This week’s Hotline! includes the following articles…

• President’s Column: Successful week of meetings and travel
• Exhibit, reception and film screening to highlight women’s suffrage on Tuesday
• VCSU at NDSU students volunteer at Horace Family Fun Night
• VanHorn participates in NCA Leadership Retreat
• Baughman presents poster at psychology convention
• 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.

President’s Column: Successful week of meetings and travel

Greetings from Valley City State University!

As I was traversing back and forth between Bismarck, Valley City, Fargo and Jamestown this past week, I came to the realization that I’m really getting to know Interstate 94 very well! Remembering the heavy winter weather last year at this time, it also made me thankful for the generally good travel conditions, except for a windy day last Thursday.

Being a campus president in a university system provides many opportunities and responsibilities. One of those for me lately has been serving on the search committee for the next president of Bismarck State College. This has been a very interesting and enjoyable experience. I’ve gotten to know members of the faculty, staff, student body and alumni base at BSC during this process and have been warmly welcomed as an outside member of the committee. The folks I’ve interacted with truly exhibit North Dakota friendliness and hospitality, and I’ve enjoyed my time working with them.

Having spent Monday and Tuesday in Bismarck, I traveled back to Valley City on Tuesday evening and then was off to Fargo on Wednesday to meet on details regarding VCSU’s upcoming $25 million capital campaign, which was recently approved by the State Board of Higher Education. (More details will follow on this in one of my upcoming columns.) It was back to Bismarck on Thursday for the final BSC presidency interview and then back to Valley City that evening. On Saturday I was excited to travel to Fargo to visit and meet with the Oarsmen Club as they were participating in their annual fundraiser for VCSU Viking Football. The excitement and passion of this group is contagious!

Of course, mixed in with these travels were some of the ongoing meetings, discussions and efforts to continue our work and planning for quality at VCSU. Our President’s Cabinet — the university’s leadership team — met for a half-day planning session to review progress on each of the presidential and institutional goals related to our strategic plan.

This is one of the many things I value about VCSU. Many institutions spend many hours creating strategic plans and then place them on the shelf to collect dust, but that’s not the case at VCSU. We review, update and revise the plans to ensure that efforts to meet the needs of students, faculty, staff, the campus and community are moving forward.

Additionally, I want to assure the public that VCSU officials are working closely with the Valley City Public Schools, city and county officials, North Dakota University System, North Dakota Department of Health and the campus to closely monitor the rapidly changing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. While the risk of this virus in the United States, along with the impact to VCSU and North Dakota, remains relatively low at this time, we continue to prepare for a potential outbreak. Our emergency management team and Health Services Office are following this very closely and providing regular updates to our campus community. We will continue to work with all constituents and have a plan in place should the need arise to address the situation locally.

Finally, I am continuously amazed at the beauty of North Dakota. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. The wide-open spaces and vistas are amazing. The air is clean and crisp…and something we should not take for granted.

Go Vikings!

Exhibit, reception and film screening to highlight women’s suffrage on Tuesday

An exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States, “100 Years of Votes for Women,” will run in VCSU’s Allen Memorial Library from March 9-13.

An opening reception will be held in the library on Tuesday, March 10, from 5:30-6:30 p.m., with a showing of the documentary film “One Woman, One Vote,” to follow in the Student Center Skoal Room. The film provides an overview of the woman’s suffrage movement. A discussion will follow the film presentation.

The event is sponsored by Allen Memorial Library, the VCSU Art Department, the North Dakota Women’s Network and the “What in the Word Is Going On?” group.

VCSU at NDSU students volunteer at Horace Family Fun Night

Nine VCSU at NDSU elementary education students — under the guidance of Yvonne Cannon, assistant professor in the VCSU School of Education and Graduate Studies — volunteered at the Horace (N.D.) Elementary Family Fun night on Feb. 21.

An annual fundraiser sponsored by the Horace Elementary Parent Teacher Organization., Family Fun Night included a carnival atmosphere where the VCSU preservice teachers assisted with face painting, book walks, selling concessions, and assisting students and families in engaging and hands-on activities.

Pictured are (front, l to r) Cannon, Sara Phan, Jenny Thor, Ana Wermager; (back) Olivia Davidson, Abby Rogish, Rose Noland, Jessica Schmidt, Sasha Hyatt, Hayley Smith.

VanHorn participates in NCA Leadership Retreat

Shannon VanHorn, Ph.D., professor in the Communication Arts Department, attended the National Communication Association Leadership Retreat, Feb. 27-28, in Hyattsville, Md.

VanHorn chairs the NCA Teaching and Learning Council. Additionally, she is a member of the Executive Committee, the association’s governing committee.

At the retreat, the Executive Committee, along with members of its five governing councils, met to plan for the upcoming year, as well as develop leadership skills and strategies.

Baughman presents poster at psychology convention

Kiersten Baughman, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, presented a poster with a former student at the annual convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in New Orleans, La., on Feb. 28. The poster, “Constantly Connected: The Effects of Personal and Anonymous Social Media on Levels of Anxiety,” drew attention from academics at all stages of their education, including undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.

This study is the first experimental manipulation of time spent on various social media platforms to measure change in anxiety across time. The project revealed that spending minimal time (1-2 hours per day) on sites where a person’s true identity can remain masked — “anonymous social media” such as blog sites, Reddit, Pinterest — can act as a buffer against mental health problems, as participants reported significantly less anxiety after two weeks. The project also demonstrated a trend for those who spent 3-4 hours per day on sites where they revealed their identities — “personal social media” such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn — to report higher anxiety after two weeks. This research will be published in an upcoming edition of the Berkeley Journal of Undergraduate Research this summer.

Viking sports update

Track & Field
VCSU’s Travis Joseph won a national title in the high jump Friday as the VCSU track and field team enjoyed a successful weekend at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Joseph cleared 2.10 meters (6-10.75) to win the men’s high jump competition and earn All-American honors. He was one of three All-Americans for VCSU, joined by Zachary Co (6th place, men’s shot put) and Bryeann Robertson (8th place, women’s shot put).
Day 1 Recap: http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/3724
Day 2 Recap: http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/3725

Softball
March 5: VCSU 7, Mount Marty College 5; Madonna University 10, VCSU 0
March 6: Northwestern College 14, VCSU 10; VCSU 11, Jarvis Christian College 0
The VCSU softball team has posted a 2-2 record so far during its spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. The Vikings are now 5-11 overall. VCSU’s two games on Sunday were canceled due to rain. The Vikings will wrap up the trip with two games on Monday.

Baseball
March 6: Midland University 5, VCSU 4 (13 innings)
The Viking baseball team opened its spring season with a 13-inning marathon game Friday, falling 5-4 to Midland University. The game was played at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The second scheduled game was suspended after three innings due to time limit. VCSU and Midland were scheduled to play two more games Sunday morning, but Midland University cancelled those games out of precaution due to concern about the COVID-19 virus in its Nebraska community. VCSU baseball will now travel to Tucson, Ariz., for seven games from March 11-17.

Upcoming Events
March 9: Softball @ Tucson, Ariz.
March 11-17: Baseball @ Tucson Ariz.

What's going on at VCSU and around Valley City...

Monday, March 9
Viking softball @ Tucson, Ariz.

Tuesday, March 10
Women’s Suffrage exhibition opens “100 Years of Votes for Women”, VCSU Allen Memorial Library (March 9-13)
5:30-6:30 p.m. Documentary film showing “One Woman, One Vote”, Student Center Skoal Room
5:30 p.m. Sheyenne Valley Friends of Animals meeting, Our Saviors Lutheran Church, VC
12 p.m. Rotary Club, VCSU
9:10 p.m. VCAB weekly meeting

Wednesday, March 11
Viking baseball @ Tucson, Ariz. (March 11-17)
12 p.m. Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club
6 p.m. Barnes County Wildlife Federation meeting, VC Eagles

Thursday, March 12
7:30 a.m. Optimist Club, Vicky’s Viking Room
6:30 p.m. In Knots Crochet, VCBC Public Library
8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Viking For Christ meeting, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, March 13

Saturday, March 14
2nd Annual Java Jump

Sunday, March 15

Monday, March 16
Spring Break Week

Tuesday, March 17
12 p.m. Rotary Club, VCSU
9:10 p.m. VCAB weekly meeting

Wednesday, March 18
12 p.m. Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club

Thursday, March 19
7:30 a.m. Optimist Club, Vicky’s Viking Room
6:30 p.m. In Knots Crochet, VCBC Public Library
8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Viking For Christ meeting, Student Center Skoal Room

Friday, March 20

Saturday, March 21

Sunday, March 22

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