This week’s Hotline! includes the following articles …

• 5th Winter Commencement to be held Thursday, Dec. 19
• Whitney art exhibition, “Grand Entry - Regalia,” opens Monday
• Cannon selected to participate in Praxis reading test study
• Viking sports update
• What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City …

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

5th Winter Commencement to be held Thursday, Dec. 19

VCSU will hold its fifth Winter Commencement on Thursday, Dec. 19, at 3:30 p.m. in Vangstad Auditorium.

The undergraduate student reflection will be presented by Autumn Johnson of Hazen, N.D., graduating on Thursday with a major in history and minor in political science.

Faculty speaker is Joan Oigawa Aus, associate professor of education and chair of the elementary education and English language learners programs at VCSU. Aus has taught at the university since 2000; in spring 2019, she received the Faculty Excellence Award for Senior Faculty.

Read more at www.vcsu.edu/news/10801/5th-winter-commencement-to-be-held-thursday-dec-19.

Whitney art exhibition, “Grand Entry - Regalia,” opens Monday

“Grand Entry - Regalia,” an art exhibit by visiting artist, Linda Whitney, professor emerita of art, will be on display in McCarthy Gallery, Dec. 16 - Jan. 27. An artist talk and closing reception will be held Jan. 16 from 4-5:30 p.m. in McCarthy 356. An alternate date of Jan. 23, 2020, has been set in case of inclement weather.

Whitney won the Prize for Originality and for Breaking Classical Boundaries at the Fifth International Mezzotint Festival held in Ekaterinburg, Russia, in August 2019. Seven of her mezzotints were accepted for the Open Competition exhibition including “Red Fancy Shawl Dancer” (pictured), which is featured in the exhibition at VCSU.

Cannon selected to participate in Praxis reading test study

Yvonne Cannon, instructor in the School of Education and Graduate Studies, was selected by the North Dakota Educational Standard and Practices Board to participate in a multi-state standard-setting study for the Praxis Reading Specialist test conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Cannon will travel to ETS’s Princeton, N.J., campus at the end of January 2020 to contribute to this important work.

Viking sports update

Men’s Basketball
Dec. 9: VCSU 112, Oak Hills 58
Dec. 11: Dakota Wesleyan 79, VCSU 51
The VCSU men’s basketball team went 1-1 last week, picking up their second win of the season with a victory over Oak Hills Christian College. The Vikings are now 2-11 overall.

Free admission to Dec. 18 basketball game
VCSU athletics is offering free admission for all fans to the men’s basketball game on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The Vikings host University of Maine at Fort Kent for a 7 p.m. game. Instead of a gate fee, the athletic department is accepting donations for the Barnes County Food Pantry. Fans are asked to bring their donation items to the game, and the athletic department will take care of delivering those items to the food pantry.

Upcoming Events
Dec. 18: Men’s Basketball vs. Univ. of Maine at Fort Kent, 7 p.m. (Free Admission)
Dec. 28: Women’s Basketball at Briar Cliff Tournament, 1 p.m. (Sioux City, Iowa)
Dec. 29: Women’s Basketball at Briar Cliff Tournament, 5:30 p.m. (Sioux City, Iowa)

What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City …

Monday, December 16
Finals Week

Tuesday, December 17
12:05 p.m. Rotary, Student Center
6:30 p.m. In Knots Crochet club, VCBC public library

Wednesday, December 18
noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club

Thursday, December 19
3:30 p.m. Winter Commencement, Vangstad Auditorium

Friday, December 20

Saturday, December 21
First Day of Winter

Sunday, December 22
Hanukkah begins at sundown

Monday, December 23

Tuesday, December 24

Wednesday, December 25
Christmas Day

Thursday, December 26
Kwanzaa begins
Boxing Day (Canada)

Friday, December 27

Saturday, December 28

Sunday, December 29

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