{"id":22361,"date":"2016-01-15T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T17:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/?p=22361"},"modified":"2016-01-15T11:28:33","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T17:28:33","slug":"bsu-news-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/2016\/01\/15\/bsu-news-2\/","title":{"rendered":"BSU News \u2013\u00a0Fall\/Winter 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAUREL HOUSE UNVEILED AS NEW HOME AND GATHERING PLACE FOR HONORS PROGRAM STUDENTS<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"The
The newly built Laurel House is a home and gathering place for Honors Program students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bemidji State officially unveiled a reconstructed Laurel House for Honors Program students with a ribbon-cutting ceremony during Homecoming Week on Oct. 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laurel House, on Birchmont Drive north of the Alumni House, was completed this summer after the former house was demolished. Designed in the Craftsman style, the four-bedroom house was the result of an extensive collaboration between the university, Northwest Technical College and professional construction contractors and consultants in the region. <\/span><\/p>\n

The house will not only serve as a residence for four honors students each year, but also as a new gathering and learning space for all students in the Honors Program. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hagg-Sauer replacement project hinges on bonding<\/b><\/h4>\n
\"This<\/a>
This architectural rendering shows the design of a new two-story Hagg-Sauer Hall planned for the same location as the existing building. It will be brown brick to match other campus buildings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Planning is underway for the demolition and replacement of Hagg-Sauer Hall and the redistribution of faculty offices across the Bemidji State University campus, an $18.1 million combined project that depends on legislative approval of bond funding this spring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hagg-Sauer, located just south of Chet Anderson Stadium, is sixth on the Minnesota System of Colleges and Universities’ priority list for its 2016 capital request. On Oct. 1, BSU hosted the Minnesota Senate Capital Investment Committee for a tour and briefing from Karen Snorek, vice president for administration and finance. The House Capital Investment Committee made a similar visit on Aug. 12.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plans call for the 82,000-square-foot, 35-year-old Hagg-Sauer Hall to be torn down in summer 2017 and replaced over the following year by a new 25,000-square-foot academic learning center, with updated technology and a variety of classroom types and sizes. The old building has poor wheelchair access and significant deferred maintenance costs from groundwater intrusion. The new building is slated to meet  <\/span>the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency and sustainable design. <\/span><\/p>\n

Renovation of the A.C. Clark Library, Bangsberg Performing Arts Complex, Bensen Hall, Deputy Hall and Sattgast Hall is scheduled to begin next summer to relocate faculty now in Hagg-Sauer and establish learning communities that will promote collaboration among faculty and interaction with students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Student safety in forefront following 2014 tragedy <\/b><\/h4>\n
\"Student
Student Senate President Brittany Hull shows off her Save Our Students bracelet in a student-produced video titled “Who’s Got Your Back?: No Buddy Left Behind.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BSU’s 2015 orientation for new students in August included “Life on Campus and What You Need to Know,” a mandatory presentation and panel discussion for all incoming freshmen specifically focused on student safety, responsible behavior and caring for fellow students. These topics gained greater urgency than ever following the hypothermia death of a student in December 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

The presentation included a new video titled “Who’s Got Your Back?: No Buddy Left Behind.” It was a student project coordinated by Jay Passa of BSU’s Student Center for Health and Counseling produced in partnership with Lakeland Television. The video, just over two minutes long, encourages students to take care of themselves and to watch out for their friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, green rubber bracelets with the words “S.O.S. SAVE OUR STUDENTS” have been distributed by Student Senate for students, faculty and staff to wear in support of this initiative. Students, faculty, staff and area law enforcement will meet in the coming year to continue implementing recommendations from a task force President Richard Hanson formed after last year’s tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rankings continue to put BSU in top tier of peer institutions<\/b><\/h4>\n

Bemidji State was again named one of the 100 best colleges and universities in the Midwest region in rankings released Sept. 9 by U.S. News and World Report. BSU tied for 34th among public institutions in the Midwest and tied with four other institutions for 99th among all colleges and universities in the region. It is the eighth consecutive year that BSU has made the U.S. News list of top 100 colleges in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

Winds of Change magazine also again named Bemidji State one of the top 200 colleges in the nation for American Indian students. The list focuses on a college’s native community and support system and also includes data measuring undergraduate degrees in science, engineering, technology and mathematics-related disciplines and six-year graduation rates. BSU has made the Winds of Change Top 200 each year since 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese delegation is vanguard for possible nursing partnership<\/b><\/h4>\n
\"Nursing
Nursing students from Jinhua, China, tour Sanford Bemidji Medical Center during their September visit to BSU.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nursing students and faculty from Jinhua University in Jinhua, China, visited BSU and Bemidji for a week in September. The group toured the nursing programs at both the university and Northwest Technical College and visited health care facilities throughout the Bemidji community.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ambassadors were visiting Bemidji to explore a potential degree-completion agreement between Jinhua and BSU, which would allow Jinhua students to spend two years in Bemidji completing bachelor’s degrees in nursing after finishing their three-year program in Jinhua.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They were very impressed by the quality of what they saw in our classrooms and labs,” said Dr. Martin Tadlock, BSU\/NTC provost and vice president for academic and student affairs. “They loved meeting American students and felt like they had made quick friends.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Tadlock says the next step will be to determine BSU courses and workshops the Bemidji School of Nursing could deliver on campus in Jinhua beginning as soon as the summer of 2016. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ojibwe cultural-immersion camp receives national recognition<\/b><\/h4>\n
\"American
American Indian student leader Vincent Staples-Graves and Summer Program Director Angie Gora show off a plaque from the North American Association of Summer Sessions, which recognized BSU’s new Ojibwe Language Summer Camp for innovation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BSU’s Ojibwe Language Summer Camp, which offers a unique opportunity for students to become immersed in Ojibwe culture, has won the Innovative Award for Non-Credit Programs from the North American Association of Summer Sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jan Yopp, the association’s committee chair for creative and innovative awards, said the camp, whose Ojibwe name is Ojibwemowin Niibinishi Gabeshi, was recognized for “its impact on students and adaptability for other campuses.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The association recognizes member schools that offer creative and innovative programs each year at is annual conference. The awards are meant to highlight the importance of curriculum development, acknowledge programs that make outstanding contributions to the management, operation or marketing of summer sessions, and to give its members an opportunity to learn from one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the two-week camp at BSU, faculty and staff teach campers about the Ojibwe language, history, cultural traditions and native arts. Current Bemidji State students serve as camp counselors, chaperoning students to daily activities and facilitating evening programs. Ojibwe language proficiency isn’t required to participate in the camp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two-week camp will be held next summer on July 11-15 and July 18-22. Registration materials are now available at http:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/academics\/summer\/summer-academies-and-camps\/<\/span><\/p>\n

Grad student gains help push BSU enrollment up 2 percent<\/b><\/h4>\n