Hotline // March 20, 2024

National AIDS memorial quilt coming to VCSU April 1

Two panels from the National AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed in the Center for the Arts Gallery from April 1-18. This powerful display was made possible through collaboration between VCSU Departments of Art and Music and VCSU Diversity & Inclusion along with generous support provided by a grant through the Bridges Arts Council.

Considered the largest community arts project in history, the AIDS Memorial Quilt honors the unique lives and stories of those lost to HIV/AIDS while continuing to promote HIV prevention and community health. Roughly 50,000 panels are dedicated to more than 110,000 individuals who have passed away from HIV/AIDS. When fully assembled, the quilt weighs over 54-tons.

An Opera Ensemble Recital and Moments of Reflection event will be held April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Performance Hall. Members of VCSU’s Opera Ensemble will perform songs and poetry from the AIDS Memorial Quilt Songbook.

One of the panels on display is in memory of VCSU retired faculty member, Gary Ketterling’s sister and brother-in-law, who both passed away from AIDS in the early 1990s. Ketterling will share his sister’s story about her fight with AIDS and his family’s grief and healing journey.

Gordana Cokrlic, Ryan White Program Coordinator for North Dakota Health & Human Services, will be speaking about current HIV/AIDS prevention and ND statistics from the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 90s and today.

Dr. Kelly LaFramboise, director for diversity and inclusion, will discuss how art and music speak to the emotional and cultural connections we share as a nation and community through memorials, such as the AIDS Quilt.

The recital and reflection event is open to the public and admission is free.

To schedule an interview regarding this event, please contact Tammy Jo Taft by emailing tammyjo.taft@vcsu.edu or calling (701) 845-7227.

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VCSU Diversity and Inclusion hosting national best-selling author and North Dakota native, Taylor Brorby

Taylor Brorby, national best-selling author, will speak on campus Thursday, April 11. Brorby is the author of Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, Crude: Poems, Coming Alive: Action and Civil Disobedience, and co-editor of Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America. Students are encouraged to meet with the author in the Skoal Room from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to discuss his book, the writing and publishing process and his experience growing up gay in Center, N.D. Those interested can come and go during that time and are encouraged to bring their lunch to the Skoal Room.

Later that evening, Brorby will give a public talk at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Performance Hall where he will speak on his book, his life growing up in Center, N.D., his environmental advocacy, and current events related to literacy access and diversity inclusion.

Brorby’s work has been supported by grants and fellowships from the National Book Critics Circle, the MacDowell Colony, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Mesa Refuge, Blue Mountain Center, and the North Dakota Humanities Council. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Orion Magazine, LitHub, Southern Humanities Review, North Dakota Quarterly, and has appeared in numerous anthologies. He is a contributing editor at North American Review and serves on the editorial boards of Terrain.org and Hub City Press.

Taylor regularly speaks around the country on issues related to extractive economies, queerness, disability, and climate change. He teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Alabama.

He will be available for book-signing after his talk. Books are available for pre-order through the VCSU Bookstore and at most online stores where books are sold. Generous support for Taylor’s visit has been provided by Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Epworth United Methodist Church, VCSU Social Justice Council, Professor Angela Mircsov, Jamie and Kelly LaFramboise, and Professor Katie Woehl.

Calling all First Generation college graduates

Those who are the first generation of their family members to attend and graduate from a four-year (or higher) college or university are considered “First Gen.”

VCSU Diversity & Inclusion is launching a new way to recognize our graduating First Gen students with a special cord worn with graduation regalia. The cord colors for these students are red and royal blue. First Gen faculty and staff can also receive this special cord to wear with their regalia at VCSU commencement ceremonies. First Gens are those whose parents and grandparents did not attend or graduate from a four-year (+) institution. First Gens may have siblings and/or first-cousins who attended college prior to their own graduation.

First Gens often encounter barriers to successfully completing a four-year degree, therefore when they cross the stage at commencement and turn their tassels, symbolizing the culmination of overcoming the challenges and being the first in their families to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, it is an exceptional fete deserving recognition and honor.

If you are a First Generation College Graduate with a bachelor’s degree or higher, please contact Dr. Kelly LaFramboise, Director for Diversity & Inclusion to receive a cord. Please reach out soon so she can order enough cords prior to commencement.

Department of Business now offering sports marketing certificate

The VCSU Department of Business is now offering a Sports Marketing Certificate.

Starting this summer, students can take the Sports Marketing class which will be an 8 week online course. The course is listed under the Marketing category, as 399 Special Topics in the summer schedule and then will be offered as MRKT 330 in spring 2025. A NIL, Name, Image & Likeness class will be offered in Fall of 2024 as MRKT 335.

Students can complete the 14 credit certificate with these two classes along with HPER 350 Sports Ethics, MRKT 301 Marketing Principles, and MRKT 310 Digital Marketing. 

Those interested can direct questions to Tammy Katuin at tammy.katuin@vcsu.edu.

ITEEA recognizes outstanding educators at 86th Annual Conference

RESTON, VA., MARCH 13, 2024 – Outstanding technology and engineering educators, including Jill Quinlivan of Mandan Middle School and Kristi Leverson of Liberty Middle School in West Fargo were honored by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) at its 86th Annual Conference held March 6-9, 2024, in Memphis, Tennessee. Classroom educators from across the nation at the elementary, middle, and high school levels received ITEEA’s Program and Teacher Excellence Awards. These awards are one of the highest honors given to technology and engineering education classroom teachers and are presented in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the profession and their students.

The national co-chairs coordinating and presenting the Teacher Excellence Awards on behalf of ITEEA are Elisa Krumwiede, Clay Mannie, and Jason Dockter of Valley City State University (VCSU) Technology and STEM Education Department.

For more information about ITEEA, its Annual Conference, its Awards Program, or its Foundation, contact ITEEA by phone at (703) 860-2100, email: iteea@iteea.org, or visit the website at www.iteea.org.

Two students awarded SOAR grants

The SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) Advisory Committee is pleased to announce that two VCSU students were awarded grants to conduct their own research. The students include:

Abigail Dreher, English – “Investigating the Publishing Process of Books for Children’s Literature” (mentors Dr. Gregory Brister and Professor Ekow Ephrim)

Carter Gill, Social Sciences – “The American South: A Longitudinal Comparative Study on Race Relations and Civil Advancement between Reconstruction and Today” (mentor Dr. Alex Jorgensen)

These students join Sierra Crocker, English (mentor: Dr. Emily Wicktor), who was awarded a grant last spring for her project “Tracing Morality in Literature: The Use of Chinese-Western Moral Theory in a Critical Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray,” as the three students currently undertaking SOAR research.

SOAR grants provide students with $1,000 to conduct research with the help of a faculty mentor. An additional $250 may be used to cover research-related expenses. The committee awards grants each semester and is currently accepting applications for the spring award cycle. The deadline for applications is Monday, April 8.

To learn more about SOAR, contact Dr. Travis Knapp, chair of the SOAR committee, at travis.knapp.1@vcsu.edu, or visit the SOAR website.

VCSU offers free tax preparation

Valley City State University (VCSU) students will offer free tax return preparation clinics for low-to-moderate income taxpayers from Monday, Feb. 5 to Monday, April 15. This is a basic tax service for qualified taxpayers with income less than $64,000 per year. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is offered by VCSU’s Department of Business.

The clinics begin on Monday, Feb. 5, and will be located on VCSU’s campus in McFarland 122. Walk-ins and appointments are accepted. Appointments can be made online at www.vcsu.edu/vita.

The clinics include face-to-face meetings between students and the tax filer to complete their return. The returns are then reviewed by a faculty member. Filers should bring a government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license to the appointment. A married couple filing jointly will need photo identification for both the husband and the wife.

“These clinics offer a service for our community and provide students and faculty the chance to work together as a team,” said Brenda Tyre, chair of the VCSU Department of Business. “We are happy to coordinate these clinics to give students the opportunity to develop strong leadership, tax law knowledge, and communication skills. Every student volunteer working in the clinic has passed a tax preparation and code of standards exam to ensure returns are prepared accurately, maintain privacy, and ensure all personal information is secure.”

Dates available on Monday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. include:

Dates available on Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. include:

There will be no clinic hours on the following holidays:

• Monday, April 1

To schedule an appointment, visit www.vcsu.edu/vita/ or contact the Department of Business at (701) 845-7508.

Viking sports update

Softball
Viking Softball cruised to three victories Tuesday afternoon during a tripleheader at Waldorf University. The Vikings put up 28 runs in the series opener as they scored early and often in sweeping the day by scores of 28-2, 16-1 and 18-1.  VCSU is now 12-15 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

 

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