This week's Hotline! includes the following articles:

• President’s Column: Sustained growth through comprehensive enrollment strategy
• Bluegrass jam at museum Saturday
• VCSU represented at Legislative Showcase at Capitol
• Da Vinha, Bennett co-author book chapter
• VCSU singers win at N.D. NATS auditions
• Moser attends business and economics conference
• Woehl, Ziniel attend gen ed summit
• Mircsov attends art and theory education conference
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…

The VCSU Hotline! online newsletter is published every Monday. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 3 p.m. the Friday before publication.

Sustained growth through comprehensive enrollment strategy

Greetings from Valley City State University!

I’m very proud to have joined the wonderful team here at VCSU where student welfare and success, both in and out of the classroom, are top priorities. Our focus on these priorities, coupled with quality programs, students, faculty, and staff, have placed us on a steady growth track that continues this year.

Our 2018 fall enrollment at VCSU was 1,547 students, an all-time record! How does this happen? I can assure you it is not by accident, but rather very intentional. Students have many choices and opportunities in pursuing higher education, so it is incumbent upon us to help identify our niche and clearly communicate with prospective students their opportunities for success here.

The overall enrollment strategy is part of the strategic plan to grow the university to meet the needs of North Dakota and beyond. This goal includes strategies for marketing, strategic student recruitment, retention and persistence, and program development to increase opportunities for growth.

It starts with quality. Delivering and providing top-quality programs, courses, and co-curricular opportunities attract and retain students. As quality increases, quantity typically follows suit. Just as retention is a multi-faceted, campus-wide effort, so is recruiting. The work of our Enrollment Services Office, led by Charlene Stenson, is never done. Identifying and reaching out to student prospects, aligning them with potential areas of study, encouraging an on-campus visit, arranging appointments for them with faculty and coaches, providing informative and engaging campus tours, and helping them envision themselves as members of the VCSU and Valley City communities are important elements of our admissions efforts, all of which help students and families make their decisions when choosing a university.

Strategic enrollment planning continues to be a focus of the President’s Cabinet and the entire campus community. Peter Smithhisler, vice president for student affairs, and an enrollment management team from across the university regularly monitor our progress toward enrollment goals throughout the academic year, and at this time of the year, that becomes almost a daily task. This intentional effort—assisted by faculty and staff in all areas of campus—plays a crucial role in our growth and retention efforts.

Valley City State University wants to be the university of choice for students today, tomorrow and beyond. I believe the success of this university depends on all of us working together, and I think our motto “We All Row” does a great job of recognizing the need for a collective effort.

Go Vikings!

Bluegrass jam at museum Saturday

The monthly Valley City bluegrass jam session will be held on Saturday, April 13, from 1–5 p.m. at the Barnes County Museum. The acoustic-only jam is free and open to the public; all levels of bluegrass musicians are welcome.

The event is sponsored by the Barnes County Museum and the Bluegrass Association of North Dakota (B.A.N.D.). For more information, call John Andrus at 701-762-4891.

VCSU represented at Legislative Showcase at Capitol

A group of 10 students, faculty and staff, including President Alan LaFave, represented VCSU at the biennial Legislative Showcase held at the Capitol in Bismarck on March 27.

Sponsored by the Public Affairs Council of the North Dakota University System (NDUS), the showcase provides an opportunity for the 11 NDUS institutions to share information about their respective colleges and universities with North Dakota legislators, state employees and Capitol visitors.

VCSU fisheries and wildlife science students Ellen Anderson and Ethan Rasset shared their research on North Dakota fishes, and education students Nicole Geltel, Paige Gould, Macey Schuler gave demonstrations with a Sphero robot and and merge cubes using their iPads.

Harmony Richman, instructor in the School of Education and Graduate Studies, assisted the education students, and Julee Russell, professor of language and literature, presented posters on Blackboard Ally and OER usage at VCSU.

Also part of the VCSU contingent were Jerilyn Beckman, digital media specialist, and Greg Vanney, director of marketing and communications.

Da Vinha, Bennett co-author book chapter

Luis da Vinha, associate professor of geography and political science, and Madeline Bennett, VCSU student SOAR recipient, co-authored a chapter in the book “(Re)Definições das Fronteiras: Desafios para o Século XXI” [trans. “(Re)Defining Borders: Challenges for the 21st Century”] edited by Luciano Barros and Fernando Ludwig. The chapter, titled “Assessing State Partition as a Conflict Management Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa”, analyzes the conflict dynamics resulting from the creation of Eritrea and South Sudan.

The international community has endorsed territorial partition on several occasions in recent history to separate belligerent factions and as an attempt to secure a peaceful settlement to intrastate conflicts. The underlying rationale underscoring calls for partition is that only the physical separation of warring groups can assure of a lasting peace settlement. The African continent has been particularly ravaged by intrastate conflicts over the decades. However, while the international community has sought to actively address the conflicts in Africa, it has been reluctant to sponsor or endorse partition as a mechanism for managing intrastate war. With the exceptions of Ethiopia (creation of Eritrea in 1993) and Sudan (creation of South Sudan in 2011), partition has not been a viable option for addressing the conflicts which have scourged the continent for over half a century. The chapter reviews the cases of Eritrea and South Sudan and assesses the viability of partition as a conflict management strategy.

The paper is the result of the research carried out by the authors in their collaboration in Bennett’s 2018 SOAR project and da Vinha’s participation in the Group of Advanced Studies on Peace and International Conflict (Federal University of Tocantins, Brazil).

More information about the book can be found at www.uc.pt/feuc/article?key=a-526d134360.

VCSU singers win at N.D. NATS auditions

A group of VCSU singers participated in the North Dakota National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) auditions held Saturday, April 6, in Jamestown.

VCSU winners included Rochelle Van Bruggen (1st place, Senior Women), William Egan (1st place, Freshmen Men) and Mikey Meester (2nd place, Sophomore Men), all music majors.

Angelana Quanbeck, a future VCSU Viking, also fared well (1st place, High School Women, and 1st place, High School Musical Theater Women).

The VCSU group also included Isaac Samuels and Cheyenne Claeys, finalists, along with Farren Rowan, accompanist. The singers are all applied voice students of Robin Allebach, instructor of music.

Moser attends business and economics conference

Jeff Moser, DBA, assistant professor and chair of the VCSU Department of Business, participated in the 2019 spring conference of the International Academy of Business and Economics (IABE) from March 3-5 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

During the conference, Moser presented his research topic “Leadership Member Exchange Theory: A Predictor of Team Member Cohesion” to a peer review panel, attended presentations on various management and marketing topics and connected with fellow scholars.

Moser’s “Leadership Member Exchange Theory: A Predictor of Team Member Cohesion” has been published in the International Journal of Business Strategy (IJBS). The IJBS is a refereed publication of the Academy of International Business and Economics.

Woehl, Ziniel attend gen ed summit

Katie Woehl, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, and Jonna Ziniel, Ph.D., associate professor of communication arts, attended the North Dakota General Education Council (NDGEC) Spring Summit on Friday, March 29, on the North Dakota State College of Science campus in Wahpeton.

The summit focused on how general education is discussed and implemented in the technical degree programs; summit participants viewed demonstrations and engaged in discussion with faculty and students in the Emergency Medical Services, Diesel Mechanics, and RAMT (Robotics, Automation and Mechatronics) programs. Following the summit, Ziniel and Woehl participated in the NDGEC council meeting, where Woehl is finishing her term as council secretary.

Mircsov attends art and theory education conference

Angela Mircsov, MFA, assistant professor of art, presented at the Foundation Art Theory and Education conference in Columbus, Ohio, April 4-6.

Mircsov presented her paper on “Fresh Start” focusing on empathy in the classroom and making students feel apart of a community in higher education. She also chaired the panel “Technology in the Classroom! Taking Away Resources or Provide Teaching Moments?,” starting the discussion on how we control cell phone usage in the classroom. Her last panel was “Finding Mentors for Our Students and Ourselves?! How We Ask for Help?!," going through the process on how we as faculty teach our students about mentors and how we look for help in our pedagogy.

Mircsov also attended the Integrative Teaching International FATE Catalyst on April 3, focusing on how to make art/design courses more relevant to current and incoming students.

Viking sports update

Softball
Saturday: VCSU 9, Bellevue 6; Bellevue 7, VCSU 4
Sunday: VCSU 2, Bellevue 1; VCSU 12, Bellevue 0
The No. 9-ranked Valley City State softball team went 3-1 this weekend to win a four-game series with Bellevue University. The Vikings are now 31-2 overall this season and 11-1 in the NSAA. VCSU leads the NSAA standings by three games.

Baseball
Thursday: VCSU 6, Minnesota-Morris 3
Saturday: Bellevue 13, VCSU 0; VCSU 2, Bellevue 1
Sunday: Bellevue 22, VCSU 3; Bellevue 11, VCSU 8
The Valley City State baseball team went 2-3 this week, including a 2-1 victory over Bellevue University – the first conference loss of the season for the Bruins. Valley City State is now 9-14 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

Track & Field
Kyle Odegard qualified for nationals in javelin and won the Dordt College Invite on Saturday after his top throw of 57.50 meters (188 feet, 8 inches). That mark hits the NAIA “A” standard and qualifies Odegard for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships May 23-25 in Gulf Shores, Ala. Odegard is the fifth Viking to qualify for nationals so far this season. View complete results from the Dordt College Invite at www.vcsuvikings.com/stats/2018-19/Track_&_Field/dordtoutdoor_results_2019.pdf.

Upcoming Events
April 9: Baseball vs. Mayville State, 2/5 p.m. (Location TBD)
April 12-13: Track & Field @ Sioux City Relays (Sioux City, Iowa)
April 13: Softball vs. Viterbo University, 1/3 p.m.
April 13: Baseball @ Viterbo University, 1/4 p.m. (La Crosse, Wis.)
April 14: Softball vs. Viterbo University, 11 a.m./1 p.m.
April 14: Baseball @ Viterbo University, 12/3 p.m. (La Crosse, Wis.)
April 14-15: Golf @ Iowa Central Spring Invite (Fort Dodge, Iowa)

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

Monday, April 8
Spring Blast Week
National Student Employee Appreciation Week

Tuesday, April 9
10 a.m.–4 p.m. National Library Week Event—Spring Craft Extravaganza, Allen Memorial Library
noon Interviewing Workshop, Student Center Norway Room
12:05 p.m. Rotary, Student Center Student Senate Room

Wednesday, April 10
noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club
1–3 p.m. National Library Week Event—Re-Discover the Makerspace! VCSU Art Club produced mural reveal, Allen Memorial Library

Thursday, April 11
Region V and Region II Music Contests on VCSU campus
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
8 a.m–5 p.m. National Library Week Event—Stump the Librarian for a Treat, Allen Memorial Library
9 a.m. National Library Week Event—Doughnuts & Coffee, Allen Memorial Library
noon Toastmasters, Student Center Norway Room
8:30–10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, April 12
Viking Visit Day
VCSU Scholarship Auction, 5 p.m. social and silent auction, 6 p.m. buffet dinner, 7 p.m. live auction, Valley City Eagles Club
7:30 p.m. Broadway Bound, Froemke Auditorium

Saturday, April 13

Sunday, April 14
Palm Sunday

Monday, April 15
Payday

Tuesday, April 16
11 a.m. General Student Recital, Froemke Auditorium
12:05 p.m. Rotary, Student Center Student Senate Room

Wednesday, April 17
noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club

Thursday, April 18
7 a.m. Optimists, Vicky’s Viking Room
noon Toastmasters, VCSU Norway Room
8:30–10:30 p.m. Vikings for Christ, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, April 19
Good Friday
Passover begins at sundown
No VCSU classes, offices closed

Saturday, April 20
5–7 p.m. Debbie Miller SVFA Fundraiser—“Wags & Whiskers,” Valley City Eagles Club

Sunday, April 21
Easter
Wrangler Team Roping, ND Winter Show Event Center

Go to www.valleycitynd.org/calendar.php to see more events happening in and around Valley City.