Hotline // April 12, 2023

Bailey Nelson senior artist podcast and reception set for April 13

Bailey Nelson’s capstone exhibit, Everlasting, will be on display in the VCSU Center for Fine Arts Gallery April 3–14. Nelson will discuss her artwork in a livestreamed artist talk on Thursday, April 13 at 3 p.m. on Valley City State University’s Art Department YouTube and Facebook pages. Following the talk, there will be a reception in the Center for the Arts Gallery at 4 p.m.

Nelson’s exhibit showcases typography through font creation, hand lettering and poster design. Through her work, Nelson wants viewers to see how the classic practices of hand lettering and typography have developed alongside technology. A virtual tour of Everlasting is available on the VCSU Art Department Facebook page. The virtual tour and all artwork images can also be found on Nelson’s website.

Nelson is an art and digital design double major with a minor in marketing. After graduation, Nelson plans to pursue a career in graphic design and continue working as a freelance hand lettering artist.

Craig Rood to present "Imagining Protection from Gun Violence"

Percussion concert rescheduled for April 13

The VCSU Music Department presents the Percussion Concert on Thursday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts. The public is invited to attend and admission is free.

Musicians for the evening include Cassie Boelke (Wahpeton), Tedi Dimmer (West Fargo), Elizabeth Gazeley (Valley City), Carter Gill (Fargo), Wesley Gill (Fargo), Isabelle Haring (Oakes), Matthew Johnson (Valley City), Eyan Mehlhoff (Lisbon), and Jonathon Utke (Enderlin).

The program includes pieces by assistant professor of music Dustin Mallory, as well as Nathan Daughtrey, Adam Hopper, George Hamilton Green, Philip Glass, Robert Muczynski and Pat Metheny.

Planetarium show this Saturday

VCSU’s Planetarium presents Solar System & Let’s Look Up on April 15 at 1 p.m. The planetarium is located in the Rhoades Science Center Room 309. The show is free and open to the public.

Valley City State University is home to the only planetarium in North Dakota. Our state-of-the-art Rhoades Science Center houses a Spitz 512 planetarium with a 24-foot domed ceiling and 50 reclining seats.

Each semester, VCSU students produce a new show to be used in the Planetarium. Our shows range from basic astronomy to exploring how Lewis and Clark used the night sky to aid in their exploration of North America.

Our planetarium is primarily used to educate area school and community groups but is also used for some classes at VCSU, like Astronomy and Earth Science. With no charge for shows, it’s easy to make the trip to our beautiful campus and have a one-of-a-kind celestial experience.

For more information about the VCSU Planetarium contact Wes Anderson, 701-845-0966.

VCSU Music presents senior recital - Cassie Boelke & Abigail Marfell

VCSU Department of Music invites you to attend a senior recital by Cassie Boelke, soprano, and Abigail Marfell, mezzo-soprano on Friday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Performance Hall.

The duo will be accompanied by Oswald Johnson (piano) and Tara Dahl (violin). Music will include pieces from Franck, Rubinstein, Bach, Caldara, Bohm, Krieger, Scarlatti, Falla, Miller, Moore, Hayes and Roney.

Jeremy Wohletz, guest artist, to perform recital on April 18

Dr. Jeremy Wohletz will perform a guest artist recital on April 18, 7 p.m. in the Center for the Arts concert hall.

Clarinet and bass clarinetist, Jeremy Wohletz, maintains a very active performance schedule and is a large advocate for new music, both performing and commissioning new works. One of these commissions was recently chosen to premiere at the 2021 International Clarinet Association convention, involving solo bass clarinet with electronics. Another piece was commissioned and premiered at the 2012 ICA convention by his guitar and clarinet duo, Pararo. This performance was described by The Clarinet Journal as “a soothing blend of guitar and clarinet that washed through the ears to the soul.” As a solo recitalist, he presented performances and masterclasses throughout the United States, Canada and Portugal. He is also a regular in the Bismarck Mandan Symphony Orchestra (clarinet/saxophone), and is the founding member/tenor saxophone in jazz combo, Dakota Jazz, which performs throughout North and South Dakota.

VCSU Wellness Fair rescheduled for April 19

VCSU invites you to attend the annual Wellness Fair on Wednesday, April 19 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Student Center. There will be hands-on activities, wellness information and door prizes from 30 different campus, local and state entities!

Participants can try a variety of screenings and testings such as Dermascan and InBody 270 and also have a chance at amazing door prizes such as workout gear, cooking appliances and gift cards.

VCSU employees who attend will also receive a voucher for 3000 points towards their wellness benefit.

VCSU Green Dot to sponsor Denim Day event April 26

Valley City State University Green Dot is excited to share their plans for Denim Day on Wednesday, April 26.

The club will host a denim donation drive with contributions distributed to local resource centers. A collection box will be available in the Student Center for the week of April 24-28, with a table set up all day on Wednesday, April 26 in the Student Center hallway.

Denim Day is a day dedicated to raising awareness about victim blaming and educate others about sexual violence. The event occurs the last Wednesday in April which is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

VCSU hosts regional science olympiad March 30

Valley City State University hosted the Valley City Regional Science Olympiad for teams of high school and middle school students on Thursday, March 30. Approximately 400 students from 29 different schools competed.

The students participated in a variety of events, 23 total, including Forensics, Flight, Roller Coaster and Dynamic Planet.

Teather Sundstrom, Ph.D., VCSU professor of chemistry and VCSU Regional Director for Science Olympiad, said, “We had a fun-filled day where area students, grades 6–12, showcased their knowledge and practice in engineering, chemistry, physics, geology and biology. Preparation for the event as well as writing and grading the exams is all hands on deck for our science, math and technology education faculty as well as area engineers from Valley City, Casselton and Fargo and scientists from United States Geological Survey.”

The competitions were in Rhoades Science Center, Graichen Gym, Vangstad Auditorium and the Valley City Rec Center. The event ended with an awards ceremony in Vangstad Auditorium.

“The top teams from the competition will move on to the state competition at NDSU on April 22,” said Sundstrom. Division B teams moving on include Central Cass, Ben Franklin, Kulm, Northern Cass and Hillsboro. Division C teams include Fargo Davies, Central Cass, Red River, Hillsboro and Northern Cass.

Kringlie & Tufte present VCSU app to national Modo user's group

Erik Kringlie, associate director for enterprise systems, and Tyler Tufte, software engineer, were asked by Modo to present VCSU’s my.vcsu.edu app implementation to their national user’s group on Wednesday, April 5.

There were two universities presenting, Northern Arizona University, AppAcademy Award recipient, and Valley City State University, AppAcademy Award runner-up. The presentation centered around best practices for offering a personalized student experience across mobile and desktop applications.

Modo users should also be aware that the app now features personas for Employees, Students and Alumni at https://my.vcsu.edu.

To download the app:
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myvcsu/id1623244113
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.my.vcsu&hl=en_US&gl=US

Brandon Bouma receives Staff Member of the Quarter Award

Brandon Bouma, assistant football coach, was recently named “Staff Member of the Quarter.”

His nomination read, “Coach Bouma does a tremendous job as an Assistant Football Coach. He works tirelessly as the recruiting coordinator for the football team. He does a great job of staying in contact through calls, texts and social media posts with prospective student-athletes. He is very adept at organizing our staff schedules and visit itineraries for recruits. He works hand in hand with Enrollment Services to make sure the visits are a great experience for the recruit and family. He is always looking to improve our recruiting. All of this while coaching the running back position group. He has coached an all-conference RB in each of the last six seasons. Coach Bouma is genuinely invested in VCSU and the young men he recruits and leads here.”

Congratulations, Brandon!

Wicktor presents at Minnesota Writing and English Conference

Emily D. Wicktor, associate professor of English, presented her project, “A Haunted 1890s Normal School Hot-Wired to the Future: The Valley City State University Laptop Campus Then and Now,” at the 2023 Minnesota Writing and English Conference held at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. March 31 – April 1.

Wicktor’s project responded to the conference theme of “Learning Ecologies: Building, Improving, and Refining Pedagogy” by discussing the sustainable and ethical learning ecologies imbued in VCSU’s history as the second universal laptop/notebook campus in the nation.  Though originally devised to ready students and faculty for a complex and digitally interconnected future, the forward-thinking laptop campus initiative proposed in VCSU’s 1995 Technology Plan both created and fostered a pedagogical ecology poised to better address sudden, acute teaching and learning disruptions from floods to global pandemics. Wicktor extends a special thanks to her current English 125 students for sharing their knowledge of VCSU’s laptop initiative and thoughtfully reflecting on how and why the current VCSU laptop campus policy enhances and informs their academic success.

Wicktor’s band, AcaSheMia, was also invited to perform at the MnWE conference this year.  AcaSheMia (like academia but “she” because they’re all ladies) is the world’s only all lady-English-professor rock band remaking/restyling metal and other music into anthems for the academic scene.

VCSU Auction Committee Presents 'A Night at the Track'

The 28th annual VCSU Scholarship Auction will be held on Friday, April 28 at the Valley City Eagles Club. The theme for this year’s auction is A Night at the Track. The cost to attend is $60 per person and includes admission to the event, buffet dinner and two drink tickets.

The social hour will begin at 5 p.m. A buffet dinner will be served from 6–8 p.m. The live auction will kick off at 7 p.m. This is your chance to bid on some great deals while contributing to a great cause.

The silent auction will once again be available through the Handbid app. It will start on Monday, April 24 at 1 p.m. and will end on Friday, April 28 at 8:30 p.m. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store. After downloading, participants can follow the prompts to create an account, then choose “VCSU Scholarship Auction 2023” from the list. Users can monitor their winning and losing bids from the dashboard, receive notifications when they have been outbid and checkout within the app at the end of the night. Participants need not be present to win or need a ticket to the event in order to participate.

Scholarships are vital to VCSU’s success and all proceeds from the auction go directly to V-500 and Century Club scholarships. The goal is to raise $115,000 this year for scholarships.

How can you help in the success of the auction?

• Donate a purchased item or handmade item for the live or silent auction
• Donate a bottle of wine valued at $20 or more for the Mystery Wine Table
• Purchase a ticket
• Attend!

To purchase tickets, stop by or call the VCSU Foundation Office at 701-845-7203.

Viking Sports Update

Baseball
April 7: VCSU 16, Presentation College 6; VCSU 10, PC 8
April 8: VCSU 23, PC 2; VCSU 13, PC 9
Viking Baseball swept a four-game series with Presentation College, averaging 15.5 runs per game. The Vikings slugged 20 home runs during the series. VCSU is now 6-10 in conference play and 10-22 overall.

Softball
April 7: VCSU 12, Viterbo 5; VCSU 17, Viterbo 8
April 8: VCSU 8, Viterbo 2; Viterbo 4, VCSU 3
The VCSU softball team went 3-1 during a series last weekend against Viterbo. The Vikings improve to 7-4 in conference play and 13-18 overall.

Track & Field
VCSU Track and Field had several athletes compete at the USD Early Bird Meet in Vermillion, S.D., last weekend. Read more: https://vcsuvikings.com/news/2023/4/9/mens-track-and-field-sargent-lowers-100-hurdles-record.aspx

Golf
VCSU Golf is set to start its spring season this weekend with a two-day tournament in Rapid City, S.D.

Upcoming Events
April 13: Baseball at Waldorf, 3/6 p.m. (Forest City, Iowa)
April 14: Baseball at Waldorf, 12/3 p.m. (Forest City, Iowa)
April 16: Track & Field at Dickinson State, TBA (Dickinson, N.D.)
April 16: Softball vs. Presentation College, 3/5 p.m. CDT (Dickinson, N.D.)
April 17: Softball vs Presentation College, 12/2 p.m. CDT (Dickinson, N.D.)
April 17-18: Golf at DSU Invite, Gold Club at Red Rock (Rapid City, S.D.)

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

Thursday, April 13
Everlasting, a senior exhibition by Bailey Nelson, VCSU Art Gallery
3 p.m. Podcast online at VCSU’s Art Department YouTube and Facebook
4 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Craig Rood presents “Imagining Protection from Gun Violence” Rhoades Science Center Room 102.
7:30 p.m. Percussion Concert, Center for the Arts Performance Hall

Friday, April 14
7:30 p.m. Cassie Boelke & Abigail Marfell Senior Recital, Center for the Arts Performance Hall

Saturday, April 15
1 p.m. Solar System & Let’s Look Up, VCSU Planetarium (Rhoades Science Center Room 309)

Tuesday, April 18
7 p.m. Guest recital: Jeremy Wohletz, Center for the Arts Performance Hall

Wednesday, April 19
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Wellness Fair, VCSU Student Center

Find out what’s happening in the community on the Valley City Community Calendar: https://www.valleycitycalendar.com/

Find out what’s happening at the VCSU Center for the Arts: https://www.vcsu.edu/center-for-the-arts/fine-arts-calendar/