Message from the Office of the President: June 30 update

Dear Colleagues,

It’s been a very busy June and hard to believe that July is right around the corner.  I hope you all enjoy the long weekend ahead and Happy 4th of July!  Due to the holiday, this message comes to you today.

2022 Reunion Weekend

The College celebrated its 110th Reunion, June 24-26, which was held in person for the first time since 2019. This year was special because we celebrated alumni whose anniversary year was not only in 2022 but those alumni who would have celebrated in 2020 and 2021.

The Saints’ Soirée, held Friday night, allowed attendees to mingle and enjoy hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and conversation to background music provided by the Maxi Child Trio. Sister Donna Schroeder won the raffle for a $1,500 Delta Gift Card, and Kathy Noble was the highest bidder for a CSS custom wooden rocking chair! All proceeds support the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. Other weekend events included tours of the nursing simulation labs and Tower Hall, Tea with the Sisters, viewing a video featuring Tower Hall’s art and learning about the College’s new Art Collection and Restoration Initiative, which will preserve our important artworks at CSS.

Heritage Luncheon

One of the highlights of the reunion is the Heritage Luncheon on Saturday where the 50 year class is inducted into the Heritage Club. At the luncheon, we also recognized the 2021 Alumni Award recipients:

• The Scholastica Inspiration Award: Dr. Tammy Ostrander
• The Sister Alice Lamb Award: Brian Case ’91 BIO (’09 MA, NSG),
• The Sister Ann Edward Scanlon Award: Nicoshia Wynn ’05 MGT (’05 MA, MGT)
• The Sister Timothy Kirby Benedictine Spirit Award: Dr. Becky Urbanski ’80 MUS (’89 MA, MGT)

135 Saints attended Reunion weekend and expressed high praise for the weekend events. We are already looking forward to Reunion Weekend 2023 and hope to have you join us next June.

President’s Dinner

The President’s Dinner was held Saturday night, June 25. The President’s Dinner honored our donor society members and this year Reunion attendees were special guests. It was also my first in-person June President’s Dinner as President. In addition to the President’s Address, we received a campaign update and testimonial from Campaign Co-Chair Mimi Stender, alumnus and donor Cynthia Leas ‘69, and student Scarlet Pantlin. One of the highlights of the night was the announcement of the class gift, which was the sum of all gifts made in the last year by graduates of years ending in 2 or 7. Former Trustee and alumnus Dr. Linda Van Etta ‘72 presented the gift, which for the first time was over $1 million: $1,299,097. We are thankful for this generous outpouring of support from our alumni

Frontiers in Sustainability Storyboard

In Spring ’22, 10 students interested in sustainability studies took classes and did research to prepare for the education abroad trip “Frontiers in Sustainability: Germany and Iceland’  in May. Students in this education abroad program came from a wide range of majors including Sustainability Studies, Biology, Global, Cultural and Language Studies, Computer Information Systems, and Music, with faculty mentors Dr. Karen Rosenflanz (Global, Cultural and Language Studies; Program Director for Sustainability Studies and the Environment) and Dr. Zach Via (Chemistry) accompanying them (thank you Karen and Zach!). Supported by a grant from the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service, they traveled to Germany and Iceland for nineteen days to investigate issues surrounding the environmental, ethical, and economic aspects of sustainable development, to compare how these two countries are working to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030, and to analyze how culture impacts attitudes toward sustainability. German minors on the trip provided great communication support as students set out to explore cities independently. The group was excited to have a chance to visit the Abbey of St. Walburga in Eichstätt, Bavaria, the great-grandmother abbey of the Benedictine Sisters at the St. Scholastica Monastery, during their travels.

You can follow their journey and read more about the experience here: https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/05574df3592f9e7b5758369104e0b07e/frontiers-in-sustainability/index.html

Athletics Update

On Monday, 78 St. Scholastica winter and spring student-athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors from the MIAC. Women’s Hockey led the way with 14 selections, while Men’s Hockey followed with 13 nominees. In total for the 2021-22 academic year, 136 student-athletes were named Academic All-MIAC.

The 2022 St. Scholastica Athletics Hall of Fame Class was also announced this week. The 2022 class includes former women’s track & field thrower Alec (Seeley) Lampe, former football quarterback Alex Thiry, former volleyball All-American Anna (Zyvoloski) Tester and former Head Softball Coach Jen Walter. Lampe will be the second women’s track & field athlete inducted, joining Jen (Houck Zwick ’20), while Thiry will be the first football player inducted. Tester becomes the first volleyball player inducted who played after 2000 and Walter becomes the first female coach to be inducted. The Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 1 as part of Homecoming at the College.

MPCC Interviews Mary Anderson, Director of Career Services

Mary Anderson was interviewed by MPCC for an article entitled: “Peer and alum connections drive career development”. Read the article by clicking here. Thanks for sharing your insights Mary!

Enjoy the weekend, I hope you are able to spend time with your friends and family.

Be safe and stay well,

Barbara