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.
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:
- 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.
Instructional Design: Spring 2020 Faculty and Staff Development
Spring 2020 faculty and staff development offered by Instructional Design includes trainings on D2L, productivity tools, multimedia, teaching strategies for the face-to-face and online classrooms, and more. These sessions will be held in the TC 15 computer lab, with a Zoom option for distance faculty, and last roughly 15-20 minutes plus time for questions.
To register, please complete the Registration Form using your Northern email login. You will receive an email with reminders and Zoom links (if appropriate) to add your selections to your Outlook calendar.
Faculty and staff development training topics are listed below:
Films-on-demand: March 17; 8:30 a.m.; TC 15; The Northern library offers access to 70,000+ independent films and documentaries for use in the face-to-face and online classrooms. Learn how to access and take advantage of this resource!
OneDrive/Google Drive in D2L: March 26; 1 p.m.; TC 15; Some of your favorite cloud applications are now integrated in D2L. Learn where they are and how to use them to the best effect in your course.
Text Expander: March 30; 8:30 a.m.; TC 15; Save time, and your wrists, by leveraging text expanders to help with repetitive typing.
Basics of Copyright in Higher Ed: April 9; 10 a.m. ; TC 15; This training covers the basics of copyright and what it means for faculty, staff and students.
Small Teaching Strategies: April 17; noon; TC 15; Learn new teaching strategies based on how students are hardwired to learn. Strategies come from several texts focused on brain-based research.
Quizlet: April 23; 9 a.m.; TC 15; Quizlet allows you to organize key terms and facts into virtual notecards, which students can use to study and learn!
O365 Planner: April 28; 11 a.m.; TC 15; Learn about an innovative organization tool that allows for project management, task assignments, discussions, file sharing, and more with O365 Planner.
Submitting Grades in Banner: May 7; 2:30 p.m.; TC 15; Learn how to submit grades in Banner.
For a one-on-one session, please email D2L@northern.edu or stop by TC159.
Study Abroad Spring Fair
Students: Come learn about study abroad opportunities at the NSU Study Abroad Spring Fair! The event will be held on Wednesday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center mall.
Northern Lights Launch
Dallas Johnson, Editor-in-Chief, and her editorial crew will launch the 2020 issue of “Northern Lights” in the Lincoln Gallery on Wednesday, March 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. Please join us for the celebration! Appetizers and beverages will be served. Students who worked on the magazine and/or whose work will be published include Caitlin Pollitt, Nathan Berg, Kelson Brewer, Madi Filber, Maray Larson, Brelynn Komrosky, Danae Becker, Makaela Moser, Amanda Sorensen, Karlie Spiry, Joy Marmorstein, Teia Holmstrom, Ann Scott, Danielle Notz, Levi Stern, Changming Yuan, Fanting Hu, Suya Wang and Elizabeth Hofer.
State Health Assessment Community Conversation
The South Dakota Department of Health is collecting comprehensive data on the health concerns experienced by South Dakotans. Community members are invited to provide input into the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan at a community conversation event, set for 4:30-5:30 p.m. March 19 at the K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library, 215 Fourth Ave. S.E. For more information, contact Alicyn Even or Sandra Melstad.
Harlem Globetrotters Discount Tickets
NSU students and staff are eligible for discount tickets to the upcoming Harlem Globetrotters event, set for 7 p.m. April 1 in the Barnett Center. Save up to $16 per ticket, for a cost of $23.50 for general seating or $66.50 for courtside. The deadline to order discounted tickets is March 28. To order, click here and use the promo code DAVID, or contact David Jimenez at 678-497-1852 or DJimenez@harlemglobetrotters.com.
Northern Edge Award
The Northern Edge Award is a new funding opportunity starting in spring 2020. This award was designed to augment existing funding sources for undergraduate scholarship at NSU. It is especially intended to aid student projects in under-represented disciplines and/or projects that may not be eligible/competitive for other funding opportunities on campus (i.e. student travel grants, or the Competitive Research Grant). Faculty-mentored projects may receive up to $1,000 that can be used for traditional research expenses or discipline-specific costs such as travel for performances/exhibits. The application process is more stream-lined, but still requires a budget detail and narrative. The application deadline is 5 p.m. March 30. For more information on how students can apply for this award, please visit myNSU->NSU Student->Academics->Undergraduate Research. For questions, contact NSU Undergraduate Research Coordinator Andrew Russell.
Submissions Wanted for ‘Paint the Town’
Art submissions are currently being taken for the Paint the Town Project, a downtown crosswalk art initiative in Aberdeen. The project involves three categories: high school, college and community artists. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners of the high school and college categories! Artists must submit their design in the medium of acrylic painting by March 31. For more information, click here.
Swim Instructors Needed
The Northern Swim Program is starting its first year of swim lessons and is looking for swim instructors to teach the community how to swim! The following positions are open:
- Swim Lesson Coordinator/Assistant Coach: This position will entail organizing all of the swim lesson registrations, hiring and training instructors, and overseeing the day-to-day swim lesson operations; promote the program through social media and within the community; assist with practice planning and implementation with the NSU swim team; assist with swim meet operations and other duties as assigned.
- Instructors: This position requires swim lesson teaching experience or competitive swim lesson experience. The individual must commit to a full session with no more than two days of conflict, and also must make a lesson plan every day.
For more information, contact Madison Samples, Mikaela Waiflein or Nicole Monanian.
Nominations for Outstanding Faculty
Northern State University is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. To recognize our faculty’s commitment to excellence, we are pleased to announce nominations are open for two outstanding faculty awards:
- NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award
- NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award
We invite you to nominate faculty members for these awards. Nominations are welcome from any member of the Northern community, and letters may be written by an individual person or a group of individuals. Nominations from students are always welcome. All nominations are due by 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 20, 2020.
To nominate a full-time teaching faculty member for the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award or the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award, please send a compelling letter of nomination to Judy Lapka in Academic Affairs (judy.lapka@northern.edu).
- In the letter, please indicate the specific award for which you are nominating the person and the specific reasons for the nomination.
- Please save the file name in this format:
Award[Excellence or EarlyCareer]_FacultlastnameFacultyfirstname_Nominatorlastname
For example, a nomination for faculty member Katherine Watson for the NSU Faculty Excellence award written by nominator John Keating would be: Excellence_WatsonKatherine_Keating
- Email the nomination letter as a file attachment (PDF or Word) to Judy Lapka (judy.lapka@northern.edu).
- Nominations must be received from the NSU email address of the nominator. Nominations from email addresses other than the nominator’s will not be accepted.
- The deadline for the receipt of nomination letters for both awards is 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 20, 2020.
Award Criteria:
The NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award recognizes faculty for excellence in teaching and learning, a sustained commitment to faculty service, and achievements in research and creativity within their discipline.
- Nominees may be at the rank of professor, associate professor, instructor, or lecturer and must have served a minimum of six years as a member of the NSU teaching faculty. Someone who is in their seventh year is eligible; someone who has completed fewer than six years of teaching service at Northern is not.
- Nominees must have a stellar record of teaching and advising, must have been significantly and consistently involved in a variety of service roles through department, college/school, university, and/or community service activities; and need to be meaningfully engaged in research and creativity in their discipline.
- Any full-time faculty member who has not received this award (or the formerly named outstanding faculty member award) previously and who meets the number of years of service requirement is eligible for this award.
- In addition to a monetary award ($1,000), the recipient receives a commemorative award from the NSU Foundation.
- Current NSU faculty who already won the Outstanding Faculty Member award (see list below) are not eligible to win the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award.
The NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award is presented to an early career full-time faculty member who demonstrates a strong record and commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service.
- Nominees must be at the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, instructor or lecturer who has between two and six years of full-time teaching service at Northern. Someone who is in their sixth year is eligible; someone who has already completed six years of service is not. Please make sure the individual you are nominating for the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award is eligible.
- Nominees must have a strong record of teaching and advising; begun contributing to the research and creative activity in their discipline; and will have demonstrated a commitment to service in the department, college/school, or university.
- In addition to the monetary award ($1,000), the recipient receives two Wolves Club tickets to NSU athletic events for the next academic year (Wolves Club tickets cannot be resold and are not transferrable).
Selection Process:
A committee of nine, including: four deans (or their designees); the three most recent NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award winners (or Outstanding Faculty Member award winners) who are still actively teaching at Northern; the Vice President for Academic Affairs; and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs will review all nominations and select the recipients of both awards as a committee.
Winners of both awards will be recognized at the NSU spring commencement. By tradition, the winner of the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award will deliver the commencement address at Northern’s winter commencement. The winner of the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award will deliver the Wolf Talk during new student orientation in August. If either recipient is not available to deliver said address, the other recipient will be invited to do so.
Questions? Please direct questions to Dr. Erin Fouberg, erin.fouberg@northern.edu or 605-626-3456.
Recent NSU Outstanding Faculty Member Award Recipients
2019 Greg Blair
2018 Peter Ramey
2017 Courtney Waid-Lindberg
2016 Anthony Wachs
2015 Sara Schmidt
2014 Sara Christensen Blair
2013 Alyssa Kiesow
2012 Daniel Yurgaitis
2011 Erin Fouberg
2010 Robin Rosenthal
2009 Peter Kilian
2008 Gayle Bortnem
2007 Paul Everson
2006 William Wieland
2005 Jon Schaff
2004 Jon Lim
2003 Jeff Jay
2002 Grant Manhart
2001 Lysbeth Benkert-Rasmussen
2000 Ken Blanchard
1999 Connie Geier
1998 Ric Dias
1997 Abid Elkhader
1996 David Grettler
Noon Forums Continue March 25
Spring 2020 Noon Forums take place at noon most Wednesdays in the Williams Library Round Room. Forums are free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:
- 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.
Sixth Annual Lamont-Rhodes Lecture
The sixth annual Lamont-Rhodes Lecture will be held in the Johnson Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, March 31. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social, and the lecture starts at 6:30 p.m. This year’s speaker is Damian Mason, a businessman, agriculturist, speaker, podcaster, writer and consultant. Tickets for the March 31 event are $20 per person or $125 for a group of eight. Register online or RSVP to the NSU Foundation at 605-626-2550 or nsualumni@northern.edu.
Beach Boys Tribute Concert
The Aberdeen Community Concert Association Presents “Sail On-Beach Boys Tribute Concert” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in the Johnson Fine Arts Center’s Jewett Theater. NSU students are admitted free with student ID to the concert, which is co-sponsored by the NSU School of Fine Arts. For more information, click here or call 605-228-0946.
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.
AUCS to Present ‘Wizard of Oz’
The Aberdeen University-Civic Symphony will present “The Wizard of Oz” on April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and April 26 at 3 p.m. in the Johnson Fine Arts Center Harvey and Cynthia Jewett Theater. The performance will feature the original music of Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart. The classic compositions will be performed live by the Aberdeen University-Civic Symphony, directed by Christopher Stanichar, with the re-mastered film projected on the big screen alongside the AUCS performance. Tickets will range from $15-40 with sales beginning at noon on Mar. 2. Tickets are available online here or at the JFAC Box Office. Box office hours are noon-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; phone number is 605-626-2900, email nsuboxoce@northern.edu. The box office opens two hours before show time on performance nights. For more information about the AUCS or tickets for orchestra concerts, contact the NSU Fine Arts Office at 605-626-2497 or visit Aberdeen Symphony online.
Upcoming Faculty-Led Travel Programs
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.
Exponent Seeks Cartoonists/Comic Strip Creators
The Exponent, Northern's student-run news publication, is looking for talented cartoonists/comic strip creators. We accept pen and ink as well as computer-generated comic strips. These are paid positions, and a great way to build your portfolio. If interested, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Haller at Elizabeth.Haller@northern.edu. View the latest online issue of the Exponent here.
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.
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.