President’s Column: Blizzards & Budgets

Greetings from Valley City State University! These past number of weeks have presented many challenges on the weather front. Road closures and a massive winter storm resulted in closing the campus and cancelling our winter commencement exercises on Dec. 15. While we were very disappointed with this, keeping our students, families, faculty and staff safe was our number one priority ...

Jacob Knapek: the Plant Guy

by Garret Fettig, '23  As a high school student in St. Cloud, Minn., Jacob Knapek had no idea he’d spend his future days thinking about grass. Not just any grass — specifically, native prairie grasses. Though Minnesota is the Midwest’s most forested state, there’s more to their terrain than trees. Prairie once covered one-third of Minnesota’s 86,000 square miles. Today, less ...

President’s Column: Commencement Celebration

I’ve written previously about the importance of commencement – that moment in time when friends, family, faculty, staff, and colleagues gather to celebrate and congratulate students on their achievements and the anticipation of the next chapter in life. We are excited to continue this tradition with our winter Commencement exercises set for Thursday, December 15 at 3:30 p.m. in historic ...

Derek Bear

Derek Bear, a sophomore at VCSU, takes the term “busy” to the next level. Aside from studying Computer Information Systems, Bear works on campus in the IT department. His skills come in handy outside of VCSU as well working with a local technology solutions provider and executing livestreams for Valley City Public Schools’ sporting events. Bear fills any extra time ...

Valley City State Launches Viking Mobile ID

Valley City, North Dakota - Valley City State University (VCSU) today launched the Viking Mobile ID for iPhone, Apple Watch, and Android Phones.  Students can use the Viking Mobile ID on campus with just a tap of their mobile device. Students, faculty, and staff can add their Viking Mobile ID to Apple Wallet or Google Pay and use their iPhones, Apple Watches, or Android ...

Campus updates, student success, and welcoming new students

Excellent progress continues to be made on the Center for the Arts and we are on track toward completion within the budget. With plans to open in late December, the facility will serve as a hub of arts activities, classes, and performances for the community and region. Student success continues to be our top priority and a contributing factor in ...

VCSU announces Faculty Excellence Awards

President Alan LaFave has announced the Valley City State University Faculty Excellence Awards for 2020–21, recognizing “exceptional dedication and commitment to students and the university by outstanding teaching, scholarly activities, or university service.” This year’s recipients are Angela Williams, Senior Faculty (associate or full professor) award; Kenton Sandfoss, Junior Faculty (instructor or assistant professor) award; and Tim Michaelson, Adjunct/Special Appointment ...

Craig Rood to present “Imagining Protection from Gun Violence”

Read an excerpt of the book here. Dr. Craig Rood will present “Imagining Protection from Gun Violence” on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in Rhoades Science Center Room 102. As a scholar of communication, Dr. Rood directs our attention to unexpected places—stories, memory, and imagination—to help us better understand, and perhaps better address, the urgent problem of gun violence in ...

2020 Year End Column

2020 has certainly been a year the world will remember – with great moments and difficulties alike. At VCSU, 2020 was no different. We faced the challenge of dealing with COVID-19 and delivering quality education during a pandemic, but also experienced milestones and achievements that all contribute to a year we won’t forget. Beginning in March, our campus shifted to ...

Hotline 11.23.20

This week’s Hotline includes the following articles: President's Column: All for which we are thankful... COVID-19 testing to be held today at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse VCSU Art Club virtual sale Dec. 1-4 VanHorn awarded Presidential Citation Put Care19 Alert app to work for you Coronavirus update Viking sports update What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City… The VCSU Hotline ...