Hotline 3.23.22

Mallory to present for conference sponsored by Columbia University NYC

Dustin Mallory, assistant professor for music, will present at the Such Sweet Thunder, Ellington Play Shakespeare: Love and Power in Adaptation conference this Friday, March 25. The conference is sponsored by Columbia University in NYC. Mallory is one of 10 presenters on the panel that includes NEA Jazz Master: Delfeayo Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Arranger and Ellington Authority: David Berger, and Miles Davis biographer: Jack Chambers.

His presentation is titled “When Fargo Met Ellington: How a Performance Shaped a City and a Career.” It will detail Duke Ellington’s 1940 performance at the Crystal Ballroom in Fargo. The performance was recorded and circulated the world as a bootleg for decades afterward. The performance was officially released in 1978 and won a GRAMMY in 1980. A mural of Duke was painted at the location where the building used to stand in 2020 to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the performance.

Check out the conference website for more information: http://suchsweetthunder.columbia.edu/

Planetarium show this Saturday

The VCSU Planetarium will host a free planetarium show this Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. The shows include Let’s Look Up which is an introduction to the concept of constellations. This show is great for young kids! The other is Night Skies which explains constellations and planets that are visible in the night sky.

The planetarium is in Rhoades Science Center Room 309. An elevator is available at the front entrance.

Help us celebrate Patti Rickford's retirement

The VCSU community will be celebrating Patti Rickford, assistant director for financial aid, with a retirement party on Monday, March 28 from 3:00-4:30 p.m. in Enrollment Services. Patti has dedicated over 22 years to VCSU Financial Aid and we would like to recognize that achievement.

VCSU Employees: Take CESS Survey by March 31

VCSU employees have a broad and lasting impact on the success of the institution and are often the best resource for finding better and more inventive ways to accomplish our goals. To facilitate understanding of employee perspectives and concerns, the VCSU Strategic Planning Committee requests responses to the College Employee Satisfaction Survey (CESS), which is a tool that measures employee satisfaction with campus culture, policies, and work environment, while also gathering input on institutional goals and planning. The survey results will be reviewed by the committee and used in the planning process.

Please take the CESS survey before March 31 so the planning committee can use your input to plan the strategic direction for VCSU to 2025. Responses are anonymous, and it should take about 20 minutes to complete.

Be the Match event on March 30

The Valley City State University football program is partnering with former Villanova head coach Andy Talley and Be The Match to help save lives by recruiting potential marrow donors.

VCSU Football will have a table set up in the Memorial Student Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30. VCSU employees, students and Valley City community members are invited to stop by and learn more about Be The Match Registry, which helps match potential marrow donors with blood cancer patients.

People can join the Be the Match Registry online at my.bethematch.org or by stopping at the Student Center on March 30 and visiting with Be The Match representatives and the VCSU football team.

VCSU football is one of more than 160 football and college sports teams across the nation that are participating in the program.

Percussion concert next Friday

The VCSU Music Department will present its Percussion Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 1. The event will take place in the Center for the Arts performance hall and will feature the percussion studio’s music majors and minors. The program will consist of music by David Maslanka, John Beck, John Cage, Scott Harding, Cole Porter, and Pat Metheny.

“The concert will have everything from large-ensemble pieces to solos,” Dustin Mallory, percussion professor, said. “Concert-goers will hear classical music, jazz, Japanese Taiko drumming, Marimba literature, and music from the Great American Songbook. It will be a tour-de-force of percussion expressions from many different genres.”

In addition to the concert, the percussion studio will be hosting an open warm-up in the band room prior to the concert at 6:45 p.m. Percussionists and drummers of any age are welcome to join the students for the warm-up prior to the performance.

For more information, contact Professor Mallory by emailing dustin.mallory@vcsu.edu, or by calling 701-845-7379.

Nathan and Israel named Difference Makers

Brittany Nathan and Richard Israel, hall directors, were recently awarded Difference Makers. They were nominated by Student Center staff.

Their nomination read, “Both of them have worked so hard over the past 3 years as hall directors for Residence Life. Their first year they worked without a director for Residence Life. Then there was the start of the pandemic and managing check out of all the residents living in the dorm. They had to schedule when the students could come back to pack their rooms up and had to pack and send the rooms of students who lived out of state and planned not to return.” 

“The start of their second year, they got a new director who was here 13 months. Now they have another new director and a year with less stress dealing with COVID. They are always there for the students and taking care of the good and the bad. They manage a lot of behind-the-scenes paperwork and out of hours situations while we are tucked away in our beds enjoying a full night of sleep. They both are always willing to help out in other ways – like sitting at the Info Desk to cover a shift or being advisors to  student clubs or organizations. We appreciate them both and all they bring to VCSU.”

Congratulations to both Brittany and Richard!

Service Dog Presentation

Heather Fischer and Kennedy Gjovik, VCSU students and service dog handlers, presented Service Dogs on Campus on March 23. This event was sponsored by Student Academic Services and was open to the campus community.

Tech Wars event held on VCSU campus March 9

The VCSU Computer Systems and Software Engineering Department (CSSE) hosted the annual Tech Wars event on March 9.

The 40 students competed in the Tech Wars Challenge by coding an arcade maze game using Scratch software by MIT. In addition to the challenge, the VCSU Art Alliance sponsored a make-and-take art activity and the planetarium presented two shows about the Zodiac constellations.

The winning team, from Dickinson High School, won a $500 CSSE scholarship and $100 Amazon gift cards. Second place went to Griggs County Central who went home with Amazon Fire Cubes. Third place was awarded to a second Dickinson High School team who won Rocketbook tech notebooks. Honorable mention went to Central Cass who won Tile Bluetooth tracking devices.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event; Jamestown Regional Entrepreneurial Center, VCSU Art Alliance and Doosan.

Viking Sports Update

Baseball
March 20: VCSU 15, Dickinson 4; VCSU 2, Dickinson 1
March 21: VCSU 19, Dickinson 15; Dickinson 9, VCSU 8
The VCSU Baseball team opened conference play with three wins against Dickinson State this past week. The Vikings are now 12-10 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The Vikings posted a 5-2 record during their recent spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. 

Softball
The VCSU softball team finished its spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., with a 6-5 record. The Vikings are now 13-10 overall and are set to open conference play this weekend with a four-game series against Dickinson State. 

Track & Field
VCSU track and field is set to open the outdoor season this weekend at the Yellow Jacket Spring Invite. The meet is hosted by Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D., and runs March 25-26.

Golf
The VCSU golf team is scheduled to travel to Ames, Iowa, for its first meet of the spring on March 28-29. The two-day meet is hosted by the University of Jamestown.

Upcoming Events
March 25-26: Track & Field at Stinger Open (Spearfish, S.D.)
March 26: Baseball at Bellevue University, 1/4 p.m. (Bellevue, Neb.)
March 27: Softball at Dickinson State, 3/5 p.m. CT (Dickinson, N.D.)
March 27: Baseball at Bellevue University, 12/3 p.m. (Bellevue, Neb.)
March 28: Softball at Dickinson State, 3/5 p.m. CT (Dickinson, N.D.)
March 28-29: Golf at UJ Spring Invite (Ames, Iowa)

What's happening at VCSU and around Valley City...

Ongoing

MWF: 1 – 2 p.m. COVID Community Testing event, Rec Center

This Week

March 24
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Regional Science Olympiad, Rhoades Science Center, Graichen Gym, Vangstad Auditorium

Save the date

March 28
8:30 p.m. Maya May performance, Vangstad Auditorium

March 29
2 – 3 p.m. All about numbers by Joe Jangula the “MatheMagician”, VCSU Center for the Arts

March 31
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Region 2 Instrumental Music Contest, VCSU Student Center

April 1
7:30 p.m. Percussion Concert, Center for the Arts

April 5
All day Region 5 Music Contest, Center for the Arts

April 8

7:30 p.m. Music Faculty Recital, Center for the Arts

April 21

2:00 p.m. Center for the Arts Ribbon Cutting, Center for the Arts

April 23
All day, 3 on 3 Bubble Bash, W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse
5 p.m. & 7 p.m. Opera Ensemble Dinner and Showcase, Center for the Arts

April 24

2:30 p.m. Opera Ensemble Matinee, Center for the Arts

April 29
27th Annual VCSU Scholarship Auction, Valley City Eagles Club
7:30 p.m. Spring Instrumental, Center for the Arts

May 6

7:30 p.m. Spring Choral Showcase, Center for the Arts

Community Club meetings

• Kiwanis – Wednesdays at noon, Valley City Town & Country Club
• Optimist Club – Thursdays at 7 a.m., Vicky’s Viking Room
• Rotary Club – Tuesdays at noon, VCSU
• Sheyenne Valley Friends of Animals – 2nd Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., Our Saviors Lutheran Church
• Barnes County Wildlife Federation – 2nd Wednesday of the month
• Grief Journeys for Adults Support Group – meet virtually, call Hospice at 701-845-1781 to take part

Go to https://www.valleycitynd.org/calendar.php to see more events happening in and around Valley City.