News
The Power of Pardon: Law Students Advocate for the Incarcerated.
11 Oct 2012 by Mark Osler, J.D. / No Comments
Jacquelynne Sutton is serving a 10-year prison sentence, thousands of miles from her family. She believes she deserves a second chance.
So do Nancy Ly and Vicky Wanta from the new St. Thomas Commutations Clinic.
MacPhail Building Served Music for Decades; This Summer, MacPhail Served Its Country
10 Oct 2012 by Tom Couillard '75 / No Comments
The training conducted by SEALS of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group on the Minneapolis campus was not a classified secret, but there was little mention of it by local media. The now-empty building was once home to a student by the name of Lawrence Welk, MacPhail’s class of 1927, who would go on to become an icon of American culture.
Monsignor James Habiger, Social Justice Champion, Dies
09 Oct 2012 by Doug Hennes '77 / 5 Comments
Monsignor James Habiger, a champion of social justice issues in the Catholic Church and a longtime pastoral associate in the St. Thomas Campus Ministry Office, died Tuesday. His funeral will be Monday, Oct. 15, at St. Thomas.
Depth of Field: Eye in the Sky
09 Oct 2012 by Mike Ekern '02 / 14 Comments
There’s something about being a photographer at St. Thomas that feels just a bit like cheating. You work at an institution that is comprised entirely of beautiful architecture surrounding what is essentially an arboretum.
And every few years the place rents you a helicopter.
Around the World in 40 Years (and 196 Countries)
08 Oct 2012 by Kate Metzger / 1 Comment
John Rheinberger ’70, ’90 M.B.A., has traveled to every country in the world and has a story to tell about each one.
Rheinberger was strolling through the main square in Dakar, the capital of the western African nation of Senegal, when he asked a passerby to take his photograph. Having traveled alone to dozens of countries, this was something he had grown accustomed to, and usually he found people to be accommodating. But this time, the passerby refused, which put Rheinberger on alert: something was amiss.
The Scroll: Now for Something a Little bit Different
05 Oct 2012 by Susan Alexander / 1 Comment
As Father Dennis Dease’s final year as president rolls along, Susan Alexander admits she is nervous about the search for her boss’ successor. She writes in The Scroll today that the St. Thomas community will survive – and thrive – during this uncertain time as long as we are open to possibilities, trust each other and remain true to our mission.
Kramer Announces Medical Leave as Dean of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling
04 Oct 2012 by Doug Hennes '77 / 4 Comments
Dr. Bruce Kramer announced today that he is taking a leave of absence, effective immediately, as dean of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling in order to deal with his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Kramer told a luncheon meeting of CELC faculty, staff and advisory board members that he believes he no longer can work because of the progression of his ALS, which was diagnosed in December 2010.
The Scroll: Civil Discourse Needed More Than Ever
03 Oct 2012 by Dave Nimmer / 2 Comments
Dave Nimmer is tired of what he calls the “mean season” of politics, where candidates for public office run ads that, in his words, “stretch the truth” at the least and “trample it” at the worst. He remains hopeful, he writes today in The Scroll, that civility might yet prevail.
Twenty-four Employees Inducted Into Quarter Century Club
02 Oct 2012 by Kelly Engebretson '99 M.A. / No Comments
Father Dease also was inducted as an honorary member of the Quarter Century Club to celebrate his final year as president.
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.
St. Thomas Real Estate Analysis: Median Home Prices Jump Nearly $6,000 Over the Summer. Is the Recovery for Real?
28 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
As we near the end of the third quarter of 2012, the final story of the 2012 housing market in the Twin Cities is starting to take shape.
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.
The Scroll: That’s My School
28 Sep 2012 by Martha McCarthy / No Comments
Martha McCarthy graduated in 2011, but she still feels linked to the St. Thomas community every day and what is happening on campus because of social media and the Web. Sharing that “common bond” is important and exciting, she writes today in The Scroll.
Fowler Business Concept Challenge Scholarship Competition Accepts Submissions
27 Sep 2012 by Fowler Business Concept Challenge / No Comments
The challenge asks students to develop a business concept that has the potential to become a viable high-growth business. Teams that submit the winning business concept in each of two divisions (undergraduate and graduate) will receive $10,000 in St. Thomas scholarships.
Two Offices Merge to Form Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement
26 Sep 2012 by Office of Academic Affairs / No Comments
The merger of the Office for Service-Learning and the Center for Intercultural Learning and Community Engagement (CILCE) is the culmination of a process that began in 2006 when two external reviewers recommended greater collaboration among St. Thomas offices engaging in community partnerships.
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.
‘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.
“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.”
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 Scroll: The Perils of Summer Cleaning
21 Sep 2012 by Susan Alexander / No Comments
Is your office a mess? Susan Alexander long realized hers was just that, and then one day over the summer she wandered into Kris Bunton’s sparkling office and became inspired. Susan returned to her Aquinas Hall office and began what she called a “renovation.” Read about it today in The Scroll.
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Music Department Names Parker Quartet as its First Artists-in-Residence
20 Sep 2012 by Department of Music / No Comments
The Parker Quartet’s residency activities will include a full-length public concert, musicianship seminars and lecture demonstrations for music students, All Hearts Listen Lectures (a series of pre-concert discussions), chamber music coaching, and master classes for string students and composition students.
Next ‘Hot Topics: Cool Talk’ Forum Sept. 26 to Give European Perspective on Religious Freedom
20 Sep 2012 by St. Thomas Newsroom / No Comments
Bishop Charles Morerod of Switzerland will give the first “Hot Topics: Cool Talk” lecture of the 2012-2013 academic year.
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.