Dr. Ameeta Jaiswal-Dale.

Dr. Ameeta Jaiswal-Dale, Finance Department, Opus College of Business, is the author of “Retrieving Financial Information in XBRL: Next Generation EDGAR,” which she presented at the American Accounting Association Mid Atlantic Regional annual meeting, held in April in New Jersey.

Dr. John Wendt

Dr. John Wendt, Ethics and Business Law Department, Opus College of Business, is the author of an article titled “The Road to the London 2012 Olympic Games: ‘The Selection Games,’” which has been accepted for publication by the Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. Wendt also presented “Doping and the Competitive Athlete” at the Fairview 2013 Current Concepts in Sports Medicine: “Overhead Athletic Injuries: Safe to Pitch or Throwing Caution to the Wind?”

The survey generated overall favorable responses between 58 and 84 percent in seven theme areas: Catholicism in today’s world; communication and community engagement; diversity effectiveness, commitment and accountability; diversity engagement; diversity-related experiences; equitable treatment; and satisfaction with the university.

The 5,429 respondents who completed or partially completed the survey gave higher marks to St. Thomas in all seven theme areas compared to the 2007 campus climate survey. Double-digit percentage favorable increases were uniform among faculty, staff and students in the equitable treatment and Catholicism in today’s world themes.

“Upon conclusion of the 2007 survey, I asked that the community work to make the university a more welcoming and inclusive place,” said Father Dennis Dease, president. “Clearly, all have taken that to heart. I am gratified by the improvement.”

“We have made significant progress since 2007, but we realize we still have areas to address,” said Dr. Susan Alexander, executive advisor to the president and the university’s affirmative action officer, and Dr. Michael Cogan, associate vice president for records and institutional effectiveness. “We have done some very good things over the last six years, but with any project like this we always need to look at ways to make St. Thomas more inclusive for everybody.”

Cogan credited the 36-person Climate Study Advisory Group (CSAG), which began meeting last September, with playing a key role. The group’s objectives were to provide a variety of perspectives and ideas in developing survey questions, encourage participation and develop research questions answered by data analysis when the survey was completed.

“I am impressed with the participation at all levels,” Cogan said. “Everybody pitched in here – from CSAG’s involvement on each and every issue to such a strong response rate from students, faculty and staff  – and that made a big difference.”

Survey results will be turned over to Dr. Julie Sullivan, who will become president on July 1, for further analysis and study on ways to continue to improve campus climate. (Links to survey results are at the bottom of this story.)

Survey conducted in March

Cogan’s office sent survey invitations to 13,619 St. Thomas community members in late February and followed up with four email reminders before closing the survey on March 22. Nearly 4,200 people (31 percent) completed the survey and more than 1,200 people responded to at least one question for a combined response rate of 40 percent.

In addition to quantitative results, nearly 1,050 people responded to the question, “Please provide any additional comments … that you would like to share as it relates to your experience at the university, campus culture, or the university’s diversity and inclusion initiative.” Those comments were grouped into five themes: affiliation, diversity, leadership, mission and finances.

Cogan defined several university “strengths” as determined by the quantitative survey:

• Five questions related to the “satisfaction with the university” theme generated an 84 percent overall favorable rating (75 percent in 2007), with students at 85 percent (78 percent), staff at 81 percent (70 percent) and faculty at 76 percent (61 percent). The range was 73 percent for full-time faculty to 88 percent for graduate students; male and female respondents were equally satisfied.
• The community had the most favorable perception of the four questions presented in the “diversity engagement” theme – 86 percent overall (compared with 80 percent in 2007), 86 percent of students (82 percent), 84 percent of faculty (78 percent) and 83 percent staff (78 percent)
• Graduate students were more favorable than undergraduate students on six of the seven themes.

Cogan also defined several “opportunities” coming out of the quantitative survey:

• Respondents who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender had a less favorable perception of campus climate than heterosexuals, and reported lower satisfaction scores on all seven themes.
• People of two or more races had a less favorable perception than those of one race in responding to 14 questions that were part of the diversity effectiveness, commitment and accountability theme.
• Full-time faculty generally had the least favorable perception of the university’s climate when compared to staff and students.
• Women had a less favorable perception of the eight questions related to the equitable treatment theme than men.
• Those who identified English as their native language were less favorable regarding all seven themes when compared to those who indicated English was not their native language.

In addition to Cogan and Alexander, CSAG members are: Jill Akervik, Young-Ok An, Bernard Armada, Kristine Baker, Maureen Bird, Sanjeev Bordoloi, Chad Brinsfield, Jane Canney, Nicholas Chang, Linda Dorn, Barb Dunker, Bridget Duoos, Terry Eggert, Kristi Flanagan Villar, Kari Fletcher, Marla Friederichs, Lori Friedman, Michael Glirbas, Mari Graham, Sara Gross Methner, Ann Johson, Lisa Keiser, Sushant Khullar, Aaron Macke, Father John Malone, Susan Myers, Mike Orth, Peter Parilla, Eleni Roulis, Julie Seykora, Victoria Svoboda, Becca Swiler, Mark Vangsgard and Amanda Wright.

Links to climate survey data

For more information, go to:

• The Office of Institutional effectiveness climate survey website.
• A summary of the survey findings (PDF).
• The abridged results (PDF).
• The extended results (PDF).

Huber met recently with Dr. Julie Sullivan, president-elect, and agreed to remain for another year before ending an association with St. Thomas that began as a graduate student and continued with roles as a professor and administrator for more than two decades.

“I want to thank Sue for her exceptional service to the university,” said Father Dennis Dease, president, who appointed her executive vice president and chief academic officer on an interim basis in June 2008 and on a permanent basis the following April. “She has performed with distinction in every position she has held, and she has been a great leader and collaborator on so many projects.”

“I am pleased and grateful that Sue will remain with St. Thomas for another academic year,” said Sullivan, who will succeed Dease as president when he retires June 30. “Continuity is necessary in a position as critical as chief academic officer, especially with issues such as our accreditation visit this fall. It’s important that Sue is involved in those issues.”

Sullivan said she will launch a national search this fall for Huber’s replacement.

Huber said she will retire with mixed emotions because she has loved each of the faculty and administrative positions that she has held at St. Thomas since 1992.

“I have never been bored at work, and that’s because St. Thomas is such a dynamic institution,” she said. I can’t imagine having a more satisfying career. This is a stimulating educational community, and I will always treasure the time I have spent in the classroom with students and outside of the classroom engaged with colleagues in efforts to improve our programs and our learning environment.”

Huber joined the St. Thomas community as a graduate student and earned two degrees: a master’s in curriculum and instruction and a doctorate in educational leadership. Her bachelor’s degree in Latin and English is from the former College of St. Teresa in Winona.

She taught English in Burnsville and Roseville public schools and English as a Second Language at Hamline University before she moved to St. Andrew’s Catholic School in St. Paul as an English teacher and then principal. She was dean of continuing education and special programs at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota before joining the St. Thomas School of Education faculty.

She served as chair of the Teacher Education Department and was associate dean of the School of Education before she was appointed interim dean in 2006. She became the first dean of the College of Applied Professional Studies in 2007 after a decision to bring the School of Education and the Graduate School of Professional Psychology into the new college (since renamed the College of Education, Learning and Counseling).

Huber’s professional appointments include service on the boards of Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at St. Thomas and St. John’s University. She is a board member at Risen Christ School in Minneapolis and a former board member of the Convent of the Visitation School in Mendota Heights.

“I’ve always felt that racing on the bike is a microcosm of life. There are the joys and the tragedies and the pain and the elation, and sometimes you just have to get back on the saddle.”

~ John Barron

John Barron, 53, has been on a bicycle (or tricycle) most of his life – from the time he was a lad of 4 scooting around on his tricycle on the sidewalks of St. Louis Park to entering local road races as an adult to competing at the velodrome at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

He no longer races, but he’s back on the saddle as team manager of a female collegiate all-star bicycle racing team that will compete at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, which is held annually during June in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

From trike to racing bike

An older brother raced and influenced him to ride “at a higher level.”

“He fixed up a bike for me and turned it into a racing bike,” Barron said in a recent interview. “He showed me how to ride a light, fast, skinny-tire bike, and he noticed that I was pretty good on the bike.”

The coaching he received from his brother was informal – such as how to position himself on the bike, and he offered this advice: “Just go fast.”

John Barron, about 4 years old, on the saddle and ready to ride.

Barron, director of St. Thomas’ Service Center, bought a used racing bike in 1988 and he began to compete. “My first race was on a course in the Minnetonka area, and it was fun. Racing is hard and it hurts, but it’s fun, too,” Barron said.

After some 100 races during a 13-year span, he stopped racing and became a Level One coach, USA Cycling’s highest certification level.

“I took the classes mostly for fun but also to work with junior racers and do some casual coaching. And then I got the opportunity to manage a professional team for the Nature Valley Grand Prix in 2004. … The team wasn’t able to bring its manager, so I was the interim manager and I did a lot of the logistics and that kind of thing,” Barron said. “That was my introduction to managing a professional team at a big professional race. I had a lot fun with that, and I did that for three years in a row.”

In 2007 he was asked to help form and manage a female collegiate all-star bicycle racing team to race at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. This June will be his seventh year managing the Kowalski’s Markets Collegiate All-Stars, the team’s official title.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix, part of the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival (June 6-16), will feature six races over five days, June 12-16. The first race – the 7.7-mile St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial – will roll past the University of St. Thomas from 8:30 a.m. until about noon Wednesday, June 12, on Mississippi River Boulevard; the start line and finish line of this “race of truth” will be located just south of the Ford Bridge. Other stages of the grand prix will be held in Cannon Falls, Minneapolis and Stillwater, Minn., and Menomonie, Wis. St. Paul also will be host to a second race on June 12, the St. Paul Downtown Criterium, with races starting at 6:15 p.m.

The all-stars

Six all-stars are selected each year to compete in the grand prix based on how they finished in the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships, which was held May 3-5 this year in Ogden, Utah. The goal of the program, Barron said, is “to identify otherwise relatively invisible collegiate student-athletes who are on the bike – identify them and give them an opportunity to race at the highest level.”

John Barron raced for 13 years, which included a lot of races on the velodrome oval at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

“These young women are exceptional,” he added. “They are student-athletes so they have to figure out how to manage their time and their studies as well as an incredible number of hours of training on the bike.”

Thirteen women in the past six years have received pro contracts. This year’s team members hail from Vermont, California, Massachusetts and Colorado.

“My job is primarily logistics,” Barron said. “Getting them here and creating an environment where all they have to worry about is getting on their bikes and racing. … It gets better and better every year, but we’ve got a real nice package going where it all just seems to work. Because my support staff and, indeed, the people who make this very successful race happen, are all volunteers, my job is really to make sure that everybody has fun, because these volunteers don’t do it for the pay, they do it for a chance to give back to racing and to have fun.”

His duties include working with the media, coordinating with USA Cycling, working with the racers’ coaches, and arranging for housing during the grand prix and also a three-day training camp in Wisconsin that he hosts before the start of the series. His team’s support staff includes a bike mechanic, a massage therapist and others who, like Barron, all raced at one time.

“Being a part of the all-star team is a chance to be a part of racing without being wheel-to-wheel. … What I get out of it is the satisfaction of sharing my knowledge and experience with others,” Barron said.

Microcosm of life

Racing, like life, can be loaded with disappointment. Often you don’t win the race. No one likes to lose, but we learn, get back on the saddle and ride forward, and we hope there is joy and elation along the way.

In the various grand prix stages, the all-stars typically are overmatched by older, more experienced elite and professional racers; still, as Barron points out, “They usually come away saying it was one of the funnest things they’ve ever done. … My racers usually come away from this week of racing saying it was just a fantastic experience. Fun. Filled with learning. Filled with meeting new people. Meeting coaches and sponsors from around the country, and traveling and connecting with people in a different part of the country – these are all opportunities.”

The bike festival also is an opportunity to raise funds for Children’s Lighthouse of Minnesota, the festival’s 2013 benefiting charity. According to the festival’s website, the nonprofit “has been working since 2009 to create the first residential children’s hospice and respite care home in the Twin Cities. The home will provide palliative care for children with conditions not responsive to curative care.”

In bicycle racing, as in life, win or lose you get back on the saddle and ride again – and sometimes it’s for those who can’t.

They are members of the largest ordination class since 2005, when 15 men were ordained to serve as priests in the archdiocese.

All 10 attended the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and earned Master of Divinity degrees. Over the past four years they participated in the Teaching Parish Program, spending time in a parish each week to participate in various aspects of pastoral service.

Those who will become priests Saturday are:

Deacon Leonard Andrie, 36, of Inver Grove Heights. He and his mother, Sandy, are parishioners at Inver Grove Heights’ St. Patrick parish. Andrie earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame before working in the field for five years in Minneapolis. He was also a school teacher in Virginia for two years. He then attended the University of St. Thomas, where he earned master’s degrees in Catholic studies, theology and divinity. His teaching parish was St. Odilia in Shoreview, and he spent time in Omaha, Mexico and Venezuela during his summers while in seminary. Andrie will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at St. Agatha Church in Coates.

Deacon Andrew Brinkman, 27, of Ann Arbor, Mich. His parents, Ronald and Christine, live in Ann Arbor, and his home parish is Minneapolis’ Church of St. Stephen. An avid skateboarder, Brinkman spent his years prior to seminary enjoying his passion for skateboarding as well as working at a pastry shop. He is intrigued by the potential of evangelizing on behalf of the environmental movement. Brinkman’s teaching parish is also the Church of St. Stephen, and it’s where he’ll celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 26.

Deacon John Drees, 26, of Shakopee. He and his parents, John and Marie, are parishioners at St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown. Drees enrolled in seminary soon after graduating from high school, and spent one summer doing hospital ministry in Grand Forks, N.D. His teaching parish was St. Pius X in White Bear Lake, and he will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at St. Mary of the Purification in Marystown.

Deacon Joah Ellis, 26, of Blaine. He and his parents, Daniel and Carrie Ellis, are parishioners at the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids. After graduating from high school, Ellis worked one summer for the Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department before enrolling in the seminary that fall. As a young boy, he got to know many priests over dinners at his home, which often were followed by games of pick-up basketball. His teaching parish was the Church of St. Timothy in Maple Lake, and he will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at the Church of the Epiphany.

Deacon Spencer Howe, 26, of North Oaks. He and his parents, Jeffrey and Jeanette, are parishioners at the Church of St. Paul in Ham Lake. Howe was raised in the Evangelical Lutheran tradition. He became curious about Catholicism after his grandmother returned to the faith in 1999. Two years later, he and his father were received into the Catholic Church together. Howe enrolled in St. John Vianney Seminary immediately after graduating from Mounds View High School. He spent his summers while in the seminary in Ethiopia and Rome, and his teaching parishes were St. John the Baptist in New Brighton and St. Stephen in Anoka. He will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at St. John the Baptist Church.

Deacon Andrew Jaspers, 34, of Lake Crystal, where his parents, Dr. Anthony and Mary, still live and attend Holy Family Church. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from Marquette University in Milwaukee and Fordham University in New York City, respectively, Jaspers taught at Creighton University in Omaha where he also wrote philosophical articles for various Catholic publications. His teaching parish was the Church of the Epiphany in Coon Rapids. Jaspers’ Mass of Thanksgiving will be at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at the Cathedral of St. Paul.

Deacon Luke Marquard, 33, of Faribault, where he and his parents, Stephen and Mary, are parishioners at Divine Mercy parish. After earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Butler University in Indianapolis and a master’s degree in education from the University of Notre Dame, Marquard worked in public relations, marketing and communications in Indianapolis and Chicago. He then went on to teach Catholic elementary school in Denver as part of Notre Dame’s ACE program. His teaching parish was Forest Lake’s St. Peter Church, and he will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at Divine Mercy.

Deacon Brian Park, 32, of Fort Worth, Texas, where his parents, Paul and Mary Kay, still reside. Park began to consider the priesthood while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in history from Texas A & M University in College Station. After graduation, he traveled the country for three years as a team supervisor for NET Ministries, where he led retreats for Catholic teens. He entered the pre-theology program at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in 2007. His teaching parish was St. Paul’s Church of St. Agnes. Park’s Masses of Thanksgiving are at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at the Church of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, and at his boyhood parish, where his parents still worship, St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Ft. Worth at 9 a.m. Sunday, June 2.

Deacon James Peterson, 27, of Minnetonka. He and his parents, Jim and Ann, are parishioners at Chanhassen’s St. Hubert Church. He attended Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria before earning a bachelor’s degree in theology from St. John’s University where he also ran track and field. His teaching parish was Immaculate Heart of Mary in Minnetonka, and he spent his summers while in seminary in Mexico and Venezuela. Peterson will celebrate his Masses of Thanksgiving at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 26, at Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Deacon Andrew Stueve, 40, of Hanover. He and his parents, Bernard and Kay, are parishioners at Mary Queen of Peace in Rogers. He graduated with an associate degree in accounting from Hennepin Technical College before pursuing a 10-year career as an accountant. Stueve’s teaching parish was Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood. His Masses of Thanksgiving will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 26, at Mary Queen of Peace, as well as 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 9, at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

UST Bookstores Director Tony Erickson said the claims in the email are inaccurate and that students are being offered prices far lower than what they would receive at the official UST Bookstores book buyback, which is taking place through May 24 on the lower level of Murray-Herrick Campus Center.

“On Monday most of our UST students received a mass email advertising a book buyback across the street from the chapel. This group is buying back books from our students at obscenely low prices,” Erickson said. “One student sold a book back for $8 and we would have paid $42 for it. Another student had a quote of $30 for his books and we paid him $267. Another was given a quote of $5 and received $36 from the bookstore.”

Erickson said that the buyer is likely purchasing books to sell to a wholesaler in order to make a profit off of unknowing students. He encourages students interested in selling their textbooks to first check with the UST Bookstores book buyback before getting quotes from a rogue book buyer.

Erickson also encourages students to protect themselves from book theft. The end of the semester is a time that book thefts increase substantially. Watch and mark your books so that you can identify them in case they are lost or stolen.

For more information contact the UST Bookstores.

The fountain is a gift from Pentair Ltd. and five current or former directors of the company in honor of the late Harpole, its founder and first chief executive officer. St. Thomas installed the fountain last summer after the student center’s January 2012 opening.

Father Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas, thanked Pentair chairman and CEO Randall J. Hogan and two predecessors – Eugene Nugent and Winslow Buxton – for the gift. Their contributions, when matched by a gift from members of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees, paid for the fountain and its future maintenance as well as a landscaping and irrigation system for the lower quadrangle.

(Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

“This spectacular water fountain honors Pentair for its global leadership in water technologies that help make the world a better place,” states a plaque at the fountain. “It also honors the entrepreneurial legacy of Murray J. Harpole, a cherished benefactor who provided early guidance that helped to lead to the eventual establishment of today’s flourishing St. Thomas programs in entrepreneurship and engineering.”

Harpole quit his job as an engineer at the age of 45 to start Pentair in 1966 and retired as chief executive officer in 1981, by which point revenues had grown to $238 million. His successors – Nugent (1982-1992), Buxton (1992-2001) and Hogan (since 2001) – attended Monday’s dedication ceremony, as did Harpole’s widow, Ruth, and members of her extended family.

Pentair today is a global leader in the water, fluid, thermal management and equipment protection industries. During Hogan’s tenure, Pentair’s annual revenues have increased from $2.6 billion to $8 billion, its market cap has grown from $1 billion to $11 billion and its workforce has more than doubled to 30,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

The St. Thomas-Pentair connection goes back 25 years, when the company funded a classroom during the 1989 expansion of Murray-Herrick Campus Center. Pentair established the Pentair Prize – a $5,000 scholarship to an entrepreneurship student – in 2000 and has sponsored the STEPS (Science, Technology & Engineering Preview Summer) camps that have brought 3,000 girls to campus since 2005.

Quent Hietpas, senior vice president emeritus of St. Thomas, served on the Pentair board for 25 years (15 as lead director). He emceed a luncheon program after the dedication ceremony.

 A plaque identifying the Murray J. Harpole Legacy Fountain has been placed in John P. Monahan Plaza. 

Lisa Weier

Marta loves music. Absolutely loves it. She loves to dance, too. As a consequence, she let us listen to a song sung in Italian at the end of every class, often repeating ones we had previously heard. We would translate the lyrics to English to understand what the song was about. (98.6 percent of Italian lyrics, even if the underlying music is happy-sounding, are tragic and dramatic.)

Here’s my resulting Italian playlist:

• “Tutta mia la cittá” by Giuliano Palma and the Bluebeaters
• “50 Mila” by Nina Zilli, featuring Giuliano Palma
• “La Prima Cosa Bella” by Malika Ayane
• “L’amore Verrá” by Nina Zilli
• “Miserere” by Pavarotti and Zucchero

On our last normal day of class, we listened to all of the songs as a kind of culminating celebration. When we started “L’amore Verrá” (the Italian version of “You Can’t Hurry Love” by the Supremes), Marta sang along and danced, swaying to the beat. We tapped our toes and sang along from our desks. Suddenly, my classmate Tim turned to me: “Lisa. I want to dance with Marta. Will you dance too?” After a moment’s thought, I replied, “Yeah. I will if you will.”

He thought one second more, stood up, pushed his chair back and stepped out into the aisle. I followed. Once we made our intentions clear, the class laughed. Then we worked on getting them out of the seats. After a little persuasion, everyone was up and dancing, to Marta’s sheer delight. I’m proud to say that we were the first of her American Italian classes where everyone danced. She was proud too, inviting us to a homemade gelato feast in return. We enjoyed that a couple of days later, meeting her family at her apartment.

I don’t know if I ever would have danced in a class before. I can’t imagine having a professor quite like Marta, or a group of classmates like my fellow Bernardians (as we call ourselves). It is one of my favorite memories from this semester, a semester not quite past, but very close to being so … .

My next Scroll, I’ll be stateside. See you then!

The Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, formerly known as the Center for Intercultural Learning and Community Engagement (CILCE), was reorganized recently by Academic Affairs.

As a result of the reorganization, programs and services were reassigned:

• The Tutor Mentor and Literacy Connections programs are now part of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling.
• The Early College Awareness program now is offered by Student Diversity and Inclusion Services.
• All other service learning and community engagement operations, including the Community Engagement Network, now are housed in the Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement.

The Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement Has New Location in Room 313, Aquinas Hall

The Office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement assists St. Thomas faculty members, students, staff and community members to establish reciprocal meaningful relationships in which academic coursework and reflection are integrated with civic engagement together with its community partners. The work is designed to enhance students’ learning and to encourage social responsibility on local, national and global initiatives.

OSLCE staff members are happy to assist faculty, staff, students and community partners develop and implement new opportunities that enhance and support the University of St. Thomas mission dedicated to educating students to work skillfully and advance the common good.

For more information:

• Visit the OSLCE website
• Call the OSLCE, (651) 962-5380
• Stop by the office in Room 313, Aquinas Hall

Tutor Mentor and Literacy Connections Programs Move to College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, Minneapolis Campus

The Tutor Mentor and the Literacy Connections programs invite the campus community to visit at its new location in Room 317 (part of the same office suite as Teacher Education), Opus Hall, Minneapolis campus. Staff members will provide the same great opportunities and resources that have been supportive and beneficial to students in the past. While now located in Minneapolis, the programs still are designed and offered for all students at the University of St Thomas.

For more information contact:

• Kate Caffrey, program manager, (651) 962-4438
• Amparo (Paro) Pope, administrative assistant, (651) 962-4437

Early College Awareness Program Moves to Student Diversity and Inclusion Services

Student Diversity and Inclusion Services (SDIS) welcomes the Early College Awareness (ECA) program to its department’s services. The University of St. Thomas regularly invests in heightening college awareness for middle school students, particularly those from underrepresented racial, ethnic or economic backgrounds. In fact, these efforts originated in the Multicultural Student Services area years ago, before being moved to a Diversity Initiatives office and later to the Center for Intercultural Learning and Community Engagement (CILCE). Now SDIS staff members are pleased to continue the important work of generating early college awareness in the community.

For more information:

• Visit the Student Diversity and Inclusion Services website
• Contact Teresa Sweeney, administrative assistant, (651) 962-6800

UST’s Institutional Review Board Now Is Located on IRBNet.org, Sponsored by Office of Academic Affairs

Now housed under the auspices of the Office of Academic Affairs, the Institutional Review Board also has a new location in Room 311, Aquinas Hall. The Institutional Research Board reviews, approves and monitors all research studies undertaken at the University of St. Thomas.

The IRB has a twofold commitment:

• Commitment to a policy of safeguarding the dignity, rights and privacy of all human subjects of scientific research
• Commitment to assisting faculty, staff and student researchers meet the highest ethical and professional standards

For more information and sign-up instructions for research reviews:

• Visit the IRBNet.org website for more information and specific directions on submitting research protocol
• Contact the Institutional Review Board, (651) 962-6015
• Stop by the office in Room 311, Aquinas Hall

The program can be heard at noon Tuesday, May 21, on the “Minnesota Public Radio News Presents” program at 91.1 FM. The program also can be heard via the Internet. Information is available here.

The program is part of Minnesota Public Radio’s 2012-13 Broadcast Journalist Series, which is co-sponsored by St. Thomas’ College of Arts and Sciences and its Communication and Journalism Department.

Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, 
And say my glory was I had such friends.

I have always loved those words, which are the closing two lines of the poem, “The Municipal Gallery Revisited,” and as I approach my final weeks as president of the University of St. Thomas I cannot find a more appropriate valedictory in thanking this community.

I find it fitting to quote Yeats, considering that he counts among the dozens of Irish poets who have visited our campus over our 128 years. He appeared on a bitterly cold  January day in 1904 to give a St. Paul Seminary lecture to what one newsletter called “a large and cultured audience.”

I also borrowed Yeats’ words about friendship when I informed the faculty last May of my plans to retire, and in an effort to add some levity to the situation I quoted a  second Yeats observation: “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” The line drew welcome laughter, and I said it could be seen as even inspirational. “I know there have been days that were difficult as well as days that were good,” I told the faculty. “It’s the kind of existential resignation captured in the more homespun American proverb, ‘Some days you’re the bug; some days you’re the windshield.’” And there was more laughter!

In all seriousness, my gratitude today knows no bounds, and for good reason. Any success that I have enjoyed during my 22 years as president has been directly the result of generous, unselfish and heroic work by you – our faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni and benefactors. Or, as I like to say when I address a gathering, our “friends all.”

You also have been kind beyond description – to me and to St. Thomas. I will forever carry fond memories of those kindnesses, which I know were borne out of a genuine desire to make this a better university and to help us provide the best possible education for our students. The lengths to which you go to provide assistance astound me time and time again, almost to the point that it would be easy to take you for granted. I hope I never have done so.

As you know, I am fond of quoting our mission statement, which so perfectly captures what we attempt to do – to educate students “to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good.” I take comfort in knowing how those words unite us as we seek to live up to one more Yeats maxim: that “education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire” – and I know they will motivate me in the years ahead.

I will see you around campus!

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

The President’s Staff under Father Dennis Dease endorsed the tobacco-free concept at its May 6 meeting, and a committee will be appointed to work out an implementation plan in conjunction with smoking cessation programs before returning to the President’s Staff this fall for final approval. The policy would affect the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses but not the Rome campus or the Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna.

More than 30 Minnesota colleges and universities already have tobacco bans. Nationwide, 700 are tobacco free and more than 1,000 are smoke free.

“Research shows that having a tobacco-free campus literally changes the behavior of students,” said Dr. Jane Canney, vice president for student affairs. “They smoke less and have a better understanding of the health and wellness aspects of their lives, and they come to value a tobacco-free environment.”

In the St. Thomas policy, “tobacco” is defined as any lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, clove cigarette, hookah smoked products, electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in any form. Promotion, sale or distribution of tobacco products and merchandise, including any items carrying tobacco logos, will be prohibited on campus or at any university-sponsored events.

“Compliance with this policy will depend upon the cooperation of all faculty, staff and students as well as campus visitors,” states a policy proposal considered by the President’s Staff. “The university will develop training programs to assist and prepare students and employees to help one another honor the tobacco-free environment that this policy supports.”

Proposal came from students

In the fall semester of 2010, Mike Orth, then president of the sophomore class and until recently president of the Undergraduate Student Government, approached St. Thomas leadership about ways to reduce tobacco use on campus.

“Mike took a real leadership role on the issue,” Canney said. “He formed a USG Tobacco Policy Review Committee during the 2010-2011 academic year, which conducted two student surveys and did thorough research. They involved a lot of students, and they concluded that they wanted to advocate for a tobacco-free campus.”

Orth decided to become involved because he knew the issue would become “incredibly important” for the St. Thomas community. Over time, he became convinced it made sense for St. Thomas to be tobacco free.

“A tobacco-free campus means two things,” he said. “First, that our university offers a safe and healthy place for students, faculty and staff to work, attend class and live. Second, that St. Thomas encourages the entire community to make healthy choices. That has an especially profound impact on students who are developing habits for the rest of their lives.”

Through the surveys and interviews, the USG committee became more familiar with the pros and cons of limited or no tobacco consumption on campus. Supporters objected to inhaling second-hand smoke and believed limits or a ban would promote healthy practices for people to follow for the rest of their lives, including in smoke-free work places. Opponents said a ban would infringe on their personal freedoms and would create safety concerns and littering problems by forcing people to smoke on public property, such as sidewalks, streets and the Summit Avenue median.

“There are strong opinions on both sides of the issue,” Orth said. “A change like this takes time, and we have been careful to include every opinion in the discussion.”

Tobacco-Free Campus work group formed

Following the Undergraduate Student Government recommendation in the fall of 2011, a Tobacco-Free Campus work group was formed. It included representation from faculty, students, exempt staff and non-exempt staff. After 18 months of consultation and research, the work group developed a draft tobacco free campus policy proposal.

This spring, members of the workgroup made nearly 20 presentations to committees and organizations across campus, discussing the proposal and assuring each constituency that it would be involved in future discussions regarding implementation of the policy once it was approved.

“I believe we are ready to move forward as an educational institution and not only become a tobacco-free campus,” Orth said, “but also utilize this opportunity to educate our students, faculty, and staff about living healthier lives.”

Among those participating on the Tobacco Free Campus work group is Dr. Jill Manske, a biology professor who completed a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota last year. Manske and Dr. Jolynn Gardner of the Health and Human Performance Department (also a work group member) are developing tools to assess the attitudes and tobacco use before and after the ban.

Manske said she became involved in the work group a year ago after Canney asked her if she would be interested in serving as faculty representative. She said yes because of its origin as a student-generated initiative.

“It represents the type of student/grass-root ‘working for the common good’ that we hope to inspire in our students,” said Manske, who teaches a course in women’s health. “I also see this as an important women’s health issue. More men than women smoke, but smoking among college-age women has increased since the 1980s for a variety of reasons, including weight control and media exposure.”

Manske cited a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General’s report that women’s death rates due to lung cancer, a disease primarily caused by cigarette smoking, have increased 600 percent since 1950 and that “smoking-related disease among women is full-blown epidemic.”

Added Manske: “I think that anything we can do to counter these social pressures, and to introduce a different culture around tobacco use, is important.”

U of M will have smoking ban

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus is the most recent to announce a ban – at least a smoking ban, that is. The University Senate, made up of faculty, students and staff, voted May 2 in favor of a smoking ban and President Eric Kaler concurred, telling the Star Tribune: “A tobacco-free campus has become an expectation … rather than an innovation. It’s about time for us.” The ban could begin in the fall of 2014, and in the meantime officials will determine details such as whether the ban will include chewing tobacco.

Two other U of M campuses already have bans – tobacco in Crookston and smoking in Duluth. Private colleges with tobacco bans are Bethel, Northwestern, St. Catherine and St. Scholastica, and other major public institutions include state universities in Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Moorhead, St. Cloud and Winona.

The program featured much laughter, some tears, two sustained standing ovations, kind words, and a chance to see Dease cover his distinguished gray hair with a Harley Davidson “do-rag,” complete with bright orange flames.

Speaking at the event were Father John Malone, vice president for mission, and Archbishop Harry Flynn, chair of the university’s board for the past 18 years.

Flynn, also sporting a Harley cap at the podium, commented on Malone’s string of jokes and stories that peppered the program. “When Father Malone was speaking, I was wishing this was six years ago and I was still in office … so I could can him.”

Father John Malone, left, cracks a joke as Archbishop Emeritus Harry Flynn and Father Dease look on.

The archbishop turned serious and described this as a bittersweet time for the university. “We’ve all grown with him,” he said of Dease, who will retire at the end of June after 22 years as the university’s president.

“The hardest job in the world is being president of a Catholic university,” he said. “The president is responsible to so many constituents … students, faculty, the board, alumni and to the local bishop. It is a delicate balance, and Father Dease has done it brilliantly.”

Flynn said there are two types of leaders. One is the “instrumentalist” who is focused primarily on getting the job done. The other is the “expressive leader” who accomplishes tasks through encouragement, through listening, by making sure the morale is high and who leads others to work toward goals. “Those two forms of leaders landed in one person, Father Dease. He has been a patient, patient leader … and how important that is.

“I always describe Father Dease as steel wrapped in velvet. He smiles when he asks you for something.”

There are stories behind the Harley do-rags and the Groucho glasses.

Years ago, Dr. Ron Bennett, former dean of the School of Engineering, gave Dease a piggy-bank for his office desk. It was inscribed, “My Harley Fund,” and Dease often joked that he planned to buy a Harley motorcycle when he retired. At the start of the program, Malone and Dease donned their do-rags and the archbishop put on a more dignified Harley beret.

The origins of the Groucho glasses go back two years, to the fall faculty convocation. At the annual gathering, Dease put on a pair of Groucho glasses while commenting on a widely reported controversy involving British climate-change skeptic Lord Christopher Monkton and St. Thomas engineering professor and climate-change expert Dr. John Abraham. It was in the course of the controversy that Monkton called Dease a “creep of a president.”

As Malone recounted the story Friday afternoon, members of the audience took their Groucho glasses out of hiding and put them on.

Staff and faculty applaud Father Dease at a sendoff celebration.

“I thought a nice thing about getting old is you couldn’t be shocked anymore,” Dease said when he took the podium. “I was wrong. I never believed I’d be up here with an archbishop in a Harley hat and me in a do-rag.”

Dease’s remarks were short. “I don’t have a speech. I want to say thanks to all faculty and staff for making the St. Thomas culture so really, really special … and it’s hard to look out and say that with everyone wearing Groucho glasses.”

And at that, the audience rose and gave him a long standing ovation.

Leave a Farewell Note for Father Dennis Dease

If you were unable to attend the faculty and staff farewell celebration for St. Thomas President Father Dennis Dease, you can still offer your best wishes to him by signing a memory book that will be given to him when he retires on June 30. Stop by Aquinas Hall Room 102 to sign the book through Friday, May 31. The first 100 signers will receive commemorative Groucho glasses.

Projects are scheduled late May through the end of August.

These projects include:

2120 Summit Ave.

• The garage behind 2120 Summit Ave. (Development Office) will be razed to expand the existing parking lot used by the Child Development Center and the Development Office. Work will be begin in early June and will be completed by late July. The area also will be landscaped.

Brady Hall

• Phase two of work on fixing the exterior brick of the upper floors, which have experienced structural issues the past few years, will continue this summer and will be completed by July 19. Phase one occurred last summer and fixed 60 percent of the afflicted areas.

Modern and Classical Languages Department

• All 2,800 square feet of the Modern and Classical Languages offices on the third floor of O’Shaughnessy Educational Center will be renovated.

Murray-Herrick Campus Center

• Renovation of the building, including the second-floor space in Herrick Hall (former dining rooms and office space converted for use by Admissions) will continue this summer and will finish by Aug. 15. When completed the entire Enrollment Services division will be in Murray-Herrick Campus Center. (The Office of Financial Aid moved last year.)

O’Shaughnessy Stadium

• Decorative Mankato Kasota stone will be added to each end and underneath the existing video board in O’Shaughnessy Stadium to make it fit within the context of the stadium, which is walled in the same stone.

Owens Science Hall

• The obsolete fume-hood controls, which exhaust air from the science labs, will be replaced in the fourth-floor teaching labs.

Sculpture garden

• A sculpture garden will be installed in the area between Brady Educational Center and the Binz Refectory. The sculptures include “The Family,” a 3,200-pound copper sculpture by Evelyn Raymond that originally was installed on the Coughlan Field House’s east wall in 1983; “Stephen’s Summer” by John Raimondi, a five-piece, 21-ton sculpture of cor-ten steel donated by Dolly Fiterman, which previously was displayed on the west lawn of Loras Hall; and possibly a third sculpture to be announced.

South Field

• St. Thomas will replace the grass with artificial turf beginning Monday, May 20. The bleachers, scoreboard, fencing and softball dugouts also will be replaced. All of the work, which will cost $2 million, is expected to be completed by early August. More information is available in this Newsroom article.

The supplement will contain a portion of what is featured in the online digital yearbook, including photos of student clubs and organizations and faculty and staff departments; senior portraits; and athletic team photos. To purchase a supplement, stop by Tommie Central in the Anderson Student Center or call (651) 962-6137. The supplement will be available by midsummer.

The fall semester release of the online yearbook is now available at www.aquinasyearbook.com and on Facebook. You can download the yearbook through its free app for Android and Apple devices. The app can be downloaded in the Google Play Store, the Amazon App Store for Android and in the iTunes Store.

Archived versions of Aquinas yearbooks from 1993 to 2011 can be viewed online in UST Libraries’ Digital Collections archives.

For more information, contact Aquinas adviser Kim Rueb.

George Baboila

George Baboila, School of Social Work; Virgil Wiebe, School of Law; and Jennifer Wright, School of Law, presented on “Teaching Interprofessional Ethics,” April 30, to a packed audience at the American Association of Law Schools annual clinical Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Hans Gustafson

Dr. Hans Gustafson, Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, and Theology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, wrote a chapter, titled “Place, Spiritual Anthropology, and Sacramentality in Merton’s Later Years,” for the forthcoming book The Merton Annual: Studies in Culture, Spirituality, and Social Concerns, Volume 25 (David Belcastro and Joseph Raab, eds. Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2013, pp. 74-90).

Mark Jensen, University Relations, has a solo exhibition of selected prints from his North Shore Portfolio, titled “Rocks, Trees, and Moss,” hanging this month at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, located on Lowry Hill in Minneapolis. This portfolio is comprised of color photographs taken with a large format view camera along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The original images were created using 4×5 color transparency film. This is the first exhibit of Jensen’s color work in Minneapolis. Jensen also will display a portrait from the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded “Minneapolis – Portrait of a  Lifestyle” and others commissioned by the Minnesota Historical Society for its “Minnesota 2000 Documentary Photography Project” at Art-a-Whirl the third week in May.

Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker

Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, College of Arts and Sciences, is editor of The Other People: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Migration  (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).

Contributors include specialists in migration studies from anthopology, criminal justice, family studies, legal studies, nursing, political science, social welfare, sociology and women’s studies. The authors have lived experience in African, Australian, Canadian, German, Hmong, Korean, Middle Eastern and United Kingdom cultures. They hold positions at universities in Australia, Canada and across the United States, and include the deputy head of the University of Southern Queensland Law School, Australia, and the director of the Asylum and Refugee Law Clinic at Pepperdine University School of Law.

Karraker wrote the introductory chapter “Global Migration in the Twenty-first Century.” Jennifer Blank (B.A. Sociology, Criminal Justice, University of St. Thomas; M.A. criminology, Middlesex University) is the author of “Human Trafficking, Migration, and Gender: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” based on her interviews with men engaged in sex trafficking in London. Dr. Sue Smith-Cunnien, Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, contributed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Nation): Zimbabweans in South Africa,” based on her work in those societies. Jan Orf, UST Libraries, and Mathew Vicknair, sociology and economics major, co-wrote an appendix, “Resources for Research on Global Migration.”

The cover, by award-winning Twin Cities photographer Wing Young Huie, depicts an emigrant from Sudan awaiting the bus to adult education classes on a snowy January morning in St. Paul, Minn. The book is dedicated to that person.

Dr. John Wendt

Dr. John Wendt, Department of Ethics and Business Law, Opus College of Business, co-presented “I Can Do This! Where is the Bottom?: An Analysis of Risk Management Plans for Swimmers in Triathlons” with Dean John Miller of Troy University and Professor Gina A. Pauline of Syracuse University at the 26th Annual Conference on Sport, Physical Activity, Recreation and Law.  Wendt and Miller also co-presented “Risk Communication Management of Concussions in High School Football, Who Knew?” at the conference.

Students and faculty from the Chemistry Department presented their research at the 245th American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, held April 7-11 in New Orleans, La. Student presenters, their projects and their research advisers were: Cole Johnson, “Computational Analysis of Molecular Fluoroquinolone using GAMESS” (student of Dr. Joseph Brom); Wendy Consoer, “Characterization of Ozonation Products for the Macrolide Antibiotic Roxithromycin,” Sam Jensen, “Assessing Estrogenic and Androgenic Activity of UV Filter Photoproducts,” and Maia Moffatt, “Effects of Ozonation on the Antibacterial Activity of the Macrolide Roxithromycin” (students of Dr.  Kristine H. Wammer); Mark Schwerkoske, “Novel Antimalarial Compounds,” Tommy Gentle, “Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Isoluminol Derivatives,” Sam Fish, “Kinetics of Hindered Amine and Isocyanates Reactions,” Olga Zamulko, “Synthesis of a Topologically Designed Novel Antibiotic,” Mark Frommelt, “Synthesis of a Near Infrared Absorbing Photochrome,” Suzanne Mages, “Tunable Radiopaque Polymers,” Becca Kummer, “Synthesis of a Novel Antibacterial Compound,” Sarah Larson, “A Novel Route to N-Alkylated Benzimidazoles,” and Brooke Capelle, “Synthesis of Novel Thermochromic Compounds” (students of Dr.  J. Thomas Ippoliti); Jenna Johnson, “Intermolecular Contacts Involving Halogen Atoms in the Solid-State Structures of Some bis-Benzylideneanilines” (student of Dr. William Ojala); Bryan Haugen, “Synthetic Pathway of Symmetrical Triazole-based N-Heterocyclic Carbenes,” and Kayla Ryan, “Toward Group Two Metal Alkoxides and Aryloxides using Hydrothermal Synthesis” (students of Dr. Marites A. Guino-o); Amber R. Schoenecker, “Characterization of Glycosaminoglycans and Their Interactions with TAT Peptide to Increase Drug Specificity,” Kyle Chamberlain, ‪”Quantitative Determination of DNA Affinity for PEGylated PAMAM Dendrimer Gene Delivery Vehicles,” Danielle Francen, ‪”Tat Peptide-Mediated Gene Delivery: Complex Formation and Interaction with Cell-Surface Glycosaminoglycans,” and Kristin J. Braden, “Charge Density and Stereochemistry Affect the Interaction of PAMAM Dendrimer with Glycosaminoglycans” (students of Dr. Lisa E. Prevette); Christina Rozeske, “Hydroboration as a Route to Cyclic Boranes” (student of Dr.  Eric Fort); Zach Henseler, “Characterization of Cationic DNA Transfection Agents Binding to Supramolecular G-DNA” (student of Dr. Tom Marsh).

Faculty presenting talks were Dr.  J. Thomas Ippoliti, Chemistry Department, College of Arts and Sciences, “Utilizing Undergraduate Research Results in Organic Spectroscopy,” and Dr. Eric Fort, Chemistry Department, “Improving Routes to Azaborine Containing Molecules.” Faculty presenting posters were Dr.  Joseph Brom, Chemistry Department, “Quantum Interference: How To Measure the Wavelength of a Particle,” and Dr. Lisa Prevette, Chemistry Department, “Quantifying the Interaction of Tat Peptide and Cell-Surface Glycosaminoglycans.”

Ten faculty and one library staff member presented various aspects of their work with the UST Writing Across the Curriculum program held April 4 and 5 at the Minnesota Writing and English Conference at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minn.

Supporting Student Writing Across the Curriculum 1: Teaching Revision, Scaffolding Assignments, and Revising ESL Assignment Design
• Dr. Lon Otto (English)
• Dr. Michael Degnan (Philosophy)
• Dr. Juan Li (English)

Supporting Student Writing Across the Curriculum 2: Writing as a Means of Learning Course Content
• Dr. Stephanie Grimm (Accounting)
• Dr. Colin Martin (Biology)
• Dr. Kevin Henderson (Management)

Supporting Student Writing Across the Curriculum 3: Using Technology and Partnering with Librarians to Enhance Student Learning
• Ms. Talia Nadir (Research and Instruction Librarian)
• Dr. Debra Petersen (Communication and Journalism)
• Dr. Daniel Tight (Spanish)
• Dr. Andrea Nesmith (School of Social Work)

“Transformation from Within: Creating a Culture of Writing at the University of St. Thomas”
• Dr. Erika Scheurer (WAC director, English)

Speakers and details have been announced for the University of St. Thomas commencement exercises.

A website devoted to commencement can be viewed here. About 2,100 graduate and undergraduate students will participate in the ceremonies.

Graduate

Father Michael O’Connell

The ceremony for nonbusiness graduate students will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 25, in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.

Father Michael O’Connell, pastor of the Church of the Ascension in North Minneapolis, will be the commencement speaker. O’Connell has been the pastor of Ascension since 1999. He served as rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis from 1991 to 2008. He has a B.A. degree in philosophy from the St. Paul Seminary, an M.A. degree in pastoral studies from the University of St. Thomas, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.

O’Connell serves on several community and foundation boards, including those of the Habitat for Humanity Philanthropic Leadership Council, the Hazelden Foundation, the Jeremiah Program (national), and Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi LLP Foundation for Children.

Undergraduate

The ceremony for St. Thomas undergraduates will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 25, outdoors in O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Father Dennis Dease

Father Dennis Dease, president of the University of St. Thomas, will be the commencement speaker.

Dease became the 14th president of St. Thomas in 1991.

He recently led the Opening Doors capital campaign, which raised $515 million. It was the largest campaign ever conducted by a private institution of higher learning in the five-state area.

The money raised was more than all previous St. Thomas campaigns combined.

During his tenure as president, the university has:

• Established a Minneapolis campus and constructed four buildings.
• Constructed nine major buildings on the St. Paul campus, including a student center, an athletic and recreation complex, a science and engineering center, an undergraduate business building and two new apartment-style residence halls.
• Opened a Rome campus.
• Started academic programs in law, Catholic studies, mechanical and electrical engineering, entrepreneurship and Irish studies, and greatly increased study-abroad participation with semesterlong programs based in London and Rome.
• Tripled, to 14 percent, the student-of-color population.
• Tripled the number of international students who attend St. Thomas.

Dease will retire as president on June 30, upon completion of his 22nd year in office.

In the event that weather does not permit the ceremony to be held in the stadium, an announcement will be posted on the Commencement website, Facebook and by text message (see information below about receiving text messages) by 11:30 a.m. on the day of the ceremony. The rain site is the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. Seating in the field house is limited, and rain-plan tickets are required for admission. Open the Undergraduate Commencement pages and then click on Rain Plan for more details.

To receive text messages about conditions for the undergraduate commencement ceremony, text “TASSEL” to 80077. You will receive up to 10 messages pertaining to the ceremony. (Regular rates and conditions will apply based on your carrier agreement.) This is a no-reply text messaging system, and recipients will not receive a response if they reply directly to these messages. For help email ustalumniweb@stthomas.edu.

Graduate business

Randall Hogan

The ceremony for graduate-level business students will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. The commencement speaker is Randall Hogan, chairman and CEO of Pentair, a global leader in delivering industry-leading products, services and solutions for its customers’ diverse needs in water and other fluids, thermal management and equipment protection.

He was named Pentair’s CEO in 2001 and appointed chairman in 2002. In 2012, Hogan was named Executive of the Year by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. He received the 2011 Starkey Hearing Foundation Award for Pentair’s contributions to providing clean water solutions in third-world countries and in times of natural disasters.

School of Law

Ceremonies for School of Law graduates were held Saturday, May 11.

Commencement Mass

The annual Commencement Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 24, at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Ave.

The MBEA honors businesses that exemplify high standards of ethical conduct in the workplace, the marketplace and the community. Recipients are recognized in three size categories: small (under 100 employees), medium (100 to 500 employees) and large (more than 500 employees). The 2013 honorees are:

• Small: Cresa Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Medium: Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union
• Large (two firms honored this year): Cummins Power Generation and St. Francis Regional Medical Center

In addition to the engraved MBEA award, each recipient received a letter of congratulations signed by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton.

Keynote speaker Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target Corp., shared his company’s belief about ethics in business: “We believe clear rules of the road are essential – not just for Target’s overall performance, but for team members to succeed at our company.” Emphasizing the point, Steinhafel added: “To Target, ethics is integral to disciplined execution. We want to win, but we want to win the right way.”

Finalists for the 2013 awards who were cited for their commitment to ethics in business also included: Douglas Scientific; Latuff Brothers Auto Body; Mintáhoe Catering and Events; and Premier Disability Services LLC. All were saluted as outstanding Minnesota businesses.

Since its inception in 1999, the MBEA has recognized 42 Minnesota-based businesses for embedding ethical standards into their cultures and practices. “Strong ethical cultures don’t happen by accident; they grow out of intentional efforts by leaders who connect values and performance,” according to David Rodbourne, MBEA co-chair.

“Minnesota is fortunate to enjoy a strong reputation for ethical business, and this award helps acknowledge that,” said Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies LLC and MBEA co-chair.

The MBEA is sponsored by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Center for Ethical Business Cultures (CEBC) at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. Beginning this year the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) joined as a co-sponsor.

Past recipients and a form for nominating candidates for the 2014 awards is available at this website.

2013 Orientation and Registration leaders

New first-year domestic students recently were invited to sign up for an Orientation and Registration (O&R) session on one of the following dates:

• Tuesday, July 16
• Thursday, July 18
• Saturday, July 20
• Monday, July 22
• Wednesday, July 24
• Thursday, July 25
• Monday, July 29
• Wednesday, July 31
• Friday, Aug. 2

Prior to O&R, students complete placement exams, learn more about the core curriculum requirements by reading the O&R Guidebook, and submit course preference information. Academic counselors use these preferences to register students for their fall course schedule. An adviser will meet with students individually at O&R to review their schedule. View a tentative program schedule for more details.

For more information:

• Orientation – call Tori Svoboda, associate dean of students, (651) 962-6052
• Registration – call Susan Anderson, director of academic counseling, (651) 962-6300

During his 1973-2001 tenure at St. Thomas, Foy taught British literature and was best known for teaching Shakespeare. He also served as chair of the English Department from 1973-1976, and as the founding director of the Center for Faculty Development from 1981-1987.

After graduating in 1955 from Emory University in Atlanta, he served as a navigator/radar observer in the U.S. Air Force, 1956-1959, and in the Minnesota Air National Guard, 1959-1961. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in English (Latin minor) at the University of Minnesota in 1973.

He is survived by daughters Malinda Foy and Elizabeth Foy Bergman, and grandchildren Helena and William Bergman. His wife of 42 years, Nancy Burkitt Foy, died in 2002.

On campus: Dr. Robert (Rob) C. Foy II.

Elizabeth remembers her father having two great passions for things (other than people) in his life – his garden and drama – specifically Shakespeare: “While his passions wandered and expanded – at the end those two things remained core to who he was.

“As to his garden, there were many hand-drawn plans for the garden floating around the house. He was a quasi-trained landscape architect as he dropped out of college for a semester to study the subject, reflecting an interest in plants and design he had had since childhood. But after one semester he clearly knew that his greatest satisfaction was in academia. His garden plans all featured ‘the grass circle,’ which was the centerpiece of the garden. As a child it really frustrated me that we were not allowed to walk on it. I mean – it was just grass! Only as an adult have I really come to understand the beautiful geometric simplicity it represented. The best time to talk with him was when he was gardening. His hands were busy – but his mind free. I can remember long talks, mostly about politics and government with him while he planted.”

“Over the years, he had many young helpers beyond me and my sister – they came away knowing a lot more about Shakespeare, gardening, and landscape architecture, and I think they always knew they had found a friend and mentor,” Malinda commented.

“Drama was his other consistent passion,” Elizabeth continued. “We went to the theater a lot. I might have been 6 when I sat through my first Shakespearean play. I am not sure when exactly I started to understand them or more importantly appreciate them – but I remain an active and appreciative theater goer. There would always be a lecture before the show. First explaining the plot and then detailing how the play should really be done. Phrases such as ‘if the director really understands Shakespeare …’ were common. Most memorable was his discussion of the levels. He would say, ‘On one level this is a play about love, but on another level – which meant a deeper one – it is about loss of identity.’ There were always three levels.

“My sister and I would jokingly ask him to tell us about the levels before he started on this topic, and he would be delighted we were so interested. It took him a while to realize that his sweet girls had become snotty teenagers. I sometimes find myself talking about the levels after I see a play.”

“But more than anything, my father and mother encouraged me and my sister to find our potential, believe in ourselves, and serve our communities,” Malinda summarized.

Dr. Michael Jordan, English Department, describes Foy as “an engaged teacher with far-reaching intellectual interests that rendered him well suited to be the founding director of the Faculty Development program at St. Thomas, a position he first held the year I arrived here in 1982. He was also one of the collaborators for a program at St. Thomas called ‘Texts and Traditions’ that for a short while brought together core courses in English and theology in an integrated sequence. Rob brought intellectual spark and wit to every conversation, and was especially renowned for his Shakespeare course.

“I regarded Rob as something of a mentor during my first years at St. Thomas, and he graciously introduced me to the complex reality of the institution while assuring me that there were good opportunities here for true interdisciplinary learning. The sound of his laughter during hallway conversations was a regular feature of life in the English Department. In the years following his retirement, I would encounter him from time to time at the theater or at a classical music concert or in the hardware store, and it was evident that he never lost the endless love of learning that seemed always to be brimming in him.”

Being a student of Foy’s also made for interesting experiences. Brian Brown ’98 M.A, executive director of media and publications in University Relations, recalls taking a couple of master’s in English classes with him in the 1990s, including an independent study one summer on the influence of jazz on the Beat poets:

”Once a week I would bike over to Rob’s house near Macalester and we would talk for hours – rarely on topic, unless I forced the issue. Rob was passionate about so many things – Shakespeare, gardening, travel. Eventually, his beloved wife, Nancy, would step out onto the porch with homemade iced tea and cookies. Rob would turn to me – often midsentence – and say, ‘Well, that’s enough of that. Let’s eat something.’

“Rob frequently embodied the ‘absent-minded professor’ stereotype. I remember stopping by his office at 44 North Cleveland once when he was particularly distracted. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he rode his brand-new bike to campus and someone stole it. ‘I leaned it up against the tree outside and when I went back out a few hours later it was gone!’”

Although Foy was particularly fond of Shakespeare, it wasn’t all Shakespeare all the time in class. Kelly Engebretson ’99 M.A., a writer and editor in University Relations, recalls this unique Shakespeare class break: “Dr. Foy unwittingly introduced me to yoga during his Shakespeare class when I was a graduate student in 1997. He asked a friend of his – an instructor at a nearby yoga studio – to lead a 15-minute yoga session during the break in our three-hour evening class. Every week she showed up to lead us through a series of sun salutations and the like. Those of us who didn’t smoke would participate, and we loved it. I can still picture Dr. Foy, barefoot and jolly, easing into ‘Downward Dog’ like it was no trouble at all.”

Foy was among 25 noted and popular professors whose faces were featured in caricatures drawn by John Kascht ’83 on the cover of the 1981 Aquinas yearbook, along with caricatures of the university’s president, provost and Vice President Walter Mondale.

A colleague, Dr. Lon Otto, describes Foy as a “brilliant scholar, working always on a book about Shakespeare and the biblical David story, a book that never was finished but is very real and powerful to those of us who knew Rob, a book in the oral tradition, always his most natural medium, along with soil and brick and plants. He was one of the most complicated and interesting people I’ve ever known – funny and generous and deeply intelligent, passionate about what he loved, absolutely unforgettable.”

Foy was the chair of the English Department when Otto was hired at St. Thomas. “He and Nancy made me feel like a part of their family those first few years, and I will be forever grateful to have been included in that loving and intellectual and often chaotic household. Among his many other talents, Rob was a formidable landscape gardener. It was an honor and an education to scavenge brick and stone with him on demolition sites in the evenings after the workers had quit for the day, to build fences with him, to follow the ever-evolving intricacies of his richly folded city garden.”

Nancy shared Rob’s passion for gardening. Their garden was written about in both the Minneapolis and St. Paul daily newspapers, and in Highland Park’s The Villager. Titled Healing Words, The Villager story was reprinted in the fall 2005 edition of Writing in the Margins (Page 12), a publication of the English Department.

Carol Nigrelli, the author, wrote: “’It’s a great way for a mental guy to get his hands dirty,’ Foy said. The division of labor was simple: He did the work; his wife nodded her approval. ‘My wife loved the garden,’ Foy said. ‘She loved to buy plants for it. She loved to show it off. She loved to be on garden tours. But she didn’t want to get her hands dirty.’”

Their love of gardening and their advocacy for the Center for Victims of Torture resulted in the 2005 publication of Landskips, a 46-page book of Rob’s poetry about nature and gardens. He dedicated the book to his late wife: “Lover of gardens and the Center for Victims of Torture.” Proceeds from sales of the book were donated to the center.

A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, June 1, at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul. An open house will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 31, at 1671 Berkeley Ave., St. Paul. An obituary and guest book can be viewed at legacy.com.

Father Dennis Dease will retire on June 30, completing 22 years as the 14th president of the University of St. Thomas.

The St. Thomas that Dease will hand over to Dr. Julie Sullivan on July 1 is dramatically different from the St. Thomas he inherited from Monsignor Terrence Murphy, yet his desire always has been simple and forthright – to improve the quality of education and to carry out the mission.

That desire has manifested itself in many ways – in new campuses and new buildings, in a more racially and ethnically diverse student body, in a stronger faculty and staff, and in highly successful fundraising efforts.

Dease is the first to credit the entire St. Thomas community for making so many dreams come true. He speaks quietly of how “incredibly blessed” he is to be surrounded by people “who care deeply about this university and who have a deep passion for learning and helping others to learn.”

He sat down this spring to reflect on his presidency and to look ahead to the challenges that await his successor and the University of St. Thomas.

Q. Twenty-two years! Does it seem that long?

A. The first year seemed like 22 years because of the learning curve, but the last 20 years have just vaporized. It’s like if you get on a plane and don’t have anything to read, the trip takes forever. But if you have a good book, you’re there before you know it. There has been so much activity and growth here at St. Thomas that the years have just flown by.

Q. In 1991, how long – honestly, now – did you expect to be president? Are you surprised that you have served 22 years?

A. I knew the average term for a university president in the United States was about 6.5 years, and a little longer in Catholic institutions. Archbishop John Roach, our chairman at the time, asked me on the day of the board’s interview with me if I would be willing to give 10 years to the job. I said I would. I was just hoping I could hang in there for 10 years!

Why did I stay 22 years? No one is more surprised than I am. Maybe it was just the grace of God. One thing I know for sure: It’s important to have good people around you to take on responsibility and work together, and ours is a wonderful culture in that sense. I am so fortunate that the faculty and staff became my friends and have been magnificent in carrying out our mission, and I could not have asked for a better board of trustees. They are can-do, make-it-happen individuals who know how to solve problems. Those are the real reasons for the long run.

This is a unique kind of university. You don’t find here the acerbic divisions that are so common in academe. On a 1 to 10 scale in this regard, the St. Thomas community rates a 10. I do not exaggerate. Sure, we’ve had strong disagreements at times, but the civility with which we have carried on our discussions always made me proud.

Q. How has the job changed over the years?

A. The job as a Catholic university president is never easy, but there is less stridency today surrounding our Catholic identity. There is more clarity, thanks to the decade-long discussion prompted by the Holy See’s document Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In my early years, there were many hard discussions trying to balance the role of Catholicism with that of a university. As I leave office, the dominant issue is affordability.

Q. What has been St. Thomas’ most significant accomplishment during your tenure? Is there any particular accomplishment with which you take personal pride?

A. We put a lot of effort into strengthening our Catholic identity. We are clearer today about the meaning of our commitment to cultivate our Catholic mission. We have a rich, 4,000-year Judeo-Christian wisdom tradition upon which to draw, as well as a vibrant Catholic intellectual and cultural tradition.

I am pleased that we have steadily strengthened our faculty. Many of them come from the best universities in the world. They are productive scholars and they are just incredibly fine teachers. I see master teachers as those who not only educate but also inspire, who are passionate about their disciplines and who change lives. Their fire is burning brightly because they stoke it with research and then come into the classroom and light a fire for others. They have what William Butler Yeats said about the purpose of education being not just one of filling a bucket but lighting a fire.

We also have seen the student body change academically as judged by ACT scores (averages of 23.1 and 25.6 for entering freshmen in 1991 and 2012), and we are more diverse. We were mostly white middle class (4.5 percent students of color in 1991) but today we have higher percentages of students of color (14 percent) and international students (4 percent), and they have enriched the learning environment.

Q. In the essay that you submitted with your application to be president, you listed a priority to strengthen our Catholic character, and in your inauguration address you emphasized the need to avoid “a slippery path to a rather bland secularism.” What does the path look like today?

A. I no longer see that as the threat I saw 22 years ago because the academic environment is much more open to us being Catholic. A Catholic university is built on the  premise that faith and reason are not antithetical but are complementary. One can enrich the other. Science and religion can learn from the other, and I find that fun because my personal interests and background have been on the religion side, but in school I always found science fascinating.

Q. How do programs such as a Center for Catholic Studies and a Rome campus enhance our Catholic character?

A. Our Center for Catholic Studies enriches us as a Catholic university, and in ways we didn’t anticipate when we designed it. It enables students to integrate what they are learning in terms of their faith with a whole variety of other disciplines and perspectives. It traces and explores the Catholic influence in literature, science, philosophy and the arts.

The Rome campus was a bold step for us. It certainly wasn’t going to become a profit center, but the trustees agreed from a mission point of view that it was important. I love  the facility itself, located on the Tiber River just a 15-minute walk to St. Peter’s. We were fortunate to have a dear friend, the late Cardinal Pio Laghi, dedicate the campus, and I still remember him saying, “The city of Rome is a wonderful professor.”

Q. Why do students need a liberal arts education? What does it mean?

A. A liberal arts education is a process; it’s not a product. It’s not a discreet amount of information that you acquire; it’s the result of personal interaction with mentors, with professors. It’s not data; it’s an expansion of students’ horizons and of shaping their awareness and preparing them for lifelong learning. It is truly transformative.

It comes about because of interaction with talented, experienced teachers. Our class sizes are relatively small, which allows for interaction, and the approach that our faculty takes is inquiry based learning. There is an old saying, “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” That’s inquiry-based learning.

Q. More and more scholarship and research involves students. Why is that important?

A. It is not that common for faculty in higher education in the United States to involve undergraduate students in their research, but it is common here at St. Thomas. You get a sense of how much this means to students when you attend their poster sessions, such as the ones I have gone to for chemistry. There were so many students presenting research on poster boards. They used to be able to get all of them into the corridors on one floor, but this year there were so many that they had to have two shifts. That’s thrilling because it’s learning at its best.

Q. Another priority you cited before becoming president was a desire for St. Thomas to become a great “urban” university, and you later said that we should not just be in the city, but of the city. Have we taken sufficient steps?

A. When I was rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis, every day people were at the door in need of housing, clothing, food or even bus tickets. People were living under the freeway bridge across the street. That weighed on me, and I thought an urban university would have something to contribute to alleviate the suffering.

The chief way we contribute is through education – by educating first-generation students and by encouraging an organic interaction between the university and the  community. We are not an ivory tower that is self-sufficient, but an urban university that responds to issues and whose students have an opportunity to learn from  community-based projects and supervised, reflective experiences. We always can do more, and I expect we will do more because we have created a culture where people want to be part of the solution.

By “of the city,” I meant that we have a responsibility to the region we serve to provide for its emerging educational needs. We will continue to do that. We are organically part of the city here, and our future will rise or fall with the future of the city.

Q. St. Thomas revised its mission statement in 2004. What does it mean to you when you look at it today?

A. It goes like this: “Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas educates students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skillfully to advance the common good.” I love that mission statement because it succinctly captures us and it guides us.

Q. So it boils down to how people need to go out and do the right thing?

A. Absolutely. I have had a stream of students and faculty come through my office excited about projects. Like engineering professor Camille George and her project to dehydrate breadfruit in Haiti to preserve it and meet the nutritional needs of the people there. Or Brian Osende, an engineering student who went back to his remote village in Uganda with solar panels and his knowledge as an engineer, to electrify his village. It dawned on me that I had something in common with the people of that village because that was an electrifying experience for both of us.

Q. Throughout your presidency, you have expressed concern – even frustration – about the rising costs of education and the growing perception among some people that they cannot afford St. Thomas. How do you address that?

A. I tell them, “Don’t be scared off by the sticker price.” We have dramatically increased financial aid. I also point out that our average net cost has not increased in the last 10 years beyond the rate of inflation. The average debt load that an undergraduate student leaves St. Thomas with is around $30,000 – the same as what many new cars cost, and they won’t drive that car for the rest of their life. I believe $30,000 is a reasonable price to pay for an education.

Q. St. Thomas has been successful in raising funds, including $765 million in the Opening Doors and Ever Press Forward capital campaigns. Does the generosity of alumni and friends, even during a serious recession, surprise you?

A. It is astounding in one sense but not in another. People see the kind of institution that St. Thomas is and come to a judgment that we are adding great value to the community. They appreciate the way that we respond to emerging educational needs, and they want to be part of it.

Q. Enrollment growth in the 1970s and 1980s led to crowded conditions and decisions to open a Minneapolis campus and significantly expand the St. Paul campus. But needs remain: Music programs want better facilities, science and engineering programs are out of space and neighbors push for more on-campus housing. Is a university ever done with construction?

A. Never! I wish it could be so. But as educational needs continue to change, so must our programs and our facilities, and that entails reimagining and retrofitting the physical campus.

Q. What would you consider the “signature” buildings of your presidency?

A. Each building has been important in meeting critical needs. The Minneapolis campus buildings gave us an opportunity to concentrate many graduate and professional programs there, and each has served its distinct profession well.

In St. Paul, the Frey Science and Engineering Center addressed perhaps our greatest need, and McNeely Hall has made a huge difference to our business faculty. The three Anderson buildings have enriched student life immeasurably: the Athletic and Recreation Complex and the Student Center bring people together and allow the community to come to know itself in ways not previously possible, and you can never have enough parking.

Q. Why is diversity important?

A. I love the diversity I see on campus because it enriches the learning experience for all of our students. It better prepares them for the world in which they will live and work. In practice, when a student from Eden Prairie or New Market or Lake Benton meets a student from the Middle East or China or Africa, that student starts to ask questions about his new friend’s experiences, culture and perspective. In the process, he learns more about the world.

Q. In becoming more diverse, have we become a better reflection of the region’s racial and ethnic makeup?

A. We are definitely more reflective of the community. I can’t recall many Hmong students here 20 years ago, and there are many today. I also am pleased with the recruitment in immigrant communities. Who would have thought that the largest representations today from foreign countries would be Saudi Arabia (99 students last fall) and India (56)?

We had the opportunity a decade ago to provide space for English Language Services, and we brought international students to campus and gave them a chance to look around. The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Washington provides full scholarships, and I began to develop a relationship with those officials. I was concerned about how they might view St. Thomas and they told me, “We love Catholic universities because they respect the role that faith plays in life.” We have had an excellent experience.

Q. Another way that St. Thomas provides greater access for lower-income students is through the Dease Scholarship Program. How did that come about?

A. Greg Roberts, our vice president for student affairs (until 2003) came to me one day and said the number of African-American students had dropped to a critical level. There was a general feeling in that community, he said, that St. Thomas was not a good fit for African-American students. That got my attention. I realized we would need to re-engineer our efforts. And we did.

When I see someone like Laura Lee, who was a Hmong student at St. Thomas, now at the top of her profession as a (television) anchor in Rochester, I can’t find words to express my gratitude that we were able to be there when she was saying, “Educate me, expand my horizons, give me some skills!” It’s humbling and it’s gratifying to be part of this journey.

Q. St. Thomas has largely managed to avoid controversy over the years. There have been some dust-ups and we have come under criticism for positions we have taken on certain issues, but for the most part our alumni and the broader community have stuck with us. Why?

A. It’s because people accept who we are. They may disagree with us, but they respect who we are. They also respect our graduates. I have long believed that the ultimate measure of the quality of a university is the quality of its graduates – and ours are extraordinary.

Q. Have you ever second-guessed any decisions? Or looked back and said, “I should have handled that differently”?

A. I haven’t had time! Seriously, so much has happened here. Maybe I will in retrospect, when I have had the chance to think, but not now. This is such a busy place – when one chapter closes you are already working on the next.

Sure, I have made mistakes along the way, but people are good here. Not a lot of finger pointing goes on. They acknowledge any mistakes and the explanations and say, “Let’s move on.”

Q. You never seem more a priest than when you say Mass and never more a president than when you are handing out diplomas at graduation. How are those special moments to you?

A. When I am holding the host or chalice in my hand, I feel like I am in the presence of Jesus in a way that I can’t even begin to understand or appreciate. I often experience Jesus’ love intensely in those moments, but trying to comprehend it would be like trying to understand the light that comes from the other side of the universe.

When I hand out diplomas, I see the smiles as students come up and cross the stage. They’re just so happy. There’s no finer moment in the life of a university president than when you see students who know that something very good has happened.

Q. What kind of role do you want to have as “president emeritus”?

A. I will try to be of help in whatever way I can – to the university and to Dr. Julie Sullivan, who is a wonderful person and will be an extraordinary leader. I see myself as becoming a goodwill ambassador. I have been blessed with good health, and as long as it holds up I will be active. I’m not yet ready to spend my time watching the daytime soaps or the Weather Channel.

Q. What advice do you have for your successor?

A. I will tell her to enjoy what will likely be the most wonderful job she’s ever had.

Q. In past Q&A interviews for St. Thomas magazine, we closed with the famous John Ireland quote about the need to “ever press forward” because “God intended the present to be better than the past and the future to be better than the present.” How do you relate those words to the mission of St. Thomas?

A. It inspires us to dare to be great, to dive into life, to become part of it, to make tomorrow better than today. We can actively and significantly contribute, and that is what we here at St. Thomas choose to do – to advance the common good.

Read more from St. Thomas Magazine.

Minnesota Public Radio will broadcast an April 29 lecture given at St. Thomas by National Public Radio psychology and mental-health reporter Alix Spiegel.

The program can be heard at noon Wednesday, May 15, on the “Minnesota Public Radio News Presents” program at 91.1 FM. The program also can be heard via the Internet. Information is available here.

Later in the day, Slate magazine editor David Plotz will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, in the auditorium of O’Shaughnessy Educational Center on the university’s St. Paul campus.

The lecture is free, but reservations are required.  Make them by going to this Minnesota Public Radio website.

The programs are part Minnesota Public Radio’s 2012-2013 Broadcast Journalist Series, which is co-sponsored by St. Thomas’ College of Arts and Sciences and its Communication and Journalism Department.

Please look for the following in this second draft:

• NEW – An introduction that provides a brief history of St. Thomas, a summary of improvements made since the last self-study, a description of the self-study process, and an explanation of two overarching themes that help set the context for the rest of the self-study.
• UPDATED – Chapters (1-5) that include additional work by the criterion committees as well as many suggestions offered by members of the community during the comment period last fall.
• NEW – Strengths and opportunities for improvement at the end of each chapter.
• NEW – A structure for the final chapter. Here, you won’t find content; the final chapter is evolving as the other chapters wrap up. In the final chapter, we will focus on big-picture issues, summarizing our institutional strengths and offering broad recommendations related to the themes presented in the introduction and developed in the five criterion chapters.

This draft will be available May 20 – June 3. You can offer feedback through one of three ways:

• Web feedback form
• HLC Mailbox
• Open forums
  • Minneapolis: May 28, 3-4 p.m., MOH 202
  • St. Paul: May 30, 3-4 p.m., ASC 202

As you read, please keep in mind that this is a draft. Because content is still changing, you will see areas where editing for voice, mechanics and style is needed. We will begin the editing process for these issues after feedback for this draft is incorporated. At this time, we are most interested in your feedback on content.

As always, the self-study team appreciates your contributions toward this important effort. After more than two years of work, the deadline for both the self-study (June 30) and the visit from our peer reviewers (November 11-13, 2013) draws ever closer.

“Uncommon decency,” said Morrison. “He’s a man of uncommon decency.”

Dave Nimmer

That describes the man I know – whether he was setting a policy, writing a note or admitting a mistake.

The mistake was back in 2007 when he decided not to invite Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu to campus to speak as part of the Peace Jam celebration. His reason was that Tutu had made remarks offensive to Jewish people in a 2002 speech about Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.

What I recall is a noon hour several days after he made the decision. Congressional candidate Coleen Rowley, a former FBI whistle blower, was standing on the grass in front of the Arches holding one end of a banner that read “Let Tutu Speak.”

A retired WCCO colleague of mine, Roger Nelson, and I were walking by and paused to talk with Rowley and her husband, telling them we supported their point of view and admired their courage.  At that very moment, Father Dease walked up to the four of us.

“You can take your sign down,” he said. “I have changed my mind.” He went on to tell Rowley that he had made the wrong decision and now “would be proud to extend an invitation to Archbishop Tutu to speak at UST.” He looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and said he was sorry. Nelson later told me how impressed he was by Dease’s sincerity … and humility.

“How often has any official, public or private, done that (admit a mistake) in the recent past?” Tutu’s supporters later wrote. “The action not only sends a much-needed signal on behalf of academic freedom and the cause of justice and peace worldwide, but it’s a rare example of ethics in action.”

Father Dease never changed his mind about the importance of increasing diversity at UST, most especially providing scholarships to students of color. One of those scholarships went to Laura Lee, a Hmong woman from a big family with a husband and two children of her own when she graduated.

Her mother and father had come to Laura’s December graduation from Missouri and I asked Father Dease whether he could greet them. He not only shook their hands, he spent 15 minutes telling them how proud he was of Laura and how pleased he was to offer aid and assistance.

But his best touch was when he told the Hmong elders that they had done “a fine job” of raising their daughter and St. Thomas was honored to have her as part of its family. Father Dease was both graceful and gracious.

He was also generous with his time and attention to others. They often came in handwritten notes on his office stationery. I got mine two weeks before my surgery for prostate cancer in August 2008.  He’d heard about it from others and wanted me to know I was in his thoughts and prayers.

It was that pastoral touch at the end that defines the man for me. “Please let me know if there’s any way I can be of help,” he wrote.

You have been of help, Padre. You’ve taught me what a good man is and what he does.

Editor’s note: Faculty and staff are invited to attend a celebration for Dease from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday in Woulfe Alumni Hall in the Anderson Student Center. A program will begin at 3:30.

Chelsea Mills (left) and Alex Mathison observe snow monkeys at the Minnesota Zoo as part of their psychology project.

It’s a droll contrast to the indoor viewing area, where a thunderous procession of schoolchildren, hopped up in a frenzy of field-trip fever, press their noses to the windows, beseeching the primates to entertain them.

These Japanese macaques, more commonly known as snow monkeys, are the subject of a study conducted by St. Thomas seniors Paige Peterson, Chelsea Mills and Alex Mathison. The trio recorded six hours of video footage of the monkeys over six days in an effort to study the primates’ play behavior. Specifically, they scrutinized the younger monkeys (under 4 years old) and infants to determine how parental interference influences their play behavior.

One logistical challenge the group faced was dodging the aforementioned packs of children – free from watchful parents’ eyes – gone wild. Apparently, they enjoyed monkeying around with their cameras. “There were so many times when our cameras were blocked by a kid standing in front of them − sometimes done on purpose to wave at the camera − or were bumped into, which moved the camera angle around,” Mills said.

When mommy’s away, the children will play

Dr. Sarah Hankerson, a psychology professor at St. Thomas and adviser for the project, said, “This project represents one of the first attempts to understand why Japanese macaque mothers are so protective of their young. By focusing on the circumstances surrounding intervention, we can generate strong hypotheses on maternal concern. We can also examine the frequency, composition and timing of play bouts.”

Before beginning the study, Peterson, the project’s lead researcher and a psychology major, hypothesized that “there will be very few events of play (chasing, light biting and pulling, etc.) behavior inside a 10-foot circle of the mothers.”

Why? The group expected that the juvenile monkeys, much like humans, would feel less pressure to conform to adult social practices the further away they are from their mothers. They chose 10 feet because it seemed to be the easiest distance when making assessments from afar through videos.

Peterson explained that the social structure of Japanese snow monkeys is considered “despotic” (with the alpha male, beta male and older mothers, in that hierarchical order, ruling the roost) and that, contrary to the popular belief that monkeys swing care-free from tree to tree all day, snow monkeys have low levels of social tolerance.

“Based on previous studies,” she said, “it appears that since mothers don’t have good social bonds with other adults, they are going to be more protective with their offspring. This prevents the young monkeys from having contact with other group members. Babies are overprotected and grow into overprotective parents. It’s a cycle. They’ll try to play, but mothers usually keep one hand on their babies.”

Hankerson explained further that “as a result of strong maternal concern, it is possible that Japanese macaque juveniles need to be ‘sneaky’ in order to engage in play behavior.” She added that of any well-studied primate species, snow monkeys are the top party poopers – a fact that sparked Peterson’s curiosity; likewise, much of primate research investigates the connections between humans and or evolutionary predecessors, and according to past research the team scoured before beginning their study, scientists already have determined that both humans and primates spend much less time playing as they become grown-ups.

According to Hankerson, “Non-human primates can tell us a lot about the basic structure of behavior in group settings. We can look at the rudimentary way individuals handle conflict and affiliation. Being highly social animals, Japanese macaques can serve as models of group dynamics. This study looks at play behavior, which may seem a non-functional activity, but infants (both human and non-human) develop skills, improve physical strength and dexterity, and learn a lot about the world around them and their place in it by engaging in play behavior.”

The students’ research of human children found that the tapering of children’s play behavior coincides with the time period when schools eliminate recess from the children’s school day – roughly at the end of middle school.

Furthermore, Mills and Mathison explained, “In humans, authority figures place pressure on children to stop playing, causing play to become less frequent as they grow older. This pressure may be perceived by children that it’s time to focus on school and conform to a more structured schedule. Seeing this sort of behavioral pattern in snow macaques could suggest that we are not the only species to experience these types of pressures.”

What the group found after reviewing the footage was consistent with their hypothesis, with a small twist. Mills said, “The young monkeys played more often, and for longer periods of time, when they were farther away from the mothers. Chasing play tended to happen even if their mothers were close (less than 10 feet away), but a lot of the wrestling and biting play happened when they were farther away (more than 10 feet ). When the mothers were close and the young monkeys started wrestling, the mothers tended to interrupt their play, too.”

She added that while play behavior lets young monkeys practice certain behaviors on their own (such as how to avoid a predator), it can be troublesome to the group as a whole. “Play behavior tends to draw a lot of attention to the group, making them more noticeable to predators,” Mills noted. ”Along these lines we can kind of understand the role it plays in human behavior, too. While playing for a child is really important in their own individual development, it’s only when they reach the age when play stops that they can really start contributing to society as a whole. I think whether that is a good thing or bad thing just depends on how you look at it and what you consider to be more important.”

Although there are many mysteries still to be solved regarding snow monkey behavior, relatively speaking, much has been discovered, as they are among the world’s most studied animals.

The group hopes that “this research could help give insight into the complicated evolutionary pressures we experience today and the reasons behind why we experience them.”

About snow monkeys

Japanese macaques are the northernmost-living nonhuman primate and are native to Japan. Many inhabit northern Nagano, a mountain town in Japan that hosted the 1998 winter Olympics.

They are one of the few animals that are known, like humans, to wash their food before eating it. Their diet includes insects, soil, leaves, fruit and fish.

They also have been known to roll snowballs and fling them at each other in playful fights.

So why weren’t the monkeys, uh, monkeying around much on that cold day in April? Peterson shrugged and took a guess: “I think they’re a lot like us that way. In this weather they just want to hole up and keep warm.”