large donation of feminine hygiene products from the Always company, a gift that is especially needed at the Market, according to Crystal Watts, AmeriCorps Health VISTA representative on campus.

The Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation will continue the tradition of the University Gala by hosting a virtual event Oct. 25 through Nov. 1, 2020.

We're all in this together. That's the belief of group of faculty members who are helping SMSU students feel more comfortable in face-to-face classrooms during these COVID-19 times.

Bridging the education gap and providing access to more students is what SMSU is offering 18 first-year students who have enrolled in the Mustang Pathway Program (MPP), which began on Monday, July 13.

Fatou MS Kinteh, a senior Political Science major from The Gambia, has started a non-profit called Fatou Gaye's Memorial Foundation in memory of her grandmother.

Commencement exercises for approximately 565 SMSU undergraduate and graduate students was to have been held May 9. Due to COVID-19, that ceremony has been postponed to the fall semester (at a date to be announced). That leaves SMSU seniors like Sariah Cheadle and Melinda Lopez with mixed feelings during finals week.

Fadumo Ismail, a first-generation college student from Marshall, has been named the Class of 2020 Outstanding Senior at Southwest Minnesota State University.

SMSU alumnus Tom Berg is, literally, a race chaser. That's the reason for the growing success of his Racechaser.net blog, which chronicles anything racing at seven tracks he frequents during the season from his home base in Fargo, N.D.

Southwest Minnesota State University has been named the 2020 "Safest College Campus in Minnesota" by YourLocalSecurity.com.

The creation of a new garden on the SMSU campus will better utilize a current empty space and add an exciting new element to the east entrances to the Fine Arts Building.

SMSU 2020 alumnus Austin Domeier recently won the ninth annual Minnesota State Conference of Undergraduate Scholarly and Creative Activity Conference poster presentation, in the category of Science/Engineering.

SMSU alumnus Clarence Hightower felt "outrage" when he first viewed the George Floyd video. "I did not understand how one officer could participate in that climate, and have three additional officers stand by and watch," he said about the video that showed Floyd laying on the ground, handcuffed, with a Minneapolis policeman's knee on this neck. Floyd died as a result, and the event has triggered anti-police protests in Minnesota, across the country, and around the world.

The application deadline for Class XI of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (MARL) program is April 24, and program Executive Director Olga Reuvekamp is anticipating another outstanding group of ag leaders when the class kicks off its 18-month cohort in November, 2020.

Dr. Ross Wastvedt has been named Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Southwest Minnesota State University. He will begin his duties on July 1.Article Description

An online undergraduate research journal, "Discovery," has been launched at Southwest Minnesota State University, which will allow undergraduate students an opportunity to go through the process of having their research published, much in the same way as any other professional academic journals.

Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) will offer 10 degrees totally online starting in the fall semester 2020, the university announced.

Southwest Minnesota State University's commitment to veterans and their families has been rewarded with a No. 1 national ranking by Military Friendly® School.

The protests and civil unrest in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd were like nothing SMSU alumnus Andrew Larsen had ever seen.

Southwest Minnesota State University is excited to welcome 349 new first-year students to campus this fall, an increase of 17.5 percent. It is the largest incoming class since 2016. Overall enrollment also increased slightly with the university serving 2,431 degree-seeking students according to 10-day statistics.

Three high-achieving students have been awarded full-ride scholarships to Southwest Minnesota State University as part of the President's Regional Scholars Award program.

If there's something good to come out of the current COVID-19 environment, it's a greater appreciation for people like Sara Swenhaugen.

One of the unsung heroes in dealing with COVID-19 is head athletic trainer Laura Crowell.

Pam Gladis, whose work as SMSU Librarian touches every facet of academic life at the University, has been named the 2020 Cathy Cowan Award winner.