Report to State Board of Higher Education March 2016
President’s Column
opportunity to visit with VCSU legacy student Tayler
Lentz.
From Our Own Backyard:
A Legacy Student
of Distinction
Tayler is a junior majoring in elementary education and
a Viking football player. His dad, Mike ’88, also played
football for VCSU as did his brother Cameron ’13. His
brother Jared is a freshman this year and a member of
our golf team, and his mom, Kathy, M.Ed. ’07, holds a
VCSU master’s degree.
Tisa Mason, Ed.D., CAE
I love our founding story—the
rallying of the city behind
the cause, the providing of a
location, and the funding to
begin the work of providing a
college education for our citizens. It is a story about
beginnings, vision, and action. It is a story about
people making a difference. It reminds me of Margaret
Meade’s quote: “Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Today that college founded by a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens is thriving. Quality
reports from accreditation teams and a multitude
of national rankings declare that VCSU is making a
difference in a big way. Enrollment is strong. Students
come to VCSU because they what to be part of a
community of learners. They want to feel valued. They
want to contribute. They want to learn and develop
the skills so that they, too, can go out and make a
difference in the world—just as our alumni have done.
Our alumni have made a huge impact on the state. They
are our teachers, state leaders, our medical providers,
entrepreneurs, and conservation professionals working
to protect our state’s natural resources. And they are
moms and dads. At VCSU we have a special group of
students who are VCSU legacies. Recently I had the
According to Tayler, family outings to VCSU athletic
events are a longstanding family tradition. Even though
he enjoyed the games, he thought he would eventually
go away to college—after all isn’t going away to college
part of growing up? Can you really go away to college in
your own backyard? According to Tayler, the answer is a
definite yes.
Tayler loves VCSU. He is doing well academically, and
he enjoys being a student-athlete and a member of the
National Society for Leadership and Success. He was
surprised to learn how quickly immersed one gets in
the college environment and how different it is from
high school. He loves how friendly the students are—
committed to supporting and helping one another—and
how easy it is to stop by and visit with his professors,
who enjoy speaking with students like him and are
really invested in their success.
I love the fact that Tayler, like many of our students,
found his home-away-from-home right in “his own
backyard” and that he is thriving. He offers this advice
to new students: live on campus, be open to everyone
and everything, and don’t be afraid to make a fool of
yourself. (He’s no fool!)
Tayler’s mom, Kathy, a great teacher at Washington
Elementary here in Valley City, has been a big influence
on his decision to become a teacher. This semester
Tayler is doing a practicum at Washington, and that
experience is confirming for him that indeed teaching
is his calling and, like his mom, the way he will use his
talents to change the world.
Tayler shared with me how exhilarating it is to teach.
Just the other day he was helping a young student with
math. It was important to explain the math problem
several ways so the student could understand the
process through his own perspective. After sharing
several different explanations, the proverbial light bulb
lit up. The student became very excited and so did
Tayler—and that’s why thoughtful, committed Tayler will
thrive as a teacher and make a difference, one student
at a time.
Because of the special connections with legacy
families like the Lentzes, we’ve created a new Legacy
Scholarship for incoming freshmen with a family
member holding a VCSU degree.
That’s a way to grow our family—and yet another reason
that it’s a great day to be a Viking!
VCSU: A Learner-Centered Organization
One of the many aspects I love about VCSU is that our
focus is not only on students, we are also focused on
being a learner-centered organization. It’s about each
of us—students, administrative assistants, service
workers, staff, professors, and president—becoming
better versions of ourselves while contributing to a
better VCSU every day.
A learner-centered organization focuses on a culture
which respects inquiry, risk-taking, and experimentation
while embracing the notion that the best thinking
happens in community. I love Benjamin Franklin’s quote
“If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”
Learner-centered organizations are also focused on the
creation of new knowledge and on innovation, a core
value at VCSU. Because we expand our capacity as
learners, new fields emerge and new majors are created
to respond to those emerging new careers. In fact, the
U.S. Department of Labor indicates that 65 percent
of today’s school children will eventually be employed
in jobs that have not even been imagined! To prepare
future students for a career which has not even been
created is a daunting task which will require nimble,
innovative, learner-centered universities like VCSU.
I learn every day by paying attention and listening to
students, staff, and faculty. Learning is not necessarily
one-directional. I know faculty will tell you that they
learn from their students constantly and that students
learn much from their peers, not just from professors.
Here are several other examples of learning in action at
VCSU:
•Two faculty members are working with a group
of students to create a unique honors program
called SAIL: Support for Advancing Impassioned
Learners. Through their collaborative work they are
researching and creating a new model for gifted
students that breaks barriers and creates new
learning opportunities.
•Andre DeLorme, Ph.D., professor and chair of the
Department of Science; Casey Williams, Ph.D.,
assistant professor; and Louis Wieland, lab
manager, along with 16 VCSU fisheries and wildlife
science students, attended the 2016 annual
meeting of the Dakota Chapter of the American
Fisheries Society (AFS) in Spearfish, S.D., from Feb.
1–3. The annual meeting provides an opportunity
for professors to keep current on fisheries science
issues and provides learning and networking
opportunities for students.
•Facing a serious budget cut of more than $1.6
million, VCSU responded by engaging in a series of
cascading meetings involving many people to help
us strategically and responsibly respond to the cuts
while protecting our core. That took listening, trust,
and collaboration.
•Erin Klingenberg, Ph.D., LPCC, NCC—VCSU director
of counseling services—attended the North
Dakota Counseling Association (NDCA) mid-winter
conference in Bismarck, N.D., Feb. 14–16. She
presented “Ethics and the Law for the Professional
Counselor in North Dakota.” Additionally, Erin
serves as ethics chair for the NDCA and the North
Dakota Mental Health Counselors Association.
•Each year students are invited to participate in
our SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic
Research) program. Students selected for the
program work with a professor on a project that
typically draws from multiple disciplines. These
impressive faculty-student collaborations not
only create new knowledge and strengthen
relationships, the students also receive a $1,000
stipend!
•This fall I met monthly with the presidents of
the faculty, staff, and student senates to read
and discuss the book The Advantage: Why
Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in
Business. Those discussions helped me think both
differently and more deeply about leading VCSU.
•Our students often engage in community service
projects. When those experiences are tied to a
learner-centered approach, students enter the
project with a deeper understanding of the issue
the service project is designed to address and
then follow up the activity with more profound
conversations on what they learned. That learning
process develops “engaged citizens prepared
to lead in an increasingly complex and diverse
world”—VCSU’s mission.
•Last week university leaders spent time thinking
and talking about how we lead together—what we
do well and how we can improve both individually
and collectively. Those conversations took courage
and authentic communication. I learned a lot about
myself and about the team.
John F. Kennedy once said “Leadership and learning
are indispensable to one another.” I agree, and I’m
excited to discover such a learner-centered approach
thriving at VCSU—another reason why it’s a great day to
be a Viking!
Faculty Senate
Anthony Dutton
Spring brings a welcome
change to the pace of campus
and an infusion of energy for all
of us. Longer, warmer days are
a relief for students and faculty
who are deep into the school
year, and spring break always
promises a little time to catch
up on work, spend time with
family, and recharge before that last big push to finals.
It is a time of optimism…with an edge. This is also an
incredibly busy part of the year on campus.
Classes are just past the midterm point, and students’
projects are well underway. Faculty tenure and
promotion reviews are complete, and the results are
soon to be revealed. Assignments and grading are
going at full clip, keeping everyone busy. At VCSU, we
are also in the midst of a strategic enrollment planning
process in order to assess how we are reaching out
to prospective students as well as how we serve the
students already enrolled. There is no rest if we are to
get everything done, and so even though campus is
much quieter during spring break, the work never ends.
Still, there is a plenty to look forward to. In Valley City,
this is also the season for the Winter Show, providing
entertainment, rodeo and a wide variety of foods both
fried or on a stick. Spring means the baseball, softball
and track teams will all be making their way outside,
and our picturesque campus will be greening up with
every passing week. This season sometimes means
flooding across North Dakota, and Valley City has seen
its share, but this year there is no concern, and our
brand new flood wall will be complete this summer. And
did I mention the longer, warmer days?
Staff Senate
Kaleen Peterson
Staff at VCSU are currently
having some fun over Spring
Break week playing Secret
Viking while the campus is
quiet. Small gifts are secretly
exchanged among colleagues
each day of the week, with
a reveal party on Friday
afternoon. This is the third
time Staff Senate has sponsored Secret Viking, though
it changes a little bit each time, and 20 staff members
are participating.
VCSU Staff Senate is in the midst of planning the
Employee Recognition Dinner. In conjunction with the
President’s Office, Staff Senate helps to create the
annual evening event to recognize employees for years
of service, retirements, and more. Last year, President
Tisa Mason included acknowledgment of other honors
such as Faculty Excellence Awards and staff Difference
Maker and Employee of the Quarter Awards. Feedback
from last year’s banquet was positve, so we intend to
make similar plans this year.
Staff Senate has continued the process of analyzing the
results from the latest Employee Satisfaction Survey.
Considering all of the statistical data, staff comments
within the survey, and feedback from broadband
group meetings last month, we are working to compile
actionable ideas to present to Cabinet for possible
implementation.
The Viking Pride Committee continues their work to
increase a sense of the Viking culture around campus.
Since this group had to be fiscally creative to begin with
(i.e., there is no budget for them), the recent financial
news has not hampered efforts. Suggestions for fun
competitions between offices and departments have
been explored along with continual discussions with
whomever might have an idea to unite campus in a
positive way.
VCSU Staff Senate’s Difference Makers campaign is
still going strong, with a new staff winner chosen each
month by a different office. Surprising co-workers
with a “good job!” and a “someone notices your
hard work” is just as satisfying for Staff Senate
and subcommittee members as it is for the person
receiving the award.
All is going well at VCSU, and our Staff Senate
continues to support what we can and embrace any
new idea we can run with.
Student Senate
Madelyn Zane
One of our primary roles as
Student Senate is to be the
voice for our student body
and to advocate for their
needs at Valley City State
University.
In order to do that
effectively, it’s important
that we know what the opinions of our constituents
are. One way that we try to do that at Student Senate
is to hold weekly sessions called Wednesday Table
Time. Each Wednesday, a small group of senators
is present at a table in the Student Center to talk
about any number of important student issues and
to gather concerns from our classmates.
We bring a central issue each week to the discussion
to spark conversation. Some of our recent topics
include student safety, student activities, online
grade input, social issues (including Special
Olympics: Spread the Word to End the Word), and
spring break safety.
We use this student input to help us address the key
concerns on campus and to prioritize our activities
and funding. Each of us who spends time at the
table makes sure that we are talking to a variety of
students to ensure that our input and perspectives
are inclusive of all students. Information that we
learn at Wednesday Table Time is brought to our
Student Senate meeting the next Monday.
This is just one of the ways that we try to be the voice
for VCSU students.
VCSU faculty who attended the eLearning Conference in Arizona
include James Boe, Diane Burr, Shannon VanHorn, Angie
Williams, Julee Russell and Amber Aberle.
VCSU faculty attend and present
at eLearning conference
Six faculty represented VCSU at the 2016 eLearning
Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., Feb. 14–17. This is
one of the top conferences for faculty, administrators
and instructional designers to learn about best
practices and challenges associated with distance
learning.
Angie Williams, VCSU assistant professor of
HPE, presented “GoPro as an Assessment Tool
for Students and Pre-service Teachers.” Her
presentation discussed the use of GoPro cameras as
an assessment tool for students, gathering program
data and using it with social media platforms to
communicate with university supervisors.
VCSU Instructional Design team members Amber
Aberle, James Boe, Diane Burr, Julee Russell and
Shannon VanHorn presented “Summer Teaching
Academy: Training Faculty in Pedagogy and Best
Practices.” The presentation discussed the summer
academy and how it provides a platform for faculty to
learn more about sound pedagogical practices, while
blending instructional technology and innovation into
their teaching.
In addition, faculty members attended sessions on
universal access, course design, open educational
resources, instructional technology, apps,
course retention, and policies regarding faculty
development, learning management systems
orientation and course templates.
Knowledge gained from this conference will be used
as a focus for the 2016 Summer Teaching Academy
here at VCSU.