This week's Hotline! includes the following articles…

• President’s column: Planning, activities and collaboration
• Cole named ‘Staff Member of the Quarter’
• Smithhisler names to the University Benchmark Project Advisory Board

The VCSU Hotline! online newsletter is publishing every two weeks during our summer months. Deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 3 p.m. Friday.

President’s column: Planning, activities, and collaboration

Greetings from Valley City State University!

Many outside higher education might think that the summer months on a college campus are slower paced, but folks on the inside know better. While the atmosphere is certainly different this summer on campus without students, faculty, camps and in-person workshops, we are moving forward at an increased pace with a myriad of projects and planning efforts.

We recently sent a message to students detailing what they should expect when they return to our campus late next month. This includes some of the many protocols that will be in place to insure the continued health and safety of our community. We described the additional personal protective equipment that will be made available for all, new ways of handling food service and dining options, and a synchronous remote-delivery option available for all face-to-face classes.

We know that as the COVID-19 situation evolves, we will need to be prepared to adjust as needed. All of our students will be tested prior to the beginning of the semester. In fact, many of our student-athletes will be tested beginning later this month through the start of the school year. The NAIA continues to update guidance and recommendations for a successful return to fall sports and is committed to minimizing health risks to student-athletes and staff.

Part of our planning includes continued participation with the NDUS Small College Task Force. This sub-group reports concerns, questions and recommendations back to the overall NDUS task force. We have found these weekly meetings very helpful in sharing best practices and addressing common challenges and concerns.

The NDUS task force, in direct contact and dialogue with the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH), is led by Dr. Joshua Wynne, chief health strategist for the State of North Dakota.

On a local level, we continue to have twice weekly meetings with our Pandemic Response Team to address issues and challenges specific to VCSU. At our last meeting, we were fortunate to be joined by Jennifer Schmidt, NDDoH field epidemiologist, who shared her thoughts and perspectives on our reopening plan. With her thorough knowledge of the COVID-19 situation, she was able to answer many questions and provide advice.

We continue to also participate in the weekly City-County Health updates led by Theresa Will and sincerely appreciate the guidance, support and collaboration with this valuable group.

What an impressive job the National Guard and City-County Health leaders did in hosting the COVID-19 testing event last week. There was much interest and great participation in the event, and the organization and professionalism of all involved came shining through. We are fortunate to have such dedicated folks leading these efforts here in Valley City and all across North Dakota.

In the midst of all of these meetings and planning sessions, we continue to look to our future. The upcoming VCSU President’s Cabinet retreat provides campus leaders with an opportunity to envision and strategize for the university’s short- and long-term viability. This year’s retreat will focus on strategic planning, budgeting, and student-success initiatives.

To say we are excited to welcome students back to campus is very much an understatement. We believe we are stronger together, and we plan to continue providing high-quality, student-centered learning opportunities for all VCSU students.

Go Vikings!

Cole named ‘Staff Member of the Quarter’

Teresa Cole, administrative assistant for the Department of Technology, was recently named “Staff Member of the Quarter.”

Her nomination read, in part, “I believe Teresa should be recognized as Staff Member of the Quarter for VCSU. Teresa demonstrated a firm desire to help me meet student needs during the COVID-19 changes of spring 2020. Specifically, Tech 161 went from a face-to-face lab science course to a distance online course. The students in two sections of Tech 161 had four remaining labs to complete for the semester. After discussion and collaboration with Teresa, we decided on the labs to use for the remaining four units. She immediately took to action as our kit coordinator, and ordered materials and supplies, created individual lab kits, printed individual shipping labels and finally shipped labs to students across the United States. …She provided exceptional service to our department and the faculty and students of Tech 161 during the second half of the 2020 spring semester, and she continues to complete a myriad of duties in a timely, effective and efficient manner. Teresa is very dependable and her leadership has certainly benefited all students and faculty affiliated with the technology education department. If not for her contribution this spring, students in Tech 161 would not have been able to experience a lab science course from afar.”

Congratulations, Teresa!

Smithhisler named to the University Benchmark Project Advisory Board

Pete Smithhisler, VCSU vice president for student affairs, has been appointed to the national advisory board for the University Benchmark Project (UBP) for the 2020-21 academic year.

UBP, a partnership of the University of Wisconsin-Stout and the National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute, provides four-year institutions with unit-level data from comparator and aspirational peers, enabling members to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Advisory board members are responsible for reviewing and evaluating unit metrics, marketing to peer institutions, and providing overall advisory support for the project. Smithhisler was selected to join the board because of his leadership in the field and his long-standing commitment to promoting the use of data for continuous institutional improvement.

For more information on UBP, visit universitybenchmarking.org/.