Welcome to the NSU News Update - providing information on events happening on campus or involving NSU students, staff and faculty.
To submit a news item, send it via email to NSUNews@northern.edu by 5 p.m. Thursday of the week before the announcement should run.
Environmental Club Meeting
The NSU Environmental Club is having their first meeting of the new semester on Monday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m. in the Jewett Regional Science Education Center room 233!
Join our Undergraduate Research Project!
We are looking for healthy individuals who are ready to set and crush their health or fitness goals. Get paired with a student personal trainer with a plan tailored to your needs, or just sign up to have your progress tracked with your own workout plan! Free body composition testing each month. Take this chance to meet your new year’s goals while helping NSU undergraduate researchers! Sign up to participate Friday, Jan. 31, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 1, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 2, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. at the Human Performance Lab in the Barnett Center. If you have any questions on our project, please contact Project Advisor Dr. Chelsee Shortt.
Noon Forums start Wednesday
The spring 2020 Noon Forums will kick off Wednesday, Jan. 29, at noon in the Williams Library Round Room with visiting Chinese pianist Dr. Pei-Lei Lin. Lin, an associate professor of music education at the University of Jinan, will present “Chinese Piano Music and Music Education.” The event is free and open to the public. Forums will continue throughout the semester at noon most Wednesdays in the library. Remaining topics are as follows:
- Feb. 5: Impeachment and Zombies (Ken Blanchard))
- Feb. 12: Northern and the Twitter Storm (Justin Fraase)
- Feb. 19: Justice and the Common Good (Brian Bengs)
- Feb. 26: Extended Realities (Instructional Design Team)
- March 4: Five Essential Films on Death and Dying (Steven Usitalo and Kristi Brownfield)
- March 11 and 18: No Forums
- March 25: The 2020 Legislative Session: What Just Happened? (Julie Johnson)
- April 1: Frodo, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? A Message of Hope for a Cynical Age (Jon Schaff)
- April 8: NSU Business Alumni and General Education: An Assessment of Perceived Relevance (Kristi Bockorny and Hannah Walters)
- April 15: Campus Collaboration Technology (Instructional Design Team)
- April 22: Dueling Ink II (Pen Pearson and Lysbeth Benkert-Rasmussen)
- April 29: The Last Lecture I’d Ever Give (Corey Klatt)
For more information, contact Dr. Art Marmorstein at 605-626-2608 or Art.Marmorstein@northern.edu.
International Pianist to Visit NSU
International pianist Dr. Pei-Lei Lin, assistant professor of piano at the University of Jinan in China, will perform a piano recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, in NSU’s Krikac Auditorium. The recital is free and open to the public. Also during her visit to Northern, Lin’s schedule will include:
- Wednesday, Jan. 29: Master class/presentation for all music students; 3-4 p.m.; Krikac Auditorium.
- Friday, Jan. 31: Teaching piano lessons and touring Northern campus; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 1: Speaking to Aberdeen Area Music Teachers at annual Piano Day/Piano Carnival; 1-3 p.m.; NSU Johnson Fine Arts Center.
On Thursday, Jan. 30, medical professionals and current students will share their experiences on and provide advice related to health-science school admissions interviews. The panel presentation will take place beginning at noon in the Rivett Foyer of the Jewett Regional Science Education Center. For more information, please contact Career Services.
‘Recent Works of Peter Kilian’ in JFAC Gallery
The art exhibition, “The Recent Works of Peter Kilian,” is now on display in the Johnson Fine Arts Center Gallery through Feb. 28. A reception will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. The display of recent works by Kilian, NSU professor of art, showcase a dedication to artistic technique and practice. “Plein-aire” paintings dynamically interpret landscapes from the Badlands National Park, where Kilian was the Artist in Residence during his fall 2015 sabbatical leave. Kilian’s artist statement explains, “Many of the landscape pictures in this exhibit were created in response to my study and work there.” The figure and portraits drawn from life emphasize Kilian’s skilled foundation in drawing. The time required to complete the observational drawings vary from 30 minutes to several hours, completed with the following media: graphite, ink, charcoal, pastel and watercolor.
Upcoming Faculty-Led Travel Programs
A few spots are still available for faculty-led study abroad programs this semester in Guatemala and Peru. Spend your spring break building a school on a service-learning program in Guatemala with Dominika Blum, Director of International Programs:
- Date: Spring Break, March 6-14, 2020
- This trip is a service learning experience!
- Relax at the Hobbitenango dream village
- Build a bottle school in a municipal of Tecpan
- Learn about the Guatemalan culture, people, history and civil war
- Visit Mayan ruins of Chwa Nim Ab’äj
Travel to Peru, have a once-in-a-lifetime experience and get credit for it with Drs. Erin Fouberg and Steven Usitalo:
- Date: June 3-June 13, 2020
- This program is about the history and geography of Peru!
- Explore one of the 7 Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu
- Experience Peru’s biodiversity with a guided hike and canoe trips through the Tambopata National Reserve in Peru’s Amazon
- Take in the natural beauty and rich history of the Sacred Valley of the Incas
- Explore the Amazon rainforest with a walk across a network of hanging bridges through the forest canopy.
If you are ready to embark on one or both of these incredible adventures fill out the application by clicking here. For more questions about these programs, email studyabroad@northern.edu.
College Days at Salvation Army
Wednesdays are college days at Aberdeen’s Salvation Army! Bread, sweets and fresh produce are available with a college ID. Please swing by the Salvation Army at 1003 Sixth Ave. S.W. and stop by the window.
Volunteer Opportunities with Avera
Current volunteer openings at Avera St Luke’s include:
ICU: Tuesday, 9 a.m.-noon; Thursday: noon-4 p.m. Duties include: Sit at the volunteer desk in the ICU waiting room. As visitors come, you press a button to allow the visitors to unlock the door to visit the patient. This is a good station that allows you to study or read while volunteering.
West Information desk: Thursday, 8 a.m.-noon; Thursday, noon-4 p.m. Duties include: Direct visitors to different areas of the hospital.
Cancer desk: Monday, 8 a.m.-noon; Tuesday, 8 a.m.-noon. Duties include: One volunteer is stationed at the front desk in the southeast lobby to meet and greet patients and visitors and direct them to different locations in the hospital. The other volunteer assists back in the Cancer Center. These duties consist of offering snacks, beverages and blankets to cancer patients; restocking the blanket warmer; stocking the coffee stations; escorting patients back to the infusion center; picking up dietary trays; and cleaning chairs/beds after patient use. These two volunteers can alternate job duties throughout the shift.
Surgery Waiting Room: Thursdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Medical/Surgical Floor: Monday, 9 a.m.-noon or noon-4 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-noon; Wednesday, 9 a.m.-noon; Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon or noon-4 p.m. Duties include: Sit at the volunteer desk by the elevator and waiting room. As visitors come, you greet visitors and director them to the room they are locating. This station allows you to study or read while volunteering.
Avera is also looking for any individuals who would like to be “on-call” and not have a weekly schedule. These individuals will cover for any volunteer who cannot cover their shift due to illness or being out of town.
As a potential new volunteer, you are always welcome to shadow a volunteer for a couple of hours to determine if you enjoy a particular work station prior to committing to a certain volunteer location.
Current volunteer openings at Avera Mother Joseph Manor include:
Ice Cream Parlor: Sundays, 1:15-3 p.m. Duties: Dish and serve ice cream to residents and visitors.
Reading to Residents: Anytime in the morning or from 3-4 p.m.
Visit with Residents: Any time during the week.
Happy Hour: Fridays 1:30-3 p.m. Duties: Serve wine or beer to residents in the dining room.
Play piano: Anytime during the week.
Visit with residents one on one: Anytime during the week.
NSU-Primrose Arts and Lecture Series
The 2019-20 NSU-Primrose Arts and Lecture Series will take place Tuesdays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. throughout the academic year at Aberdeen's Primrose Retirement Community, located at 1701 Third Avenue S.E. Presenters and topics are as follows:
Feb. 11: "The Worst Hard Times: The 1930s Depression in South Dakota"; presented by Dr. Ric Dias, Professor of History.
March 10: "Jazz through the Decades"; presented by Mr. Fritz Hemke, Assistant Professor of Music.
April 14: "Talkin’ like the Bard: Demystifying Shakespeare’s Language"; presented by Dr. Kane Anderson, Assistant Professor of Theatre.
Feminist Club Presents ‘Vagina Monologues’
Northern's Feminist Club is looking for volunteers for a performance of “Vagina Monologues” on Feb. 14. This episodic play, written by Eve Ensler, explores the female experience through the eyes of women of various ages, races, sexualities, etc. Volunteers would choose a piece to perform (alone or with others) and attend two-three rehearsals. If you’re interested in volunteering, viewing the script or acquiring more information, email President Mar Fesler.
Scholarship Invitational
The annual School of Fine Arts Scholarship Invitational will be Feb. 21-22 in the Johnson Fine Arts Center. Registrations for the event, open to high school seniors, are preferred by Friday, Feb. 14; however, applications are accepted at any time, and arrangements may be made for individual student visits throughout the spring semester. For more information, click here, call 605-626-2497 or email Laura.Haar@northern.edu or Jani.Kovach@northern.edu.
Alternative Spring Break
This year, Alternative Spring Break is traveling to Denver to work in urban agriculture and food insecurity. All students are invited to apply! For more information, email Megan Frewaldt.
Spring Break Power Outage Planned
There is an essential campus power outage scheduled for the weekend of March 7-8, 2020 (spring break). We ask that you please begin the process of planning for how this outage may affect your individual areas and students. More information on the outage will be shared after the holidays.
Undergraduate Competitive Research Grant
Northern State University is now accepting applications for the 2020 Undergraduate Competitive Research Grant. Students can receive up to $2,500 toward their independent research project for the 2020-21 academic year. To increase research engagement across campus, our new format now creates an option for multiple awardees. Students from all majors and disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applicants must design a formal research project under the mentorship of a faculty member. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Monday, March 30. For details on how to apply, please download the “Request for Proposal” by visiting myNSU -> Academics -> Undergraduate Research. For questions, please contact our undergraduate research coordinator at andrew.russell@northern.edu.
Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creativity Forum
The annual NSU Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creativity Forum is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, in Beulah Williams Library. All students participating in scholarly activity are invited to participate. Submissions of abstracts are due April 15. For more information about presenting your scholarly activity and submitting abstracts, visit the NSU Undergraduate Research webpage or email Dr. Andrew Russell.
Intramurals and Recreation
This semester, yoga is offered Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Dacotah Gym, lower studio. Zumba is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Dacotah Gym lower studio. The golfing simulator is now open for use to all students and staff. Email NSU Intramural and Recreation G.A. Steven McKee to set a tee time. Clubs are available for use; you are welcome to bring in your own as well. New Intramural and E-gaming offers this semester are up on IMLeagues. Register and sign up today, or email Steven McKee to sign up!
Recital, Art Exhibition Forms
Students: If you have a senior recital or art exhibition coming up, please fill out a form so NSU Communications and Marketing can help you promote your event. A link to the art exhibition form can be found on the art department webpage, and a link to the recital form can be found on the music department webpage. For any questions, please email communications@northern.edu.
Faculty/Staff Ticket Pricing:
NSU Athletics offers the following ticket pricing for Northern faculty and staff:
- 50 percent off single-game general admission ticket (price varies with each event)
- Buy one at regular price, get one free general admission season ticket (soccer, volleyball, football, wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball are all ticketed)
- Regular price: $300
- 50 percent off reserved season tickets (section A only – chair back seats for basketball)
- Regular price: $400
- Faculty/staff price: $200
- You will receive a Wolves Club season ticket book with individual tickets for each game!
- Faculty with children can have adjacent chair back seats (in section A) reserved for their kids upon signing them up for Wolves Buddies - $40 per child, $99 for three or more kids.
Contact Austin Hieb at 605-228-9514 or wolvesclub@northern.edu, or stop by the Barnett Center to sign up and select your seats – automatic payroll deduction is available!
Name Tag Orders
NSU Communications and Marketing orders name tags for employees once a month. To request a name tag for the next campus-wide order, fill out this online form.
Wolves Helping the Community
Don’t forget: If you’re volunteering in the community or elsewhere, click here to submit your volunteer hours!
Upcoming Wolves Events
Check out upcoming Wolves events at the NSU Wolves Game Day webpage or athletics calendar.