Hotline 9.13.21
This week’s Hotline includes the following articles:
- President’s Column: VCSU welcomes new, talented faculty
- Visiting artist exhibition opens this week
- Raising funds with flamingos
- Haneishi facilitates at webinar for ‘Gender Equality on Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics’
- Great Plains Food Bank coming to the area
- COVID-19 Campus Information
- Viking Sports Update
- What’s happening at VCSU and around Valley City…
The VCSU Hotline online newsletter is published weekly during the school year. The deadline to submit articles (photos encouraged) is 3 p.m. Friday. Please submit articles to jerilyn.beckman@vcsu.edu.
President's Column: VCSU welcomes new, talented faculty
Greetings from Valley City State University!
As part of Welcome Week activities on campus, we welcomed several new faculty members to our campus. They range in years of experience and education, but they all have one thing in common. They all strive to help our students succeed every day. I’m excited by the energy, enthusiasm and experience they bring to their teaching positions with us, and I’m pleased to introduce them via the brief biographical sketches below.
![]() | Allen Burgad joined VCSU this summer as the new Dean of the School of Education. Dr. Burgad has a long and distinguished career as an administrator in multiples school districts. Most recently, he served as the assistant superintendent for the West Fargo school district. He leads a team with three new members. |
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![]() | Angie Zerface has joined us as a professor in our School of Education. She holds her bachelor’s degree from VCSU and master’s from NDSU. Angie lives in Hope and has been an educator since 1999. Most recently, she was the high school principal in the Hope-Page School District. Previously she worked at Northern Cass School District and Detroit Lakes High School in Minnesota. |
![]() | Jaimie Pollert has joined our School of Education as an assistant professor. Jaimie has degrees from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota State University, Moorhead and the Principal Credential in Educational Leadership from North Dakota State University. She has been working in classrooms, and universities since 2001 and brings a wealth of experience. Jaimie is also a registered Yoga and Sculpt Instructor. |
![]() | Michelle Abshire started on campus in the spring of last year as an assistant professor in Science. She is a post-doctoral student at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and previously supervised several geochemistry labs and undergraduate research projects. She has worked for ConocoPhillips, Terracon Consultants and for the School of Geology at OSU. |
![]() | Jacob Clauson is teaching in the Social Science Department as an assistant professor. Jacob has degrees from the University of Oregon and the University of North Dakota. He has taught at the University of Oregon, in Bottineau Public Schools and at Alexandria Area High School in Alexandria, Minnesota. |
![]() | Nicola Katzman Nicola Katzman is an assistant professor of Psychology. Nicola joins us from the University at Buffalo in New York. She has been instructing at the college level since 2014 and has attended Cornell University, New York University and the University at Buffalo. In 2018, she was awarded the University at Buffalo PGSA Outstanding Research Award. |
![]() | Scott Klimek is now on campus full time as an institutional data analyst in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning. Scott has been an adjunct professor for us for a handful of years and has been a teacher since 1995. He has a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of North Dakota and is a VCSU graduate. |
![]() | Christine Morgensen has joined our Department of Kinesiology and Human Performance (KHP) team as a full-time instructor. She has a Master of Arts degree in Secondary Education. She worked at the Open Door Center in Valley City for 25 years and as an adjunct faculty member for VCSU since 2013. |
![]() | Barbi Mattson Barbi Mattson has assumed an additional role as a lecturer in the KHP Department. She is also the associate head coach of the VCSU softball team. Barbi earned a master’s degree in athletic administration and coaching from Concordia University-Irvine (Calif.). She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Adams State College in exercise physiology and leisure science. Barbi has taught classes as an adjunct instructor in the physical education department at both NDSCS and Angelina College. |
![]() | Dr. Kathryn Rolf joins the faculty in the Music Department as a special appointment assistant professor. Kathryn has a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from North Dakota State University. She has been an adjunct faculty member at NDSU teaching ear training and sight signing. In addition to directing parish music at Immanuel Lutheran Church, she has served as the guest conductor for the Vancouver Chamber Choir. |
![]() | Dr. Lindsey Wiehl has also joined the Music Department as an assistant professor. Lindsey came to VCSU from Indiana University Kokomo. She earned the doctor of arts from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Wiehl has been working as a teacher and leader since 2015 and has taught at numerous education workshops across the nation. She was a part of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra. |
![]() | Dustin Mallory is a new special appointment instructor in the Music Department. Dustin earned the master of arts from Rutgers, New Jersey. His primary focus at VCSU is in percussion. Most recently, he taught at Lincoln University and has experience with elementary and high school teaching. Dustin has had several publications including All About Jazz, Sound Teaching and the Journal of Jazz Studies. |
![]() | Anthony Rohr joined the music department as a special appointment assistant professor of voice. A native of the Dickinson area, he holds the bachelor of arts from Northern State University, Aberdeen and the master of music in vocal performance from the University of Kansas. He has performed in many productions since 2015 including roles with the New Amsterdam Opera, Seagle Music Colony and at the Lake George Music Festival. |
![]() | Taylor Mounts started this semester as an assistant professor in Business and Accounting. She hails from Bemidji, Minnesota and has degrees from Harding University. Taylor has worked in management for Enterprise Holdings and Pinnacle Marketing Group. She is an avid volleyball player and is an assistant coach for Viking Volleyball. |
Christopher Argenziano has transitioned to a full-time special appointment music instructor. He has been working with VCSU students since 2015 as an instructor of guitar. He has degrees from NDSU and is a performer in a variety of rock, jazz and classical groups in the upper Midwest. He is a member of the Classical Music Society and the Minnesota Guitar Society. | |
Edward Basile will begin next January as an assistant professor of Business, Finance and Economics. Edward has studied at Walden University and Norwich University. He has also worked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a Director in Exchange Traded Derivatives. He also was previously in the U.S. Army and served as a senior advisor doing training, education and leader development. |
That’s an impressive group and I’m so glad to have them with us this fall. Please join me in welcoming these outstanding faculty members to VCSU and Valley City!
Go Vikings!
Visiting artist exhibition opens this week
Yellow Colander, White Walls by visiting artist, Anika Hsiung Schneider, is the first art exhibition of the 2021-22 academic year in McCarthy Gallery. The show opens Monday, Sept. 13 and will be on display until Friday, Oct. 29 with the artist talk on Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. in Rhoades 102. Masks are required for the event. You can also tune in to the livestream on the VCSU Viking YouTube page and the VCSU Art Department Facebook Page.
Anika Hsiung Schneider is a narrative artist who draws on lived experiences, memory, and family history. With an Asian Mixed female identity, she resides in a highly racialized body that also exists in a liminal state. This connection to a liminal state of being closely connects her work to themes of loss, transitional spaces, and visualizing the intangible.
Anika received her MFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). She currently serves as the Director of Exhibitions and Artist Programs at Minnesota Center for Book Arts and adjunct faculty at MCAD. Anika’s work has been exhibited nationally at galleries such as Soo Visual Arts Center, Rosalux Gallery, Gallery B St. Paul, Circle Gallery, Visarts, Dumbarton Concert Gallery, and Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture. Anika has also participated in residencies in Wolfsville, Nova Scotia, and Solomons Island, Maryland. She has also been awarded a Windgate University Fellowship, Gettysburg College Provost Grant, and the InCahoots residency Boost Prize full grant.
Originally from the Washington D.C. area, Anika now lives and works in Minneapolis, where she enjoys giving a home to second-hand furniture and hiking with her dog, Wolly.
Raising funds with flamingos
An eager group of students is planning a spring break trip to study abroad in Costa Rica and has begun fundraising. If you are willing to participate in the flamingos fundraiser, please contact Dr. Kiersten Baughman, kiersten.baughman@vcsu.edu, indicating your support. If you agree to participate, a flock of approximately 10 flamingos will appear at some point in the future in your yard, with your options being to 1) pay $10 to have them removed, 2) pay $20 to send them to another specific location, or 3) pay $30 to send them to a specific address and ensure you do not receive them in your yard again. If you support this cause, 100% of proceeds fund the cost of the trip for our students. We plan to begin flocking yards as early as possible, and you can anticipate the flamingos staying for 1-3 days depending on coordinating efforts.
Haneishi facilitates at webinar for ‘Gender Equality on Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics’
Kanae Haneishi, associate professor for kinesiology and human performance, served as a facilitator at the international webinar on “Gender Equality on Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics” hosted by WomenSport International on Aug. 28. The guest speaker was Naoko Imoto, the adviser to the Gender Equality Promotion Team in the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee. Imoto shared the successful strategies that the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee implemented to promote gender equality during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Haneishi introduced Imoto and facilitated the Q&A as well as the discussion sessions.
Great Plains Food Bank coming to area Tuesday
The Great Plains Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry will be stopping in Nome, Litchville, Valley City and Wimbledon on Sept. 14.
Hunger is an issue that we can do something about. Here are several ways you can help:
- Volunteer! Volunteers are CRITICAL right now – we need you!
- REGISTER HERE! Once you are registered you can sign up for a slot at a Mobile Food Pantry near you!
- Spread the word! Post the flyers around town, share the event on your social media networks, or talk about the events with those you know!
- Respond and share to Facebook event links to get updates and reminders!
Anyone in need of food assistance from any community is welcome to attend! We will ask clients to complete a short intake form onsite, then drive through the distribution line. We will ask clients to remain in their vehicles at all times and wear masks while interacting with staff and volunteers. We welcome those who cannot attend to designate someone to pick up for them. Volunteers will be asked to sanitize, wear masks, and follow social distancing guidelines.
Thanks for your help in addressing hunger in your community! View our website for all upcoming distribution information.
COVID-19 Campus Information

VCSU is planning to return to a full campus experience for the fall 2021. To do this safely, we are encouraging all members of campus to get vaccinated and every member of campus to make safe decisions in regard to wearing a mask, physical distancing and hand washing.
You are valued. Get vaccinated.
See where you can get a vaccine
Free vaccines are available in many locations. Find a location, choose the vaccine you prefer and get your free COVID vaccine. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to get their COVID vaccination.
Viking Sports Update
Baseball
Sept. 12: VCSU 4, Jamestown 3
Drew Nixon hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning, and Viking pitchers struck out 18 batters Sunday as VCSU baseball opened the season with a 4-3 victory against rival University of Jamestown.
Read more: http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/4131
Volleyball
Sept. 10: Montana-Western 3, VCSU 1; MSU-Northern 3, VCSU 1
Sept. 11: MSU-Northern 3, VCSU 2; Montana-Western 3, VCSU 1
The Viking volleyball team dropped four tight matches this weekend during a tournament in Dickinson. VCSU is now 2-9 overall. The Vikings start conference play Wednesday night with a match at Dickinson State.
Cross Country
The VCSU cross country teams opened the 2021 season Friday night under the lights at the MSUM Twilight Meet. Jasmine Barnes (42nd) and Noah Rolfe (38th) led the Vikings with individual finishes in the top half of the large races featuring more than 80 runners.
Read more: http://www.vcsuvikings.com/article/4129
Upcoming Events
Sept. 15: Baseball at Mayville State, 3 p.m.
Sept. 15: Volleyball at Dickinson State, 7 p.m. CT
Sept. 17: Volleyball at University of Jamestown, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18: Football vs. Waldorf University, 1 p.m.
Sept. 19: Volleyball vs. Briar Cliff University, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 19-20: Golf at Spartan Invitational (Pebble Lake GC, Fergus Falls, Minn.)
What's happening at VCSU and around Valley City
- Yellow Colander, White Walls art exhibition opens, McCarthy Gallery
- 4-6 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud parking lot
- 7 p.m. Valley Troubadours first rehearsal (men of all ages and talents are welcome), Epworth United Methodist Church
Tuesday, Sept. 14
- 9 a.m. Staff Open Forum, Student Center Skoal Room
- Noon Rotary Club, VCSU
- 1:30-3:30 p.m. VCSU CSSE Department fall open house, McFarland 138
Wednesday, Sept. 15
- Noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club
Thursday, Sept. 16
- 7 a.m. Optimist Club, Vicky’s Viking Room
- 4 p.m. Visiting artist talk (Anika Hsiung Schneider, Yellow Colander, White Walls), Rhoades 102 or view the livestream at VCSU Art Department Facebook Page
- 4-6 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud parking lot
Monday, Sept. 20
- Higher Learning Commission Team site visit
- 4-6 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud parking lot
Tuesday, Sept. 21
- Higher Learning Commission Team site visit
- Noon Rotary Club, VCSU
Wednesday, Sept. 22
- Noon Kiwanis, Valley City Town & Country Club
Thursday, Sept. 23
- 7 a.m. Optimist Club, Vicky’s Viking Room
- 4-6 p.m. Farmers Market, Rosebud parking lot
Go to https://www.valleycitynd.org/calendar.php to see more events happening in and around Valley City.