March 26 Safe Return update

Greetings College Community!

We head into the weekend with an exciting announcement: Governor Walz shared that all Minnesotans aged 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine effective Tuesday, March 30. Older Minnesotans, those with underlying health conditions and those in frontline jobs remain the priority, but the State’s providers now have the flexibility to provide the series to other eligible Minnesotans as well.

This is tremendous news for our campuses as we prepare to welcome back our Saints this fall. You are still encouraged to register with the Minnesota Vaccine Connector to be alerted when there are vaccination opportunities in your area. Thank you for doing your part to protect yourselves and our Saints community.

We continue to work with the county as a potential partner in vaccination distribution. With today’s announcement, we expect to hear more about that opportunity soon. Please look for further communications next week. Many thanks to Mike Turner, our SHS staff and others who are in collaboration with MHD and our county partners!

COVID-19 updates

Our Planning Task Force has begun their work in developing best-case recommendations as we prepare for Fall 2021. Earlier this week, we shared our intentions with our external community partners and received the following news coverage:

• Fox21, College of St. Scholastica Planning To Return To In-Person Learning This Fall + CSS Returning to Full In-Person Learning this Fall
• Pine Journal, Northland colleges plan for mostly ‘normal’ fall semesters
• Howie Hanson’s Duluth Times, The College of St. Scholastica plans for a safe return for Fall 2021

I look forward to sharing the Task Force’s recommendations in the coming weeks.

CDO updates

Please mark your calendars, our One Campus One Read author panel is scheduled from 6 to 7:15 p.m. on Apr. 8. You are invited to join us as we welcome A Good Time for the Truth Editor Sun Yung Shin and authors Jae Ran Kim, Shannon Gibney and Diane Wilson. This will be a virtual discussion, followed by a question and answer session. As we near the completion of our inaugural One Campus One Read initiative, this is a great way to engage with some of the authors. You can add the event to your calendar and access the Zoom link here.

Give to CSS Day

Yesterday was Give to CSS Day, the College’s largest fundraising event of the year. The results are still preliminary, but it is apparent that this was the biggest Give to CSS Day ever, both in the number of donors and dollars raised to date. By 9:30 a.m. we had already accomplished our participation goal, which was 20% higher than last year’s record participation! An astounding 500 participants were reached by 5 p.m., double the goal College Advancement had set for the day. Many programs were the beneficiaries of support from our alumni, faculty, staff and friends. Final results will be reported by College Advancement.

I want to thank Erin Kreeger, the Advancement team, and the many faculty and staff who advocated to promote their programs. It was an outstanding success!

Spring Commencement

Spring Commencement Celebration is planned for Saturday, May 15 at Amsoil Arena. This year’s commencement will be a nontraditional ceremony called a “Grad Walk”. It takes many hands to make this special day happen for our graduates and their guests. Please check out all of the volunteer opportunities here, and consider signing up for a slot Thursday, May 13 – Saturday, May 15. All volunteers and participants will be provided the Commencement COVID-19 Safety Plan ahead of time. Details on what to expect will be provided in April and again in May.

• What is a Grad Walk? The Grad Walk is a non-traditional, non-seated event and is by reservation only. Watch this video to learn more.
• Time slots. Each graduating student who plans to attend and has replied “yes” on their Marching Order registration is pre-assigned their Grad Walk time slot.
• Guest tickets. Each graduating student will be given up to three guest tickets. All graduating students must reply “yes” on their Marching Order registration first. Then, a Google RSVP Guest Ticket Form is sent to their CSS email account. The deadline to RSVP for guest tickets is April 2.

Athletics update

As the winter sports season comes to an end, many team and individual accolades are now being announced. Congratulations to David Staniger (Men’s Basketball) and Jackie MacMillan (Women’s Hockey) who have been named Conference Coach of the Year.

In addition, Nick Carlson (Men’s Basketball) was awarded Conference Player of the Year while Lisa LaRoche (Women’s Hockey) and Arkhip Ledenkov (Men’s Hockey) have both been named Conference Rookie of the Year. Emil Book Bratbak has been recognized as an All-American, the College’s second Nordic Skier to receive this honor.

Twelve Indoor Track and Field members claimed event titles this winter, while over 40 St. Scholastica Student-Athletes were named to winter all-conference or all tournament teams.

As the fall and spring teams begin competition, St. Scholastica is highlighted by a strong start from Volleyball (4-1) and Softball (13-3). Softball has also received votes in the top 25 national softball poll. This weekend, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Baseball, Tennis and Volleyball will be competing. For more information about these schedules, please visit csssaints.com.

Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our Saints community safe. I hope you have a restful, rejuvenating weekend.

Blessings, be safe and be well,
President McDonald