Minneapolis Artist Creates Tribute to Class of 2020 in New Hagg-Sauer Hall

As part of BSU’s project to replace Hagg-Sauer Hall, Minneapolis-based artist Stacia Goodman was commissioned to install a mosaic surrounding the entrance to the new lecture hall. After months of hand-cutting thousands of pieces of material, Goodman and her team spent nearly three days unloading, staging and installing the mosaic in September 2021. The mosaic, meant to represent life at Bemidji State, is dedicated to the graduating class of 2020 to embody their perseverance throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Bemidji State Design Professor Builds Virtual World for Campus

At the onset of COVID-19, Dr. Sachel Josefson, associate professor of technology, art and design, longed for a virtual space where he could interact with his colleagues and students.

It was not long before he set out to do so with the help of assistant TAD professors Mitch Blessing and Eric Carlson. Now nestled within an online platform called Virbela, there is a virtual world where students, faculty and staff can meet virtually and connect. The space, called The Fourth Floor, is fully equipped with a classroom, faculty offices, a computer lab and “bored” room. Adapting to the landscape of higher education in COVID-19, Josefson wanted to present students with a connection to their home building on campus.

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Celebrating More Than 1,000 Graduates During BSU’s 102nd Commencement

On May 7, students, family members, faculty and staff joined to celebrate Bemidji State’s Class of 2021. This year, the university acknowledged graduates’ commitment to their education and the campus community in three in-person ceremonies ­— one for each of the university’s colleges. The ceremony to honor the graduates from the College of Arts, Education and Humanities began at 9 a.m. and was followed by the ceremony for the College of Business, Mathematics and Science graduates at noon. The College of Individual and Community Health graduates closed the day with a 3 p.m. ceremony.

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BSU Honors the Indigenous Land Where Campus Rests

BSU unveiled the following acknowledgment in March 2020, which recognizes the Indigenous peoples dispossessed from the land occupied by its lakeshore campus.

“We acknowledge that Bemidji State University is located on land and water that is the current and ancestral homeland of the Ojibwe and Dakota. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide, forced assimilation, and efforts to alienate the Indigenous inhabitants from their territory here. We honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land, retained tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and cultural resilience. Indigenous people are spiritual and physical caretakers of this land to which we all belong. Bemidji State University respects these sacred lands, stands with the community members from these Nations, and will fight injustice in all its forms.”

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Parker Hired as Campus Diversity Officer

Steven Parker has been named Bemidji State’s new campus diversity officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social work with minors in human relations and psychology from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in leadership with a specialization in student affairs in higher education from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Bemidji State Hosts Nationwide Indigenous Nursing Conference

Bemidji State’s Niganawenimaanaanig — an Ojibwe word meaning “we take care of them” — program held a free, virtual Indigenous nursing conference in May. The conference, “Strong Tribal Nations During Trying Times,” welcomed health care professionals from across the nation who provided lectures on a range of health care issues affecting Indigenous communities, including cancer and missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Nursing Graduates Earn Highest Recorded NCLEX-RN Exam Pass Rates since 2012

Graduates from Bemidji State’s Department of Nursing class of 2020 have earned the highest recorded pass rates since 2012 on the National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses. All 2020 nursing graduates have completed their first attempt at the exam, with 94 percent passing on their first attempt. 

Bemidji State Brings the Stage to the Big Screen in Opera Film

Every year, the Bemidji State Department of Music works across disciplines to produce a full opera production for the Bemidji community. This year, with COVID-19 guiding in-person activities, the production took to the big screen with a movie production of selected scenes from popular operas. Under the direction of Dr. Cory Renbarger, associate professor of music, students worked closely with Bemidji’s NLFX Professional audio, video, lighting and editing company to produce a 60-minute feature film called “Things Lost, Things Found.” 

State and Federal Grant Funding Provides Crucial Support for Students During COVID-19

In September 2021, Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College distributed laptops to students with funding from Governor’s Emergency Educational Relief grants. The nearly $500,000 grant was used to purchase and provide distance-learning technology to students affected by the pandemic. 

Bemidji State students who were financially impacted by the COVID-19 also received much-needed relief through funding provided by the U.S. Government’s Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). Students who met eligibility requirements received aid packages between $175-$665.

In addition, students could apply for COVID-related emergency funds, up to $500, during the spring and summer.