Inside Gustavus September 17, 2009 | Volume 42, Number 3

President's Cabinet Summary

At the Sept. 15 meeting of the President’s Cabinet, a number of issues were discussed. Highlights of those discussions are:

• President Ohle shared that the Minnesota Private College Council expects to announce its new president soon.
• The President reviewed information he recently received from St. Peter Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Olson concerning a tax levy proposed for this fall.
• The Cabinet also discussed a recent campus visit by Dr. Tom Scheye, a consultant preparing a needs assessment for the Board of Trustees, regarding College governance.
• Preliminary discussions were held on the timing of a search for a Vice President for Enrollment Management to replace Mark Anderson after his retirement.
• H1N1 preparedness and communication continues. The Pandemic Advisory Committee is now issuing weekly updates via e-mail to students, faculty, and staff, and posted on the College’s H1N1 website. The Cabinet approved the procurement of hand sanitizer and other infection control supplies for the campus. More details will be shared soon. As of Sept. 15, 11 cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) had been reported on campus.
• Plans for the Oct. 9 Board of Trustees meeting and related activities were reviewed. Topics of discussion will include Commission Gustavus 150, approval for the construction of the new academic building, and wind energy in light of Nicollet County’s recently revised ordinance restricting turbine construction.
• On Friday, Oct. 9, Richard Leider ’66 will lead a special session for Commission Gustavus 150 National Summit participants, Task Force members, strategic plan working group members, and others, in appreciation of their efforts and work this past year.
• The Cabinet continued its discussion of long-term strategy for the promotion of the Nobel Conference.

News & Announcements

Letters for Tenure Candidates Due by Sept. 28... Four members of the faculty are currently being considered for appointments with continuous tenure:

• Brenda Kelly, Biology and Chemistry
• Michele Koomen, Education
• Karl Larson, Health & Exercise Science
• San Skulrattanakulchai, Math & Computer Science

Letters written on behalf of these candidates should be sent to Provost David Fienen and should address the criteria for tenure as stated in the Faculty Manual (see below). All members of the Gustavus community are invited to submit letters. Letters are due by Monday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m. Candidates will have access to their letters. The specific criteria for tenure are as follows:

1. Excellence as a teacher as reflected in quality of and enthusiasm for work, effectiveness of methods, interest in subject matter, concern for student learning, effective advising of students within and outside the major and continued academic preparation and improvement.
2. An emerging pattern of professional activities as reflected, for example, by publications, by presentations at scholarly meetings or conferences, and, in the arts, by manifestations of creativity demonstrated through exhibits or performances; another example may be involvement in professional and/or public organizations, boards, and commissions related to one's academic fields or college assignments.
3. An emerging pattern of involvement in the activities of the College.
4. Continuing evidence of sympathy with the aims and purposes of Gustavus Adolphus College as stated in the Mission Statement of the College.

Vacation Donations Being Accepted... Employees who would like to donate vacation hours for a Gustavus employee who will be on an approved FMLA leave and will run out of paid-time benefits should complete and sign a request for transfer of vacation hours available at the Office of Human Resources (x7304).

GLA's 16th Royal Affair Coming in November... You're invited to SHiNE * A Royal Affair, a benefit gala presented by Gustavus Library Associates in support of the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The evening includes elegant dining, spectacular live and silent auctions, entertainment, and dancing. For invitations, contact the Office of Marketing and Communication, 933-7520 or marketing@gustavus.edu.

A St. Peter Stimulus Plan That’s Working... Has the St. Peter business community been able to “rise above” the economic challenges facing our good city? Not really. In fact, businesses have received a double hit this year: the effects of a recession, and the effects from the Highway 169 reconstruction project.  However, the owners of Arrow Ace Hardware came up with a novel idea recently—a "St. Peter Stimulus Plan." For all the purchases you make during the month of September at their store, they will take 10 percent of the total and donate it to a St. Peter-based business of your choice. Visit Arrow Ace Hardware for the details of this special Stimulus Plan. A local business presence is a vital part of our greater community. Support the local economy!  

Purchase Adobe Products at Big Discounts... SchoolWorld and Gustavus Adolphus College have signed a Student Licensing Addendum, thus extending to outstanding savings on Adobe products. Under the addendum, all current Gustavus Adolphus College students, faculty, and staff are entitled to special student pricing. Purchasing is made easy. Simply follow the link to make your purchase. This website is very informative and should answer all of your questions. If you have any further questions please address them to Teri Bauman (GTS).   

Campus Happenings

Chapel Schedule... All are invited to the worship services at 10 a.m. weekdays and 10:30 a.m. Sundays in Christ Chapel. The upcoming schedule is as follows.

• Friday, Sept. 18 - Chaplain Brian Johnson
• Sunday, Sept. 20 - Chaplain Rachel Larson
  
• Monday, Sept. 21 - Matt Panciera (classics)
• Tuesday, Sept. 22 - Jim Dontje (Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation)
• Wednesday, Sept. 23 - Morning Praise
• Thursday, Sept. 24 - Taizé
• Friday, Sept. 25 - Will Freiert (classics)

First Shop Talk on Sept. 18... Sean Cobb (English) will present the first Faculty Shop Talk of the 2009-10 academic year. His talk, titled "Paranoia, State Sovereignty and the Bracero Program in Anthony Mann's Border Incident," will be presented on Friday, Sept. 18, at 4:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center. Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed at http://gustavus.edu/events/shoptalks/.

Swedish Guitarist to Perform on Campus... Sweden’s phenomenal young guitarist Mattias Jacobsson will appear in concert on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. Jacobsson, who has studied with such great guitarists as Erik Möllerstöm in Sweden and Sharon Isbin at the Juilliard School of Music, made his recital debut at the age of 17 at the Stockholm International Guitar Festival. His performance at Gustavus, which is sponsored by the Department of Music and the Office of the President, will be preceded by a master class with students from the College. Tickets for the event are $10 and are available at the door beginning at 7 p.m. The recital will be followed by a reception for the artist.

Recital Features New Music... On Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall, some of our newer faculty—John Engebretson (sax), Barbara Leibundguth and Emily Sapa (flutes), and Brian Buckstead (violin), assisted by pianists Esther Wang and Beth Winterfeldt—will present a recital of newer musical works. Join them in celebrating this year's Global Insight focus on Mexico with John Harbison's San Antonio, a set of dances for saxophone and piano. Other works include Fratres by Arvo Pärt, for violin and piano, and Three American Pieces by Lukas Foss, for flute and piano. This recital of great contemporary music is open to the public without charge.

Tea Reminder... Faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and friends of friends are welcome to attend Gustavus Library Associates' Fall Membership Tea, hosted by President Jack and Kris Ohle at their residence on campus Monday, Sept. 21, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, contact Ginny Bakke (library) at x7571 or Dana Lamb (marketing & communication) at x7550.

Branding Presentation... Jeff Flick, CEO of the Pittsburgh-based creative firm BD&E, will make a presentation on marketing materials currently being developed for Gustavus on Monday, Sept. 21, at 3:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall. These materials include new messages, graphic treatments, Web pages, and admission materials. Students are invited, and the session is open as well to any faculty and staff who did not attend the Colloquium presentation or would like to see it again.

Nobel Conference Lectures Announced... The College’s 45th Nobel Conference, "H2O: Uncertain Resource," which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 6-7, features the following lectures:

• Tuesday, 10 a.m. - First Lecture: “Climate Change and Global Peace,” Rajendra K. Pachauri, Ph.D., Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India, and Chair of the IPCC, Geneva.
• Tuesday, 1 p.m. - Second Lecture: “Nutrients, Nutrients Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink: Land Meets the Sea,” Nancy N. Rabalais, Ph.D., Executive Director and Professor, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin.
• Tuesday, 3 p.m. - Third Lecture: “Short-Circuiting the Hydrologic Cycle to Meet Urban Water Needs,” David L. Sedlak, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.
• Tuesday, 6:15 p.m. - Minnesota Water Connections, presented in two concurrent sessions (6:15 and 7 p.m.) featuring: Edward Swain, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul; Lucinda Johnson, Natural Resources Research Institute, Duluth, Minnesota; Fred Rose, Acara Institute, Minneapolis; and Steve Colman, Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota at Duluth.
• Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. - Conversation at the Conference: “Water Words,” Derek Walcott, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Literature and Drama, University of Alberta, Edmonton.
• Wednesday, 10 a.m. - Fourth Lecture: “Water for the 21st Century: New Thinking,” Peter H. Gleick, Ph.D., Co-founder and President, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, Oakland, Calif.
• Wednesday, 1 p.m. Fifth Lecture: “Just Water,” Larry L. Rasmussen, Th.D., Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York City.
• Wednesday, 3 p.m. - Sixth Lecture: “Global Water Crisis: Myth or Reality?” Asit K. Biswas, Founder and President, Third World Centre for Water Management, Atizapan, Mexico.
• Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. - The Nobel Conference Banquet and Closing Lecture (ca. 8 p.m.): “Where the Wild Things Are: Dams, Rivers, and Wildlife Preservation,” William L. Graf, Ph.D., University Foundation Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia.

Gustavus students, faculty, and staff may receive one complimentary ticket each for the conference. Faculty and staff can pick up theirs from the Office of Marketing and Communication in the Carlson administration Building; students can claim theirs from the Information Desk in the Jackson Campus Center.

Off-Campus Events of Interest

Community and College Join for Fall Read... St. Peter Reads, Friends of the St. Peter Public Library, and the Gustavus Reading-in-Common program invite you to join the community for several events related to the groups' jointly selected fall read, Enrique's Journey, by Sonia Nazario. In addition to Nazario's lecture in Alumni Hall on Monday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m., five events have been scheduled off-campus:

• Tuesday, Sept. 22 - Enrique's Journey Book Discussion, St. Peter Food Co-op, 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 23 - Latin American Cuisine Class with Sonia Ramirez, St. Peter Food Co-op, 6 p.m. (free, but Community Education registration is required)
• Saturday, Sept. 26 - Movie: Sin Nombre, Treaty Site History Center, 2 p.m. (free, but donations accepted; R-rated, in Spanish with English subtitles; co-sponsored by the Nicollet County Historical Society)
• Monday, Sept. 28 - Meet Author Sonia Nazario/Book Signing, St. Peter Public Library, 3-4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 29 - Panel discussion on immigration and related issues, St. Peter Community Center Rm. 300.

Check Out the Alpacas... All are invited to the 6th annual Farm Tour Open House at Cozy Acres Alpacas the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Kathy Erlandsen (Gustavus Annual Fund) will be opening up her barn for people to come pet and learn about alpacas. Visit her website for directions and more information. Also on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m., there will be a class on making Scandinavian hand-felted slippers using alpaca wool. If interested, call Kathy at x6514 for details.

2009 Welsh Hymn Festival on September 27... All members of the Gustavus community are invited to attend and participate in the 2009 Welsh Hymn Festival at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the First Presbyterian Church (Broad and Hickory, Mankato). For those who have enjoyed the annual St. David's Day in Chapel events over the past years, this will be an opportunity to participate in "The Minnesota Welsh Event." The Welsh Association, which is hosting the event, will honor 28 area church choirs for their skill and assistance in congregational hymn singing with the presentation of a special Certificate of Recognition. At the Festival, the entire congregation will be seated by parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) to sing four-part harmony on traditional Welsh hymns led by a guest conductor. It is open to the public without admission charge. A large crowd, possibly in excess of 300, is expected. For further information, contact Ellis Jones at 507-934-4184.

Leadership Program Offered to Older Adults... The Center on Aging at Minnesota State University, Mankato is partnering with the Vital Aging Network to offer a leadership program for older adults. “ALVA: Leadership Development for the Rest of Your Life” is an eight-month leadership course beginning in October and designed for people aged 50+ who want to use their experience and skills in whole new ways.. This life-changing course will help participants (re)discover their lifework; understand the opportunities for and barriers to leadership in later life; plan and implement a project providing leadership for the common good; and build an on-going network for sharing ideas, knowledge, and resources. ALVA will be taught the second Friday each month starting Oct. 9 at Minnesota State Mankato. A limited number of scholarships for half of the tuition are available through the MSU Center on Aging and the Vital Aging Network. Check out the Vital Aging Network's website at www.vital-aging-network.org (click ALVA) or call VAN at 651.917.4635 to learn more about the program. Scholarship information is on VAN's website.

Obituaries

• Dorothy Seitzer, mother of Jackie Wettergren (Book Mark), died on Sept. 13. Visitation will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, 9-10 a.m., with the funeral at 10:00 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church, a short service at the cemetery, and a luncheon at the Redman Club.
• Carol Langsjoen, wife of Professor Emeritus Arne Langsjoen and mother of Karen Zins (Book Mark) passed away on Sept. 16, at Grandview Care Center in St. Peter. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20, at First Lutheran Church, with visitation one hour prior to the service. Memorials are preferred to First Lutheran Church, Gustavus Adolphus College (The Arne/Carol Langsjoen Chemistry Endowment), or Grandview Good Samaritan Society.

To inform the campus community of the death of a current student, employee, or trustee; an emeritus professor or trustee; or an immediate family member of a current employee, contact the Office of the President (x7538 or pleagjel@gustavus.edu). Death announcements and funeral notices for students, current and emeritus faculty and employees, and trustees will be sent to the community via written notice from the president, posted on community-l, the official campus-wide e-mail list, and published in the Inside Gustavus or Summer Scoop. Notices for immediate family members of current employees will be published in the Inside Gustavus or the Summer Scoop unless they occur during a publication break, in which case they will be posted on employee-l.

Congregational Outreach

Partners in Education... Presenters for this week include Lisa Heldke (philosophy). who will be giving a talk titled "Radical Listening: A Tool for Social Change" on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church in Robbinsdale, Minn., at 9:15a.m. Partners in Education is a program coordinated by the Office of Church Relations in which participating faculty and staff members prepare topical presentations for adult forums, workshops, and seminars in congregations of the ELCA.

Speaking in Congregations... Grady St. Dennis (church relations) will attend the Heritage Sunday celebration of the 154th anniversary of First Lutheran Church in Red Wing on Sunday, Sept. 20. The congregation has special ties to the founding of the College. St. Dennis will bring greetings and an update from Gustavus at the 9:30 a.m. worship service; a Swedish coffee hour follows the service.

Pastor-to-Pastor... The Office of Church Relations will be hosting a Pastor-to-Pastor gathering on campus Thursday-Friday, Sept. 17-18. Pastor-to-Pastor is a program that promotes personal growth and spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional wellness for pastors of the Southwestern and Southeastern Minnesota Synods through fellowship and study with other pastors.

Retreats... The Office of Church Relations will host a confirmation retreat for Peace Lutheran Church from Bloomington, Minn., Friday-Sunday, Sept. 18-20. Church Relations will also host a retreat for Trinity Lutheran Church from Owatonna, Minn., on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Music in Worship... Any Gustavus music ensemble of soloist is welcome to perform in congregations. For more information, contact Marilyn Beyer (x7001).

Plugs

Room for Rent... Sub-lease for 2009-10 school year. Five-bedroom home in very good condition, only 2 blocks from campus behind St. Peter High School. $350 a month plus utilities. Contact cla85525@bethel.edu.

Adopt Toby the Happy Cockatiel... "Gus the cat has been ruthlessly stalking poor Toby. Now our beloved Toby would like to spread his wings in a new place of residence. If you allow him to join your family, Toby will happily bring his own cage, food, and toys. We will miss him greatly, but due to our extended stay at St. Mary’s hospital, Toby just isn’t getting the love and attention he deserves. All for the low, low price of absolutely nothing, you will gain a best friend and be a tremendous help to our family." If interested in adopting sweet Toby, please contact Lorie Siebels at x7520 or lsiebels@gustavus.edu.

For Sale... Nice 2-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath townhome with beautifully landscaped yard. Ceramic tile foyer, concrete patio, 6-panel doors, master bathroom, all appliances included (most are only 1 yr old!) , 30-yr. warrantied shingles, cement-board siding, Andersen windows, and double garage. Don't let the dues scare you: they include exterior insurance on the building, lawn mowing, snow shoveling, and trash pick-up—just move in and enjoy!!! Part of the Apple Tree Village community, near River's Edge Hospital/Clinic. Just off of Dodd Rd. (MN-22) and Gault Street. E-mail khartz@gustavus.edu or call 952-239-8402 for more information.

"Plugs" is maintained as a forum by which members of the Gustavus community may offer goods and/or services to others in the community, or seek the same from them. It is not meant to accommodate ads or announcements from area businesses such as real estate agents or retailers, although from time to time such announcements may be published when deemed to be of particular interest to the community.

 



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Inside Gustavus is a newsletter for Gustavus Adolphus College employees produced by the Office of Marketing and Communication. It is published weekly during the academic year (except during the week of Thanksgiving, the Christmas break, Touring Week, and the Spring and Easter breaks). Anyone may submit items by filling out an online submission form. While online submissions are preferred, items may also be submitted typewritten on a letter-sized sheet of paper. Send "snail mail" items to: Inside Gustavus, Office of Marketing and Communication. Items must reach the office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication. The week of Nobel Conference the deadline is 4:30 p.m. Monday. For more information, contact Steve Waldhauser (waldo@gustavus.edu or x6413).

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