Inside Gustavus March 3, 2011 | Volume 43, Number 23

 

President's Cabinet Summary

The President’s Cabinet met on February 22 and March 1. Items discussed included:

• Three Physical Plant replacement positions were approved (one carpenter and two custodians).
• Vice President Westphal reported on an upcoming CFO gathering at Gustavus.
• Members reviewed a recommendation from the Student Senate concerning the Residential Life visitation policy for first-year students.
• At the March 1 meeting, Faculty Senate Chair Steve Mellema reported on a meeting regarding the Faculty Manual amendments.
• The group discussed campus scheduling during important religious holidays.
• Provost Fienen reported that since the College’s printing policy went into effect last year, Gustavus has reduced paper usage significantly, and, therefore, we anticipate using approximately 1.5 million fewer sheets of paper per year.

 

News & Announcements

Nominate Amazing Gusties... In 2011-12, Gustavus will celebrate its 150th academic year. The Board of Trustees has established an award in honor of this Sesquicentennial anniversary to recognize individuals who have made a significant difference in the life of the College. The award, called “The Sesquicentennial Award,” will acknowledge and pay tribute to living alumni, parents, friends, and retired faculty and staff who:

• Through actions in their personal or professional lives, have advanced the status of Gustavus as a premier liberal arts college;
• Set a new precedent in the ways they supported and advanced the mission of the College as an institution dedicated to preparing students “for fulfilling lives of leadership and service in society”; and/or
• Have brought particular dignity or honor to the College.

Please submit nominations online at gustavus.edu/150.

Employee and Student Flu Shots Still Available... Influenza is here, and it is at epidemic rates nationally. Call (x7630) or stop in the Student Health Service to make an appointment. Cost is $25 cash/check, or bill insurance. For speedy check-in bring a copy (front and back) of your insurance card.

Gustie Breakfast Features Kate Knutson... Engage with colleagues and friends of Gustavus and learn something about the College at the monthly Saint Peter Gustie breakfasts. The on-campus breakfasts will be held at 7:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in a Campus Center banquet room. Cost is $8 for an individual or $15 per couple, payable at the door. The invited speaker at this month’s breakfast, scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, is Kate Knutson (political science). Reserve your spot by e-mailing gustiebreakfast@gustavus.edu or call 507-933-6664. Upcoming breakfasts will feature Warren Wunderlich (physical plant) on April 13 and Carolyn O' Grady (int'l. & cultural ed.) on May 11. Visit gustavus.edu/alumni/events/gustiebreakfast/ for more information.

'Community: Concept & Reality'... Join colleagues to talk about community in a new way at three interrelated colloquia to be held in March, April, and May, with the first one coming up on March 11.

1) Friday, March 11: “What’s ‘the global community,’ and who belongs to it?" — 2:30-4 p.m., Board Room
What do people mean when they talk, often too easily or too earnestly, about “the global community"? Is the phrase rhetorical, or do they really think such a thing exists, and if they do, what do they have in mind? Does everyone on the planet belong?

• Panelists:
  Kristian Braekkan (E/M)
  Mimi Gerstbauer (political science and peace studies)
  David Obermiller (history)
  

2) Friday, April 15: “What’s ‘the scientific community,’ and who belongs to it?” — 2:30-4 p.m., Olin 103
References to “the scientific community” usually impress us. Should they? What is “the scientific community”? Who belongs—and who or what set the criteria for belonging? Do our colleagues in the sciences belong to it? What roles do “authority” and ethics play for those who do belong?

• Panelists:
  Margaret Bloch-Qazi (biology)
  Jeff Dahlseid (biochemistry)
  Chuck Niederriter (physics)
  

3) Friday, May 13: “What’s ‘the campus (or the Gustavus) community,’ and who belongs to it?” — 2:30-4 p.m., Olin 103
Many, perhaps most, of us have used the phrase “the Gustavus community”—usually, quite unreflectively. Does such a collective exist here on the hill, and—if it does—do all of us belong to it? What does or should a “campus community” (and this one, if such it is, in particular) look and feel like? What resources, if any, have we gathered from conversations about the “global” and the “scientific” communities that might help us think and talk in new ways about this place and the people with whom we share it?

• Panelists:
  Phil Bryant (English)
  Julie Johnson (academic advising)
  Kate Knutson (political science)
  

Format: Brief presentation by each panelist; small-group discussion of issues raised; plenary for further questions, responses, and further discussion. Modest, low-key, informal, interesting. Refreshments (besides the ones for your mind?): OF COURSE! We will be done by 4 p.m. Promise. Please join us! This program is sponsored by the Department of Religion. For more information, contact Mary Solberg at x7470 or msolberg@gustavus.edu.

Champion Offspring... An Academic Decathlon team from St. Peter High School with many connections to Gustavus has repeated as Minnesota State Champion at the state tournament held at Oak Ridge Conference Center in Chaska on February 27-28. They will be representing Minnesota at the ACAD nationals in Charlotte, N.C., on April 27-30. The Minnesota Overall gold medalist (for highest cumulative point total in the ten contested events) is Devan Bjelland, son of Mark (geography) and Barbara Bjelland (chaplains’ office). Other participants with Gustavus connections on the state-champion Blue Team are Magdalena Morrow, daughter of Terry Morrow (comm. st.); Isaac Dontje-Lindell, son of Jim Dontje (Johnson Center); Dan Obermiller, son of David Obermiller (history); and Faith Dontje-Lindell, daughter of Jim Dontje. Members of St. Peter's White Team include Hans Johnson, son of Mark Hanson (athletics), and Matthew Huber, son of Tom Huber (physics). The St. Peter teams are coached by Mary Behrends, French teacher at the high school and wife of Al Behrends (fine arts programs). The U.S. Academic Decathlon is a team competition in which students study a designated topic and then compete with teams from other schools across the state and nation. The competition includes 10 events: there are tests in Art, Economics, Language and Literature, Mathematics, Music, Science, and Social Science, followed by a written essay, a speech, and an interview. This year's general topic is the Great Depression and the SuperQuiz (Science) topic is the Geology of the Dust Bowl. This is St. Peter's fourth state title in 15 years with Behrends as coach but its first back-to-back titles.

Updated Administrator and Support Staff Handbook... The Administrator and Support Staff Handbook has been updated and is now online. Changes include the new location of the Human Resource Department in the Carlson Administration Building, an updated Equal Employment policy to include Affirmative Action, the requirement for background checks on new employees, support staff time entry on WebAdvisor, elimination of the 192-hour cap on Paid Time Off paid to departing support staff employees, and a revised policy to address staff complaints. Employees who would like a printed copy may request one by calling Nadine Haukoos at x7304.

 

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, March 4 - Richard Leitch (political science)
• Sunday, March 6 - Chaplain Brian Johnson
• Monday, March 7 - Meghan Lee, 2010 Spring Break Work Trips
• Tuesday, March 8 - Chaplain Brian Johnson
• Wednesday, March 9 - Ash Wednesday Liturgy with Distribution of Ashes: Choir of Christ Chapel - Patricia Kazarow, conductor
• Thursday, March 10 - TBA
• Friday, March 11 - Building Bridges

Faculty Shop Talk on March 4... Laura Triplett (geology) will present the next Faculty Shop Talk of the 2010-11 academic year. Her talk, titled “Invasion! How one reed species is changing the geochemistry of the Platte River,” will be presented on Friday, March 4, at 4:45 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/.

PASO Sponsors African Night... On March 4, starting at 6 p.m. in Alumni Hall, the Pan Afrikan Student Organization (PASO) is sponsoring African Night, a night of ethnic entertainment and cuisine. The event, which is open to the public without charge, features invited performances representing Ethiopian, Moroccan, and Sudanese cultures; Ghanaian drums and Ivorian (Ivory Coast) and Congolese dances; a fashion show; and student entertainment. Ethiopian, Moroccan, and Ghanaian foods will be served.

Piano Recital Includes Guest Performers... St. Peter pianist, teacher, and accompanist Beth Winterfeldt (music) will present a faculty piano recital in Jussi Björling Recital Hall on Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. For this performance, she has invited Mankato-area pianist David Viscoli and Gustavus violist Justin Knoepfel to assist. The performance is open to the public without charge. Winterfeldt is a member of the piano faculty at Gustavus, teaching classes and studio lessons as well as coordinating the accompanist program.

Tickets Still Available for Dance Concert... The Department of Theatre and Dance presents Balance Off Center: The Gustavus Dance Company in Concert on March 4 and 5 at 8 p.m. and March 6 at 2 p.m. The concert includes the culminating performance of the work constructed on 18 students by members of Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater, a Minneapolis-based that has been in residence at Gustavus during the fall and January Interim. The residency was made possible through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, which also brought the company to Gustavus in September to perform. Tickets are available online at www.gustavustickets.com or by calling the Gustavus Ticket Center at 507-933-7590. Gustavus students and staff are admitted free of charge with ID. Tickets not purchased in advance may be purchased at the Anderson Theatre Box Office beginning one hour prior to curtain.

Four-Hand Piano Recital on Sunday... Helen and Paul Baumgartner (music, emeriti) will present a four-hand piano recital Sunday, March 6, beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. Their recital includes works by Brahms, Warlock and Schubert. Sunday’s recital is free and open to the public. A reception for the recitalists will be served in the recital hall lobby following the performance.

'Lunch and Learn' about Gustavus and the American Swedish Institute (ASI)... The campus community is invited to a “Lunch and Learn” with President Ohle and Bruce Karstad, president of ASI, focused on the new partnership between Gustavus and the ASI. Gustavus will have an office suite in the expansion of the ASI facility to be ready summer 2012. Beyond the obvious links with the College’s Swedish heritage, this space will provide a Gustavus base in the Twin Cities. This includes possibilities for faculty and current students to use this space for classes, meetings, and community-based learning initiatives. Learn more at one of two informal lunch presentations on Tuesday, March 8, at 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. in the Presidents Dining Room. Cost for the buffet is only $5 for guests attending this lunch. For more information, contact Barb Larson Taylor at btaylor@gustavus.edu.

Origami Master Returns to Campus... Robert J. Lang, who is serving as the 2010-11 Rydell Professor, returns to Gustavus next week (March 7-10) for a series of public lectures and classroom visits. Lang will present a public lecture, “From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes: The Mathematics of Origami,” on Tuesday evening, March 8, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall. A reception and book-signing opportunity will follow his talk. Lang co-taught a January IEX course titled “Mathematics and Origami” with professors Barbara Kaiser and Carolyn Dobler (both MCS). An exhibition of his works, Many-Fold Manifolds: Engineered Origami by Robert J. Lang, opened Feb. 14 in the Hillstrom Museum of Art. and is on view through April 21. Lang's campus lecture and the origami exhibition are open to the public at no charge. Lang will also make the same presentation at the Science Museum of Minnesota (St. Paul) on Thursday, March 10, at 7 p.m. There is no charge for that event either, but seating is limited so advance reservations are requested online at gustavustickets.com. Contact Marketing and Communication at 507-933-7520 for more information,or call the Science Museum at 651-221-4511 and ask for the Robert Lang lecture on March 10.

WinterRead Brings 'Blind Your Ponies' Author to Town... The eighth annual WinterRead, sponsored by Unity in Community/St. Peter Reads, welcomes author Stanley Gordon West to speak on Tuesday, March 8, at 7 p.m. in the Melva Lind Interpretive Center. West is the author of the recently published Blind Your Ponies. One of his earlier novels, Amos: To Ride a Dead Horse, was adapted as a made-for-TV movie. His talk is open to the public without charge.

Blood Drive Seeks Donors... The Communication Studies Club is again sponsoring the semi-annual Red Cross Blood Drive, on Wednesday and Thursday, March 9 and 10, in Alumni Hall, from noon to 6 p.m. each day. The drive is open to the entire Gustavus community; faculty and staff are particularly invited to donate! Club members are signing donors up at a table outside the Evelyn Young Dining Room until Friday, March 4, or potential donors can sign up online at redcrossblood.org. Walk-ins are also welcome!

Dead Sea Scrolls Is Topic of Visiting Lecturer... Alex Jassen, Ph.D., assistant professor of Early Judaism in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota, will give a presentation titled "What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Are They So Important?" The lecture will take place on Thursday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Olin Hall 103. Jassen's research and teaching concentrates on the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient Judaism; he is a member of the international editorial team for the Dead Sea Scrolls. His lecture is sponsored by the Gustavus chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

'Bards in The Arb'... "Bards in the Arb" presents poet John Rezmerski (English, emeritus) reading from his most recent book of poetry, Breaking the Rules, Thursday, March 10, in the Lind Interpretive Center at 7 p.m. The reading is open to the public without charge.

'It All Starts with the Soil'... As part of an ongoing series of events relating to the College's 2010-11 Global Insight focus on food, Fred Kirschenmann, Ph.D., a longtime national and international leader in sustainable agriculture, will visit the campus on Friday March 11. He will lecture on "Food Security in a Changing World: Expanding the Vision of Sustainable Agriculture" at 2:30 p.m. in Olin Hall, Room 103. Kirschenmann holds appointments as Distinguished Fellow at the Aldo Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and as president of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. He also oversees management of his family's 3,500-acre certified organic farm in south-central North Dakota and is on the faculty of ISU's Department of Religion and Philosophy. In 2010 a book of his essays, Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher, was published.

'Building Bridges' Next Weekend... Students at Gustavus will host their 16th annual Building Bridges Conference on Saturday, March 12. This year’s conference, titled “I’m Not For Sale: Slavery Past and Present,” will provide an opportunity for attendees to engage in dialogue about the effects of the slave trade from a historical perspective as well as a modern-day one. Featured speakers for this year’s conference will be Joy DeGruy, Ph.D., author and assistant professor of social work at Portland State University, and Joy Friedman, a sex trafficking survivor who is women’s program manager for Minnesota-based Breaking Free, an organization whose mission is to educate and provide services to women and girls who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to the featured speakers, there will be workshop sessions in the afternoon and opportunities for attendees to take action by donating supplies and assembling care packages for women in the Breaking Free program. The conference is open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets are $10 per person, but are complimentary for college and high school students with a valid student I.D. as well as for Gustavus employees who have a valid I.D. For more information and to register for the conference, visit the conference website at gustavus.edu/diversity/buildingbridges or contact the Gustavus Diversity Center at 507-933-7449.

Guest Lecturer to Discuss Soviet Influence on Cuban Popular Culture... On Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in Confer Hall, Room 128, Professor Damaris Puñales-Alpízar, Ph.D., of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, will lecture on "Cuba: The Soviet Flavor of a Tropical Island" from the perspective of a visit 20 years later. Her talk, which is open to the public without charge, will center on Soviet influence on Cuban popular culture in the 1990s, particularly on the film industry. Her visit is sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies program.

'Guess Who’s Buried in Your Back Yard'... Nita Aasen is doing research on First Lutheran Church's Resurrection Cemetery. In that quest she has discovered some fascinating characters most of you never knew lived in our seemingly tranquil community. Come get acquainted with them at "Third Saturday @ the Arb" on March 19, one of series of spring semester events for Friends of Linnaeus Arboretum members. Everyone is welcome to this particular lecture at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 19, at the Melva Lind Interpretive Center.

 

Off-Campus Events of Interest

Free Blood Pressure Clinics... Good Samaritan Society Home Care will be offering free blood pressure clinics the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Econofoods in St. Peter, just outside the pharmacy.

 

Congregational Outreach

Retreats... This weekend there will be three confirmation retreats on campus. Jackson Lake Lutheran Church from Amboy, Minn., will be here from Friday to Saturday. St. John's Lutheran Church and Cross of Peace Lutheran Church from Bloomington, Minn., will be here on Saturday for the day. The final retreat is a group called the Wildfire group. This group consists of six churches from the metro area. They will also be here for the day on Saturday. The Confirmation Retreats program is a program coordinated by Church Relations that allows churches to bring their youth here to experience a day or night of worship, friends, and fun.

Events... Exploring Religious Questions starts its winter series next week. The topic is "God's Purpose and Our Role in the World." Darrell Jodock (religion) will be leading the class, which will meet every Monday night for four weeks, from 7 to 9 p.m. The dates for the class are Feb. 28 and March 7, 14, and 21. The class will be meet in Olin Hall, Room 103. Exploring Religious Questions is a program sponsored by the Office of Church Relations that allows people from campus and the local community to come and learn about topics that are relevant to today's world. Those interested in attending are asked to register through the Office of Church Relations (x7001).

We've Moved... The Office of Church Relations has moved into the Center of Servant Leadership in the Campus Center. Its offices are now where Linner Lounge used to be. Your keys for the guest house and retreat center can be picked up in Marilyn Beyer's new office.

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

 

Postal Pointers

Price Increase... Selected postal prices will increase on April 17, 2011. Single-piece, 1-ounce, First Class letters will remain 44 cents with additional ounces increased to 20 cents. The price for mailing a postcard will increase one cent. More detailed pricing information is online at www.usps.com/prices. If your department has 28-cent postcard stamps or 61-cent stamps, please use them by April 17, 2011. Excess stamps cannot be returned. Make-up stamps will be available at the College Post Office. If you have any questions, please contact Naomi Quiram (Print and Mail Services) at x7599 or nquiram@gustavus.edu.

 

Plugs

Car for Sale... 1993 Buick LeSabre Custom, 127,000 miles, new battery, good tires. Asking price $1,000. Please contact Terry at 507-665-6613.

Vacation Condo for Rent... Breezy Point Resort on Pelican Lake. 2 BR-2bath condo, June 24-July 1,2011; indoor pool and hot tub; great family resort; $850. Contact pwiggum@gustavus.edu.

Another Car for Sale... 2005 Saturn VUE V6 AWD. 92,000 miles. Excellent condition, all preventative maintenance performed, oil changed every 3,000 miles. 3.5 Liter Honda engine, runs great; 19/25 mpg. Power locks, 4-wheel ABS, power windows, power driver's seat, heated seats, roof rack, heavy duty floor and cargo mats, alloy wheels, 5-star crash rating. Kelley Blue Book is $8,500—selling for $8,000. Call Tyler at 507-469-8425 or Kathy at 507-933-6514.

"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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