This week’s Hotline! includes the following articles:

• President's Column: Marks of Distinction
• VCSU voice students watch alumna debut opera performance
• Viking Club Tennis takes first
• Fenster presents at Honoring Choices conference
• Van Gijssel attends EMGS annual meeting
• VanHorn and Ziniel attend CSTAND conference
• 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 3 p.m. the Friday before publication.

President's Column: Marks of Distinction

One of the many qualities I love about VCSU is our spirit of positive restlessness. What I mean by that phrase is that our campus is always looking to improve. This focus on continuous improvement is fueled by a deep desire to excel at teaching and learning. Perhaps our beginnings as a normal school infused that love for teaching and learning from the day we opened our doors in 1890.

We’re off to a great start this fall. We set records with our enrollment, and in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, we were once again named a U.S. News “Best College” and the “No. 1 Public Regional College in the Midwest!”

Last week we announced our fall enrollment numbers, and we set two records: one in total headcount with 1,522 students, and the other in undergraduate headcount with 1,372 students.

While it is always good to set records—and even better to break them—what is more important, of course, is that VCSU is providing a quality academic experience that meets the needs of today’s students. This happens with a lot of intentionality, dedication, and an ethic of care shared by all facets of our learning community, including students, faculty and staff. Indeed, our record enrollment is an indicator of the robust learning environment we create together.

Part of our enrollment story is that our freshman retention rate—the percentage of students who return for their second year—has increased each of the last five years. The efforts we have focused on student success and support are making a difference as we strive to deliver distinctive, learner-centered experiences.

For the third consecutive year, we’ve been ranked the “No. 1 Public Regional College in the Midwest” by U.S. News and World Report, this year sharing the title with the University of Minnesota Crookston. Inclusion in the rankings this fall means VCSU has now been ranked a U.S. News “Best College” for 20 consecutive years. Two decades of this distinction reflects our quality and the consistent effort it takes to deliver it; we’ve been able to sustain excellence over time—a hallmark of an outstanding organization!

U.S. News ranks colleges and universities according to their mission and, in some categories, by location. Schools are evaluated on a variety of criteria, including first-year retention rate, six-year graduation rates, educational spending per student, admissions selectivity, student-faculty ratio, class sizes, faculty resources, proportion of full-time faculty, alumni-giving rate and qualitative assessments by administrators at peer institutions.

The “Regional Colleges in the Midwest” category includes 80 ranked colleges and universities, including 13 public institutions, in 12 states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

I am fond of the saying “I was warmed by a fire I did not build.” Twenty years as a “Best College” reminds me of the strength and fortitude of a long line of dedicated faculty, staff, leaders, alumni, friends, and students. To all of them, I say thank you for carrying us to this juncture!

To our current community of learners, I say congratulations. Your work is inspirational and meaningful; I am so proud of you. Let us take a moment to celebrate the good work we do every day, and then, we will keep moving forward—adapting, adjusting, and innovating to create the best practices in teaching and learning for our students’ success. It is what we do; it is how we all row.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve among colleagues who strive to get better every day—another good reason why it is a great day to be a Viking!

Celebrate VCSU's accomplishments Sept. 26

Join us in celebrating our record enrollment numbers, No. 1 ranking in U.S. News & World Report and being a "Best College" for 20 consecutive years!

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, all are encouraged to wear VCSU gear - show your Viking Pride! Starting at 11 a.m. the pep band will march around campus gathering L2L groups along a scheduled route and end at the Cafeteria. All students, faculty and staff are invited to join in the march and all are welcome to enjoy a $5 All-American lunch in the Cafeteria from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Head over to the Gazebo at 2 p.m. for an ice cream social to top off our celebration.

VCSU voice students watch alumna debut opera performance

Five VCSU voice students traveled to Minot on Sept. 8, to attend a performance of Western Plains Opera Company’s performance of Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “Orpheus in the Underworld.”

Courtney Pederson, soprano, a recent graduate of VCSU and voice student of Robin Allebach, performed in her professional opera debut beside an international cast. The students who attended with Allebach were Mikey Meester, Kiara Muilenburg, Joseph Munowenyu, Jennifer Riemann, Rochelle Van Bruggen.

Viking Club Tennis takes first

The Viking Club Tennis team opened the 2017-2018 season with a 1st place finish at the first ever Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragon Invitational on Sept. 23.

The Vikings won all three matches Saturday including an exciting win over the NDSU Bison that came down to the last mixed doubles round. Seniors Dustin Miller and Paige Fettig came up big in the mixed doubles match, coming from behind to win 6-4 and pull out the overall team victory by a score of 26-22.

Saturday was also big for our freshmen Caitlyn Hunter, Breanna McDonald and Katie Clark, who all got their first individual match victories. Hunter went 3-0 as our women’s singles player while McDonald teamed with sophomore Emma Maguire to go 3-0 in the women’s doubles. Clark teamed with Dustin Miller for a win in mixed doubles.

The Viking Club Tennis team is at home this Saturday, Sept. 30, for the 9th Annual Viking Tennis Invitational with teams coming from Gustavus, NDSU, UND and MSUM. Play starts around 9 a.m. and will go throughout the day. Schedule will be posted this Friday on our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/groups/vikingclubtennis/.

Fenster presents at Honoring Choices conference

Emily Fenster, assistant professor of sociology, presented at an Honoring Choices North Dakota conference Sept. 18 in Fargo, N.D. The theme of the conference was “Improving Quality of Life: It Starts with Competent Caring Conversations.” Presenters provided examples of best practices in educational programs within the state that involve training future professionals to address end-of-life issues and advance care planning.

Fenster’s presentation was “Death & Dying: A Multidisciplinary Contemporary Perspective.” She shared resources and assignments that create opportunities for constructive learning through discomfort. In general, these kinds of experiences can help students enhance their empathy skills and make both personal and professional connections to challenging topics.

Honoring Choices North Dakota is a collaborative group of statewide community partners who have a shared vision of creating a culture across North Dakota where continuous (on-going) advance care planning is the standard of care and every individual’s informed preferences for care are documented and upheld.

Van Gijssel attends EMGS annual meeting

Hilde van Gijssel, Ph.D., attended the 48th annual meeting of the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS) Sept. 8-14 in Raleigh, N.C.

The focus of the meeting was on Environmental Health Sciences: Bridging the Gap between Exposure, Mechanism and Public Health. She attended many sessions dealing with translating basic research data into regulatory policy trying to make our environment a safer place to live. In addition, she was responsible for the Awards ceremony as part of her duties as the chair of the Awards and Honors committee.

VanHorn and Ziniel attend CSTAND conference

Shannon VanHorn, Ph.D., and Jonna Ziniel, Ph.D., attended the Communication, Speech, and Theatre Association of North Dakota’s conference, Sept. 14-16, at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Mandan.

As the past chair of the organization, VanHorn ran the board and business meetings in lieu of the chair, who had surgery during the conference. Additionally, she presented in the following panels: “Teaching Privilege to North Dakota Students,” “All ‘Hands’ on Deck: Using Board Games in the Classroom,” and “Tips for Surviving your First Year of College: How to Prepare High School Students for the College Experience.”

Ziniel also presented at the conference. Among her several panels were “Interpersonal Communication Strategies for Success In and Outside of the Classroom” and “Teaching Privilege to North Dakota Students,” both which were submitted to the regional conference for consideration.

Ziniel served as a respondent to the undergraduate research panel. Ziniel sits on the board of CSTAND as the university representative. If you are interested in participating in next year’s conference, or you have undergraduate student work that involves speech, communication, or theatre, please contact her. The conference is a wonderful opportunity for our students to present their research.

Both VanHorn and Ziniel attended a reception for VCSU alumni at the conference.

Viking sports update

Volleyball
Thursday: VCSU 3, Grace University 0
Friday: Bellevue University 3, VCSU 1
Saturday: VCSU 3, Dakota State 1
Viking Volleyball went 2-1 on its road trip this weekend, including its first NSAA victory of the season at Dakota State University. VCSU is now 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the NSAA. The Vikings are back home this weekend, hosting Viterbo University on Friday night and Waldorf University on Saturday afternoon.

Cross Country
Dennis Gonzalez placed 57th out of 472 runners and Grace Miller finished 123rd out of 404 women’s runners to lead VCSU at the large Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul on Saturday. The Viking men placed 28 of 44 teams and had the second-best finish of all NAIA schools competing. Read the complete recap at: www.vcsuvikings.com/article/2751.php

Baseball
Wednesday: Jamestown 15, VCSU 3
Saturday: Jamestown 12, VCSU 2
The Viking baseball team is now 1-2 overall this fall after a pair of losses to Jamestown this week. The Vikings host Mayville State on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Events
Sept. 25-26: Golf @ NSAA Conference Tournament (Bully Pulpit GC, Medora, N.D.)
Sept. 27: Baseball vs. Mayville State, 6 p.m.
Sept. 29: Volleyball vs. Viterbo University, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30: Volleyball vs. Waldorf University, 3 p.m.
Sept. 30: Baseball @ Viterbo University, 1/3 p.m.
Sept. 30: Football @ Waldorf University, 1 p.m.

What's Happening at VCSU and around Valley City ...

Monday, September 25
Viking golf NSAA Conference Tournament, Bully Pulpit Golf Course, Medora, N.D. (Day 2)
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot
5 p.m. Trap Shoot Fun Night, Valley City Trap Club

Tuesday, September 26
12:05 p.m. Rotary, VFW

Wednesday, September 27
noon Kiwanis, VC Town & Country Club
6 p.m. Viking baseball vs. Mayville State University, Charlie Brown Field

Thursday, September 28
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters, VCSU Norway Room
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot
8:30-10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, September 29
Yom Kippur begins at sundown
Payday
7 p.m. Viking volleyball vs. Viterbo University, Graichen Gymnasium

Saturday, September 30
1 p.m. Viking football @ Waldorf University, Forest City, Iowa
1 p.m. Viking baseball @ Viterbo University, LaCrosse, Wis.
3 p.m. Viking volleyball vs. Waldorf University, Graichen Gymnasium
3-5 p.m. Out of the Darkness Walk, Shelly Ellig Field

Sunday, October 1

Monday, October 2
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot

Tuesday, October 3
12:05 p.m. Rotary, VFW

Wednesday, October 4
noon Kiwanis, VC Town & Country Club
2-4 p.m. Ribbon cutting celebration at CHI Mercy Health Radiology Department, Mercy Hospital
6 p.m. Viking baseball @ University of Jamestown, Jamestown, N.D.
7 p.m. Viking volleyball @ Mayville State University, Mayville, N.D.

Thursday, October 5
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters, VCSU Norway Room
4 p.m. Farmers Market, Shopko parking lot
8:30-10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, October 6
Viking cross country @ Jimmie Invitational, Jamestown, N.D.
7 p.m. Viking volleyball vs Dickinson State University, Graichen Gymnasium
7:30 p.m. Faculty Rectal, Froemke Auditorium

Saturday, October 7
3 p.m. Ployhar honor band concert, Vangstad Auditorium
3 p.m. Viking football @ Dickinson State, Dickinson, N.D.
3 p.m. Viking volleyball vs. University of Jamestown, Graichen Gymnasium

Sunday, October 8