Rosenstone to retire as MnSCU chancellor next July
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Steven Rosenstone in April an-nounced he will retire upon completion of his current contract in July 2017. Dr. Rosenstone, who will be nearly 66 years old when he completes his current contract, has led the system of seven state universities and 30 community and technical colleges since 2011.
During his tenure, Rosenstone has presided over a period of important system evolution, driving innovation and collaboration at a time of unprecedented budget cuts. His leader-ship has resulted in a fuller realization of the power of the system – that the colleges and universities are stronger together than any individual college or university could be on its own.
With a strong commitment to better reflecting the increasing diversity of Minnesota, Rosenstone has recruited the current presidents at 22 of the 30 current Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Almost a third of all system presidents now come from communities of color, and nearly half are women.
Students make successful push for plus-minus grading option
Following a recommendation from the Student Senate, Bemidji State faculty this fall will be able to use plus and minus options when determining students’ course grades.
Before voting in December to request the change, a Student Senate poll of 200 random students found support for a change in traditional A-B-C grading. Students, administrators and faculty agree that the new, optional system will allow instructors greater flexibility in assessing student performance.
Retired educators share recognition as Distinguished Minnesotans for 2016
Dr. Darby and Geri Nelson, retired educators and philanthropists from Champlin, Minn., received Bemidji State’s 34th Distinguished Minnesotan award and delivered a keynote address at BSU’s 97th Commencement on May 6.
In March 2015, the Nelsons created Bemidji State’s Helping Hands (Naadamaageng) Student Assistance Fund for American Indian students. The fund provides cash awards of $100-750 to help native students overcome an immediate financial obstacle that might otherwise thwart their academic progress.
Darby Nelson, who taught biology at Anoka-Ramsey Community College for 35 years, has received multiple statewide teaching awards and is the author of “For the Love of Lakes,” which highlights the threat to lakes from human use. He served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Geri Nelson taught physical and research science for 25 years, mostly at Champlin Park High School. She is a former director of the Minnesota Academy of Science State Science Fair and a former president of the League of Women Voters of Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids Area. Both are active in environmental conservation.
The BSU Distinguished Minnesotan Award, first presented in 1981, acknowledges the contributions of current or former residents of the state who have performed exemplary service to the people of Minnesota or the United States.
Hanson pledges BSU and NTC participation in nationwide civic engagement initiative
President Richard Hanson has committed Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College to participate in a nationwide civic engagement initiative for higher education.
In March, Hanson was among more than 350 Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors who signed the Campus Compact 30th Anniversary Action Statement, which commits campuses to deepen their external engagement for the benefit of students, communities and the broader public.
As Campus Compact signatories, Bemidji State and NTC have pledged to create publicly shared Campus Civic Action Plans.
New online MBA offerings offer quality, affordability and flexibility
Bemidji State’s College of Business is enrolling students in a newly streamlined and highly affordable online Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, which will launch this fall.
BSU’s online MBA will cost just $17,000 for all students, less than any comparable program, and financial aid is available for those who qualify. The flexible program can be completed in as little as a year or at a student’s own pace.
Also, a version of the program called the Accelerated MBA will allow students in BSU’s business and accounting programs to begin working on an MBA as undergraduates. They can complete both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in just five years, reducing the commitments of money and time required to earn the degrees. For information on the MBA program, visit bemidjistate.edu and search for MBA.
Annual student scholarship day celebrates in-depth learning
Nearly 250 students representing a broad range of academic disciplines shared their academic research and in-depth work during Bemidji State’s 17th annual Student Scholarship and Creative Achievement Conference on April 6.
About 80 students gave in-person presentations throughout the day, exploring topics such as use of artificial waterfowl nesting structures in Beltrami County, American Indian students and their transitions into college, a study of workplace civility at BSU and a debate
on nationalism.
Poster presentations by more than 160 students covered such topics as the relationship between diabetes and poverty, revenue forecasts for e-commerce giant Amazon and the effects of stress on a college student’s alcohol consumption.
College of Business and two of its departments are renamed to sharpen focus
Bemidji State’s College of Business, Technology and Communication has been renamed the College of Business, and its departments of accounting and technology, art & design will all have new names beginning this summer.
The Department of Accounting becomes the Department of Accountancy. Accounting refers to the process of keeping or maintaining financial records, while accountancy refers to the duties or profession of an accountant.
The Department of Technology, Art & Design, which includes applied engineering, graphic design, exhibit design and visual art majors, becomes the School of Technology, Art & Design, also to be known as the TAD School.
University hits first target for greenhouse gas reductions
Wide-ranging efforts to improve energy efficiency have enabled Bemidji State to exceed the first objective in its 60-year commitment to combat global climate change, reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent since 2010.
Having surpassed the initial reduction target of 2 percent, BSU will now aim for a 10 percent net reduction by 2020 and zero net emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050.
Efforts so far include new energy-efficient LED lighting across campus, installation of a solar-powered air collector on the Lower Hobson Union in 2013, reduction in building space through demolition of Sanford and Maple halls and energy-efficient design and materials in the renovation of Memorial Hall.
President Jon Quistgaard signed the American Colleges & University Presidents Climate Commitment in 2008.
Neilson Foundation to fund internships across Bemidji area this summer
Seventeen Bemidji-area employers will host more than two dozen Bemidji State students for paid internships this summer as part of the university’s continuing internship partnership with the George W. Neilson Foundation.
Support from the foundation provides up to 50 percent of an intern’s funding, as much as $2,500, and participating business contribute the remaining 50 percent.
The internship partnership launched in the summer of 2012 to promote academic development and to encourage employers to provide local, paid internship opportunities for BSU students. Originally planned to launch with 10 internships, high employer demand led to 13 positions being created at 12 businesses. Since its inception, the program has funded nearly 70 internships.
Dillemuth appointed to lead information technology
Jim Dillemuth in February was named chief information officer for both Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College after holding the position in an interim role since August.
Dillemuth has more than two decades of experience managing information technology in higher education, all within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Most recently, he was chief information officer at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
Dr. Randy Westhoff, assistant vice president for academic affairs and chair of the CIO search committee, praised Dillemuth’s “understanding of the relationship between the university and the MnSCU system, and his strong vision for our future.”
Dillemuth has a master’s degree in curriculum and instructional systems and a bachelor’s degree in accounting, both from the University of Minnesota.
Partnership with NCTC offers direct path to BSU
Bemidji State and Northland Community & Technical College in Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks introduced a dual admissions program called NorthernConnect that allows students who complete associate’s degrees at the college to smoothly transfer into BSU.
NCTC students who complete associate of arts, associate of science or associate of applied science degrees will automatically be admitted into BSU. Students must also meet other minimum requirements such as transferrable hours completed and a minimum GPA to be eligible.
The program is beginning with transfer pathways in business, criminal justice and nursing. Participants will not be charged an application fee at BSU, and they will receive a BSU student ID card that allows them to participate in many BSU student-life activities while enrolled at NCTC.
Students present research work at events that showcase scholarly endeavors
Groups of Bemidji State students visited St. Paul and Winona to present their research at a pair of state-level events. Nine groups presented March 17 during the third annual Minnesota Undergraduate Scholars presentation in the Minnesota State Capitol, and 11 groups of students attended the statewide Student Scholarship and Creative Achievement Conference at Winona State University on April 4.
The annual “Posters in St. Paul” event, which requires a competitive application process, showcases work from students in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and provides those students with an outlet to share the results of their scholarly activity with legislators and other government officials. The conference at Winona State features undergraduate research from students at each of Minnesota’s seven state universities.
Scholarship program launched to attract transfer students from 11 two-year colleges
As part of a new scholarship program begun this spring, students who transfer to Bemidji State from one of 11 Minnesota two-year colleges are eligible to pursue scholarships of up to $4,000.
Scholarships of $1,000 per semester, renewable for four semesters, are available to qualifying students who transfer from one of the eligible two-year colleges in Minnesota and major in one of 10 participating academic programs at Bemidji State. A total of 50 scholarships are available, five in each participating program.
Students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and live on campus at BSU to be eligible for the scholarships.
New academic majors to be added this fall will align with emerging opportunities
Several of BSU’s academic departments and programs are preparing to launch significant curricular changes and additional course and program offerings beginning this fall. Among them are:
•The Center for Environmental, Economic, Earth & Space Studies is adding two emphasis areas to its environmental studies major, in environmental health & toxicology and in industrial ecology, and also adding a minor in sustainability.
•The Department of Criminal Justice is significantly overhauling its curriculum. The program’s previous tracks in law enforcement, corrections and criminal justice are being phased out, and four new emphasis areas — law enforcement, corrections, victimology and tribal justice — will take their place. The department is also adding a criminal justice minor and reducing the credits required for a major in criminal justice, from 66 to 48, to encourage students to pursue minors in other programs.
• The School of Technology, Art & Design is adding nearly two dozen new courses in subjects ranging from printmaking and leadership to computer-controlled machining to model and project prototyping. The TAD School is also adding an engineering technology minor and changing the name of its art and design majors to design, while adding a graphic design major.
Online accounting and social work programs earn accolades from national ranking websites
Bemidji State’s online degree programs in accountancy and social work have been recognized for value and quality in rankings released by the websites College Values Online and TheBestSchools.org.
College Values Online ranked BSU’s online accountancy degree program 19th on its 30-school list, “Online Accounting Degree: More Top Values ’16,” while TheBestSchools.org placed BSU’s social work program on its list of the 10 best online bachelor of social work programs in the country.