| VCSU Faculty and Staff Newsletter, The Hotline! | Oct 10th, 2016
This week’s Hotline! includes the following articles: • President’s Column: Coming Home
• Lindgren named Staff Member of Quarter
• Veterans Band to perform in Vangstad Thursday
• Difference Maker Awards presented to Buchholz, Roelfsema
• Freshman honor society receives award
• Da Vinha published in Journal of Policy History
• Participate in VCSU clothing swap
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…
The VCSU Hotline! online newsletter is published every Monday during the academic year. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 4 p.m. the Friday before publication. President’s Column: Coming Home  Whether going home for the holidays or attending a class reunion, coming home is such a special time to rekindle relationships, share joyful (and sometimes mischievous) memories, and take time to reflect on our growth. A university, like a family, provides roots for that growth. And like a family, there is often a lot of planning, preparation, and heart that surround the tradition of coming home.
Thank you so much to everyone who created a wonderful VCSU homecoming celebration! I loved catching up with alumni such as Hilbert “Si” Seiwert ’42, who has traveled from California to come home to Valley City for more from more than 20 consecutive years; visiting with our dedicated and gracious alumni president, Greta (Trader) Delparte ’06; and meeting Athletic Hall of Famer Lloyd Joseph ’92, who beamed with VCSU pride and shared many big, authentic hugs! There were so many outstanding people, memories, and relationships to celebrate.
Homecoming also provides us with an extra-special opportunity to recognize our alumni through our award programs. Celebrating their success is very important to us; in fact, if you pay special attention to our mission, our work with our students is not really measured by their success while they are students. Our mission is about preparing our students to be leaders, educators, and engaged citizens. Thus the true measure of our success is how our alumni live their lives after they graduate—how they serve their professions and their communities.
Our award recipients delivered big on our mission! Their accomplishments and generosity were truly inspiring and their impact profound. The stories of their contributions, in large part rooted in the strong relationships developed at VCSU, were recounted over and over again. For example, Dale Hogie ’78, Minnesota Region IV Superintendent of the Year, shared, “The small college atmosphere fostered relationships that continued through the first 20 years of my career.” Sarah (Baertsch) Lutz ’05 said, “I will always remember my teaching professors who took their time to build positive relationships with each of their students. I thrived during my courses because of high expectations, smaller classes, and the love for teaching displayed by each of my professors.” Story after story, memory after memory, tears followed by laughter and vice versa—the stories reaffirmed that the relentless focus of our faculty and staff result in engaged citizens making a difference.
While there are many powerful pathways of college student involvement—undergraduate research, student government and organizations, campus employment, and practicums, among others—one pathway remains very public: that of the student-athlete. When a student chooses to be an athlete, he or she agrees de facto to be a public figure for both celebration and a higher level of scrutiny than most students. We therefore look to our student-athletes to demonstrate our university values by how they practice and play, by how they demonstrate character on and off the field, and by their success in the classroom. Indeed, it is often through the personal stories of athletes that we as human beings seek and find inspiration because their personal stories often involve grit and determination, perseverance, and triumph over adversity. That is why I arrived at my first VCSU Athletic Hall of Fame banquet “on the edge of my seat,” and that’s where I remained as the recipients came forward, humbly accepted their awards, and shared their perspectives on their life journeys. The stories were indeed brimming with inspiration and life-changing moments.
To our alumni, thank you for living your lives with character and generosity, and for demonstrating every day the value of a VCSU degree through your service to your profession and to your local and global communities. To our faculty and staff, thank you for nurturing our students and helping them amplify their talents and strengthen their roots. Together, we deliver on the VCSU promise and make a difference in the world. Coming home makes it an extra-special day to be a Viking!
Lindgren named Staff Member of Quarter  Misty Lindgren, Graduate Studies administrative assistant, has been named Staff Member of the Quarter.
Her nominations included the following statements: “Misty is one of the most hardworking, thorough, and customer-friendly employees I have ever had the opportunity to work with.…It is a pleasure working with a hardworking, knowledgeable, thoughtful, problem-solving employee.” “Misty Lindgren is invaluable to VCSU and to my position.” “Although she is in a split position between graduate studies, continuing education and distance education and faculty development, she is able to multitask and handles her responsibilities for each program well. She is flexible and able to adapt to any job she is given and will often provide feedback/suggestions to improve workflow.” “The graduate faculty would be lost without Misty, myself included. She knows the answer to every question I’ve ever asked. She is indispensable and frankly irreplaceable.”
Thanks for all you do, Misty; congratulations on this award! Veterans Band to perform in Vangstad Thursday  The Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band will perform in Vangstad Auditorium on the VCSU campus this Thursday, Oct. 13, at 8:10 p.m.
The mission of the all-volunteer, nonprofit band is to promote patriotism through music. In addition to patriotic marches and anthems, the band also performs show tunes, swing, jazz and rock and roll.
The concert is open to the public free of charge. Difference Maker awards presented to Buchholz, Roelfsema  Staff Senate representatives Kelli Heath and Becky Sundstrom recently joined in presenting Difference Maker Awards to Erica Buchholz, controller, and Stephanie Roelfsema, director for residence life.
Buchholz was nominated for the award by the VCSU Foundation and Alumni Office. Her nomination read, in part, “Our office works with Erica on a daily basis. She always has a positive can-do attitude. Erica takes pride in her work, pays attention to detail and responds to questions quickly. We appreciate our working relationship with Erica….”
Roelfsema was nominated by the President’s Office; her nomination included the following: “Steph has been instrumental in welcoming our new AD and his family. She and her family have gone above and beyond spending time with the Stewart family, orienting them to the campus and community, and providing them the best hospitality VCSU has to offer. Stephanie has also been working to evolve the L2L freshman experience into the best it can be for our incoming freshmen since taking on duties as director of that program.”
Congratulations, Erica and Stephanie. Freshman honor society receives award  The VCSU chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta has received the Delta Award from the National Council of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society for First-Year Students.
The Delta Award recognizes those chapters whose membership increased dramatically in the past year. At its April 3, 2016, ceremony, the VCSU chapter initiated 34 new members, a 31 percent increase in membership over the previous year’s initiate class.
Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society for students who have maintained a 3.5 or higher GPA and who rank in the top 20 percent of their class during their first year or term of higher education. The society’s purpose is to encourage superior academic achievement among students during their first year of study.
Margaret Dahlberg, VCSU vice president for academic affairs, serves as faculty advisor for Alpha Lambda Delta; Kaleen Peterson, assistant director for enrollment services, is administrative advisor for the group. Participate in VCSU clothing swap  In past years Staff Senate has sponsored professional clothing sales and Viking Pride clothing sales. This year we decided to try something different. Whether your closet is packed with Viking gear or it’s in need of some additional VCSU items, this clothing swap is for you!
The week of Oct. 17–21 you can drop off any VCSU gear, accessories or clothing at the Student Center Info Desk or at Kelli Heath’s office (McFarland 208).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 25–26 we will have it all displayed in the Alumni Room for staff and faculty to “shop” for items they like!
We don’t care if you bring 10 items and take 2 or if you don’t bring anything and take 5—the idea is to help share our Viking Pride and give some of our gear a new life across campus!
If you have questions or thoughts, please talk to Kelli or Brooke. Viking sports update  Football
Saturday: VCSU 21, Mayville State 15
The Viking football team defeated Mayville State this weekend at Mayville. VCSU improves to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. It was the 116th career win for VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch, which ties him with former coach Jim Dew for the most wins in program history.
Volleyball
Wednesday: VCSU 3, Mayville State 1
Friday: No. 19 University of Jamestown 3, VCSU 0
Saturday: Dickinson State 3, VCSU 1
The Valley City State volleyball team went 1-2 this week as the Vikings wrapped up the first round of conference play with a 7-14 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the North Star Athletic Association.
Cross Country
Viking cross country ran strong times Friday at the Jimmie Cross Country Invite, held just north of Jamestown. Dennis Gonzalez led the Vikings with a 12th-place finish at the meet. Complete results can be found at www.vcsuvikings.com/article/2389.php.
Basketball
The VCSU men’s and women’s basketball teams have officially started practice, preparing for season-opening games in the next two weeks. The Viking men open the season by hosting Brandon University on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. (They will also play Brandon at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16.) The Viking women will open by hosting Brandon University on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m
Upcoming Events
Oct. 14: Volleyball vs Morningside College, 6 p.m.
Oct. 15: Volleyball @ Mayville State Tournament, 11 a.m./1 p.m.
Oct. 15: Football @ Dakota State University, 4 p.m.
Oct. 15: Men’s Basketball vs. Brandon University, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16: Men’s Basketball vs. Brandon University, 2 p.m. What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City… Monday, October 10
Columbus Day
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud Visitor Center parking lot
7 p.m. “Economics of Happiness” film, Room 102, Rhoades Science Center
Tuesday, October 11
Yom Kippur begins at sundown
12:05–1:05 pm Valley City Rotary Club, VFW
7 p.m. Candidate Forum, Hi-Liner Activity Center
Wednesday, October 12
noon–1 p.m. Kiwanis Meeting, Valley City Country Club
Thursday, October 13
7 a.m. Optimists Club meeting, Vickie’s Viking Room
noon “Economics of Happiness” film, Valley City Barnes County Public Library
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot
8:10 p.m. Concert, Red River Valley Veterans Concert Band, Vangstad Auditorium
Friday, October 14
Payday
6 p.m. Viking volleyball vs. Morningside College, Graichen Gymnasium
Saturday, October 15
11 a.m. Viking volleyball vs. Dakota Wesleyan University, Mayville, N.D.
1 p.m. Viking volleyball vs. Grace University, Mayville, N.D.
4 p.m. Viking football @ Dakota State University, Madison, S.D.
7 p.m. Viking men’s basketball vs. Brandon University, Osmon Fieldhouse
Sunday, October 16
2 p.m. Viking men’s basketball vs. Brandon University, Osmon Fieldhouse
Monday, October 17
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud Visitor Center parking lot
Tuesday, October 18
12:05–1:05 p.m. Rotary Club meeting, VFW
Wednesday, October 19
noon–1 p.m. Kiwanis Meeting, Valley City Country Club
Thursday, October 20
7 a.m. Optimists Club meeting, Vickie’s Viking Room
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot
Friday, October 21
7 p.m. Viking volleyball @ Bellevue University (Omaha, Neb.)
Saturday, October 22
Viking cross country at Mt. Marty Invitational (Yankton, S.D.)
1 p.m. Viking football vs. Presentation College, Shelly Ellig Field at Lokken Stadium
3 p.m. Viking volleyball @ Dakota State University (Madison, S.D.)
7 p.m. Viking women’s basketball vs. Brandon University, Osmon Fieldhouse
Sunday, October 23
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