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Our Community
Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?
02 Oct 2012 by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper ’89 and Brian Bellmont ’90 / No Comments
Gael Fashingbauer Cooper ’89 and Brian Bellmont ’90 chronicle the lost toys, tastes & trends of the ’70s and ’80s in their book Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? Among their recollections is the Generation X dog hero, Benji.
Hail Marys, Hard Work Fuel Alum’s NFL Rise (and the Seattle Seahawks)
28 Sep 2012 by Tom Couillard '75 / No Comments
Gene McGivern, the university’s sports information director, wrote the heart of this story in a 2010 blog. It’s about John Schneider, an alum who grew up near Green Bay and lived and died with the Packers, eventually interning and later working for the team; he joined the Seattle Seahawks as their general manager in 2010. McGivern is working in his 18th season at St. Thomas and 24th in the MIAC. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Division III sports.
My View at 1,000 Feet
28 Sep 2012 by Carl Baumgaertner '48 / 1 Comment
Carl Baumgaertner ’48 was the photo editor of the Kaydet, the St. Thomas Military Academy yearbook. He snapped the first aerial photo of campus on Dec. 6, 1941, from a J-3 Piper Cub piloted by George Kell, a fellow student who ran the Kaydet’s darkroom. St. Thomas has grown and changed since that photo was taken, and those changes have been documented from the sky above campus.
UST in the News for Sept. 27, 2012
27 Sep 2012 by Kate Metzger / No Comments
Remembering Monsignor Lavin, the Tommie-Johnnie rivalry and a new housing moratorium made headlines this week.
Please Remember Colton Gleason in Your Prayers
26 Sep 2012 by Tom Couillard '75 / No Comments
He was the brother of Steven Gleason ’08 and brother-in-law of Pam (Sylvestre) Gleason ’09, a coach of the St. Thomas dance team.
From Ma Bell to Boardrooms
26 Sep 2012 by Doug Hennes '77 / No Comments
A determined and common-sense work ethic always has characterized Tom Madison. “I’m not afraid of hard work,” Madison said. “I just applied all of the principles that I learned on my paper routes … “
‘Moving the Art’ Earns Upper Midwest Emmy Nomination
25 Sep 2012 by Kate Metzger / No Comments
The documentary about the installation of Frank Gehry’s Winton Guest House at the Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna was narrated and written by Greg Vandegrift and filmed, edited and produced by Brad Jacobsen.
Professional Notes for Sept. 25, 2012
25 Sep 2012 by Kelly Engebretson '99 M.A. / No Comments
This week’s notes feature T. Dean Maines, Dr. Nathaniel “Nat” Nelson and Dr. John Wendt.
‘Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts’
25 Sep 2012 by Doug Hennes '77 / No Comments
Bruce Kramer always had been in excellent physical condition, and he was proud of it. In the summer of 2010, he noticed he had a “floppy” left foot and thought it might be a pinched nerve or sciatica. During his regular physical examination, he mentioned he was “walking a little funny” and the doctor suggested he should see a neurologist. He procrastinated until he took a couple of falls in October, when his left leg collapsed.
Please Remember Andrew A. Chandler in Your Prayers
21 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
He was the husband of Joan Chandler, a St. Thomas employee from 1978 to 1998.
Karen Koivisto, Enrollment Services, to Retire Sept. 28
21 Sep 2012 by Enrollment Services / No Comments
During her 20 years of service to St. Thomas she has been the primary contact for the recruitment and enrollment of transfer students from the community colleges.
“Counselor, Confessor, Confidant”: Monsignor James Lavin Remembered
21 Sep 2012 by Jim Winterer '71 and Doug Hennes '77 / No Comments
Mourners gathered Friday in a crowded Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas to celebrate the life of Monsignor James Lavin. Homilist Father James Stromberg recalled Lavin’s life as “a series of good deeds.”
Please Remember Adelaide Reese Hodgson in Your Prayers
21 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
She was the stepmother of Dr. Thomas Hodgson, head coach of women’s and men’s swimming and diving, and adjunct professor in the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling.
Please Remember Steven Vician in Your Prayers
21 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
He was the father of Chelley Vician. She and her husband, Larry Davis, are associate professors in the Opus College of Business.
Leonard Mikulay, Minneapolis Campus Donor, Dies
21 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
Leonard Mikulay, a St. Thomas alumnus and donor who owned much of the land that now makes up the Minneapolis campus, died Tuesday in St. Paul.
The Making of a Spy Catcher
20 Sep 2012 by Jim Winterer '71 / No Comments
When Randy Thysse ’85 was growing up in the Minneapolis working-class suburb of Brooklyn Center, it was suggested that he learn a trade, like neighbors who were plumbers or glaziers, or maybe he could follow in his dad’s footsteps and learn carpet laying.
The trade he settled into, and which he never once considered while growing up, is sometimes called spycraft.
Please Remember Grace Keaggy in Your Prayers
19 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
She was the grandmother of David Hamm, events and outreach coordinator for the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling.
Professional Notes for Sept. 19, 2012
19 Sep 2012 by Kelly Engebretson '99 M.A. / No Comments
This week’s notes feature staff member Samba Dieng; faculty Dr. Leah Domine, Dr. Len Jennings, Dr. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada, Dr. Kevin Thiessen, Dr. Daniel Tight, Dr. Lisa Waldner, Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker and Dr. Kyle Zimmer; doctoral students Ashley Gulden and Michael Oien; and alumna Jen Blank.
Services Will be Held on Campus Friday, Sept. 21, for Monsignor James Lavin
18 Sep 2012 by Jim Winterer '71 / No Comments
Funeral services for Monsignor James Lavin will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. Archbishop John Nienstedt will celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial. Visitation is Thursday at O’Halloran and Murphy; a reception on campus will follow the funeral Friday.
A Conversation With Dr. Matthew Batt and Dr. Leslie Miller
18 Sep 2012 by Kelly Engebretson '99 M.A. / No Comments
Batt’s first published work, Sugarhouse, is his harrowing and often hilarious story of renovating a Salt Lake City crack house. Miller’s Y, her sixth collection of poetry, “describes motherhood with a broad-ranging intelligence, a fierce humor, and an elegant, emotive poetic line,” according to her publisher, Graywolf Press. Batt and Miller are faculty members in the English Department and will read from their works on Friday, Sept. 21.
The Community Pays Social Tribute to Monsignor Lavin
17 Sep 2012 by Kate Metzger / 3 Comments
Many community members are taking to social media to pay tribute to Monsignor James Lavin, who died Monday, Sept. 17, at age 93. Read what some of you had to say.
Monsignor James Lavin, Part of the St. Thomas Community for More Than 75 Years, Dies at 93
17 Sep 2012 by Doug Hennes '77 and James Winterer '71 / 33 Comments
Lavin died of natural causes at the end of an early-morning Mass celebrated in his room by Father Joseph Johnson, pastor of Holy Family parish in St. Louis Park. Johnson had anointed Lavin and given him Communion shortly before he died.
The Scroll: A Fond Farewell, Steve Trost!
17 Sep 2012 by Dave Nimmer / 3 Comments
Steve Trost retires Wednesday as greenhouse manager at St. Thomas. Dave Nimmer, writing in The Scroll, talks about his buddy’s 32 years of working magic in flower beds and collaborating with biology students and professors.
‘Nullification Crisis of 1832’ Still Resonates Today for History Major
14 Sep 2012 by Tom Couillard '75 / No Comments
David Yates, the History Department’s lead history tutor, was one of five students who presented research papers at a symposium at Mississippi State University over Memorial Day weekend last May. He describes his presentation on “The Nullification Crisis of 1832” “as the culmination of my work over the years. It was the realization of the whole process.” Nullification occasionally makes news even today.
The Scroll: History Hunters, St. Thomas Style
14 Sep 2012 by Lisa Weier / No Comments
Junior Lisa Weier wasn’t fond of history classes in high school, but she has a special appreciation for the subject matter these days as she learns more about St. Thomas and people such as John Ireland, Thomas Grace and William Finn. Read her history lesson today in The Scroll.