News

COVID-19 Protocols on Campus This Spring

While this spring semester has still been far from “normal,” our students are back on campus, learning, engaging and growing. And, after the past two semesters, this one does hold a pronounced sense of optimism and progress.

The approach to COVID-19 mitigation for spring semester has been threefold:

1. Testing more often and more effectively

Given that testing is more available today than it was in the fall, this is the most powerful step we’re able to take. We required all students living on campus or participating in on-campus classes and activities to submit a negative COVID-19 test before classes resumed in January. After the first week, students were tested again. Those two tests gave us a baseline from which to construct this semester’s program of frequent, targeted testing.

2. Focusing on containing cases to avoid surges

Part of that targeted program is testing specific groups (e.g., residence halls) to identify potential surges and thwart them before they get started. Student behavior is key to our success this semester. Whereas in the fall we communicated changes by tightening restrictions, this semester we have put more emphasis on communication and working closely with students.

3. Keeping students on campus (and safer) through more activities and engagement

This semester we are offering more opportunities for student clubs, programs and organizations to meet in person (while still being compliant with COVID-19 prevention measures). This has included loosening last semester’s visitation restrictions and expanding Link bus service later into the evening. Both Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s are stressing outdoor activities, which are safer. Outdoor skating rinks were built on the Mall and Tundra, respectively. Cross-country skiing, sledding and snowshoeing in the Arboretum have been popular. And a new lighted patio near the Benedicta Arts Center and gas fire pit outside Mary Commons have become popular gathering spots. In addition, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) resumed sporting activities in February – check out page 8 to learn more.

CSB Named a Top Fulbright Producer in 2020-2021

Amanda Bjerke ’20 Samantha Givens ’20 Allison Grodnick ’20

For the sixth time in seven years, the College of Saint Benedict was named one of the top producers of Fulbright U.S. students by the U.S. Department of State. CSB had six Fulbright awards offered in 2020-21, finishing in a tie for 24th with nine other schools in the baccalaureate category.

The finish was CSB’s highest since placing 25th in 2016-17. CSB also placed 29th in the 2014-15 survey, 34th in 2015-16, 33rd in 2018-19 and 30th in 2019-20. Three CSB 2020 graduates received awards as Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board: • Amanda Bjerke, from Elko New

Market, Minnesota, accepted an ETA position in Germany. She received a degree in German at CSB. • Samantha Givens, from Ventura,

California, accepted an ETA position to Malaysia. She received a degree in political science at CSB. • Allison Grodnick, from Brooklyn Park,

Minnesota, accepted an ETA position to Poland. She received a degree in biochemistry at CSB. Three other 2020 CSB graduates received Fulbright awards but declined the award to accept other opportunities. • Tracy Magooba, from South St. Paul,

Minnesota, declined a Fulbright

Award in order to accept the Thomas

R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship.

She received a degree in political science at CSB.

• Julia Petron, from Zimmerman,

Minnesota, was offered but declined a Fulbright ETA Award to Germany.

She opted to accept a Fulbright Austria-

United States Teaching Assistant position offered through the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research. She received a degree in German at CSB. • Ilyse Putz, from Milo, Iowa, declined a Fulbright Award to accept an offer into the CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences Ph.D. Scholarship at Universität Düsseldorf, Universität

Köln, Max Planck Institute for Plant

Breeding Research Cologne, and

Forschungszentrum Jülich. She received degrees in biology and German at CSB. In response to COVID-19 program adaptations, the 2020-2021 Top Producing data reflects the total number of awards offered, rather than the number of awards accepted as has been the criteria in past years. Bowdoin College led all baccalaureate institutions, with 24 awards offered. Four other Minnesota schools were listed: Macalester (11 awards offered), St. Olaf (9), Carleton (7) and Minnesota-Morris (4). The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and people of other countries. More than 2,200 U.S. students and 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright awards annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research or teach their native language in U.S. institutions of higher education. Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 400,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems.

Professor Emeritus Earns National Honor from AAAS

Henry Jakubowski, professor emeritus of chemistry, who retired last June after a 32-year teaching career at CSB/SJU, was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). His citation notes Jakubowski’s “distinguished contributions to molecular modeling chemistry education and for faculty development in molecular visualization” in the Education section.

Jakubowski believes he was honored, in part, for the online work he developed. Years ago he assembled the biomolecular visualization images he had been working on into an electronic book to serve as the sole text for his biochemistry course. “I decided to put it on the web for free after spending time in China and realizing that the book could be used anywhere, at any time, but more importantly in places that lacked educational resources,” he explained. “Around 2006 I put a hit counter on just the table of contents page. That page alone has had about 450,000 hits from all over the world. I think the accessibility, broad usage and interactive nature of the book was clearly a factor in my selection as an AAAS Fellow.”

Jakubowski is currently leading a team of biochemists to write a brand-new online biochemistry text that would cover a traditional full-year sequence of biochemistry. That project is part of the LibreText project developed by Delmar Larsen, Ph.D., from the University of California-Davis, to create free online chemistry texts for an entire four-year curriculum. “I will be working on this book for another two years – at least,” Jakubowski said.

A Big Win for CSB Athletics

Wednesday, Feb. 24, was the second annual CSB Athletics Give Day. For 24 hours, hundreds rallied together – former athletes, long-time fans, parents of current and former student-athletes, staff, faculty – to support the programs that develop some of our most impactful women leaders.

And rally they did. By just after 6 p.m. we surpassed the stated goal for the day of 500 donors. And before the clock struck midnight we had passed a milestone no one had even dared speak above a whisper – $100,000. “It was so fun to see the different teams push and rally and compete right till the end,” said Maggie Weber Utsch ’00, director of annual giving. Total donors 657 Total dollars $102,594

Top teams – donors

Track/CC 140 Softball 134

Top teams – dollars

Basketball $19,009 Softball $18,025

Music Department Icon Axel Theimer

To Retire After Spring Semester

Find out more about Axel's career and farewell – including an amazing video of nearly 200 former and present students singing together virtually here. Simply point your smart phone at this QR code.

Axel Theimer, now in his 52nd year at Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict, has decided to retire from his roles as choir director for the CSB/SJU Chamber Choir and the SJU Men’s Chorus and as a professor in the CSB/SJU Music Department at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year.

Theimer’s retirement will bring to an end a long and distinguished tenure. It began when the former member of the Vienna Boys Choir and the director of Chorus Viennensis arrived in Collegeville from Austria in the summer of 1969, taking over for Gerhard Track as the choral director at SJU. Since that time, Theimer has become a leading voice (no pun intended) in his field. An active recitalist, he has presented master classes, workshops and seminars at state, regional, national and international conventions and conferences. He has also conducted All State Choirs, Choral Festivals and Honor Choirs in the U.S., Europe and the Far East. In addition to his work at CSB/SJU, he is also the founder and artistic director of Kantorei (a Twin Cities-based vocal ensemble which started 33 years ago as a CSB/SJU alum choir to give graduates the opportunity to continue making music together, and is now one of the premiere vocal ensembles in Minnesota), and the Amadeus Chamber Symphony, a chamber orchestra for Central Minnesota musicians.

He is the co-founder and has served as music director of the National Catholic Youth Choir and is a member of the faculty and the executive director of the VoiceCare Network.

“He’s been here longer than all of us,” said Music Department chair David Arnott. “In fact, three tenured members of our department weren’t even born yet when he started teaching here. But we’re not just losing that vast amount of institutional memory and a truly accomplished teacher. We’re also losing all of the things he does – and has done for decades – that aren’t part of his job description. Organizing tours every year, organizing venues, and so much more. “His light is always the last to go off in the (Stephen B. Humphrey Theater building) each night.” The position has been posted, interviews conducted, and the hope is that a candidate to replace Theimer will be selected and begin their job at the start of the 2021-22 school year. “Nobody is irreplaceable,” Theimer said. “The next person will come in with new ideas. There are plenty of things I never got started because I’d built my own traditions here. So this is a chance to try new things.” While he will miss day-to-day life at SJU, Theimer said he is looking forward to retirement. His only regret is that his last school year comes at a time when the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought a halt to annual concerts and recitals.

Sports Are Back!

BY | LEAH RADO

Game day doesn’t look the same in 2021. And it sure doesn’t sound the same. But when the puck drops, the basketball is tipped and the gun or whistle sounds for the first race – all is right with the world for athletes at the College of Saint Benedict.

After a hiatus of more than 340 days, hockey, basketball, swim and dive and track and field returned to competition in late January. After voting to cancel competition through Dec. 31, and then delaying a decision on winter sports until mid-January, the MIAC Presidents’ Council voted on Jan. 11 to allow winter sports to compete. There are some caveats – no fans are allowed for any competitions, there are no conference tournaments or championships, and strict social distancing rules must be enforced on the pool deck, the track and the basketball sidelines.

Caveats, rules and empty gyms aside, CSB basketball coach Mike Durbin is just happy to see his team on the court again. “I told our team the night before our scrimmage that, at 61 years old, I might not be able to sleep because I was so excited to see them play,” said Durbin, who is in his 35th year with the program and won his astonishing 700th game against St. Thomas in an empty Claire Lynch Hall on Feb. 24. The Bennie hockey team was the first to officially kick off 2021 with a road game on Jan. 30. The basketball team played at home on Feb. 3 – the college’s first home contest since hosting the 2020 MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 27-29 – and the swim and dive and track and field teams got their first competitions under their belt Feb. 6 and 7, respectively. All four teams are playing shortened schedules – MIAC rules allowed basketball and hockey to schedule 11 games, while track and swim both scheduled five meets. All schedules were subject to change, and many of them frequently did. But after months of uncertainty, coaches know not to take a single minute on the court, rink, track or in the pool for granted. “I have really tried to remind this team that any opportunities we get this year should be considered a celebration,” Durbin said. “We need to be in the moment and enjoy the moment with each other.”

At the time of publication, the MIAC athletic directors and Presidents’ Council had just released schedules for spring sports and were still in discussions on playing abbreviated seasons for some fall 2020 teams here in spring 2021. To stay up to date on all Bennie schedules and changes, go to gobennies.com or follow CSB athletics on Twitter and Facebook.

College of Saint Benedict Board of Trustees Statement

What it Means To Be a College for Women

As a college for women, the College of Saint Benedict was founded to educate marginalized and disenfranchised young women – the daughters of German immigrants and farmers. Our legacy, as a Catholic and Benedictine institution, calls CSB to be an open and welcoming campus for all.

As a college for women, CSB maintains a visible commitment to diversity and inclusion: including gender nonconforming and transgender people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people of various ages, people with limited economic means, and people of varying religious, spiritual and political beliefs. At CSB, we live our Benedictine value of respect for persons. This commitment requires ongoing intentionality and work to fully hear the perspectives of women and other marginalized groups. In our community, this intentionality is worthy and valued. As a college for women, CSB honors, values and respects the voices, perspectives and needs of women. We expect CSB and SJU to amplify women’s stories and to educate men about their role in amplifying the voices and perspectives of women. As a college for women, CSB is a space centered on serving women physically, socially, intellectually and spiritually. CSB provides experiences that have value and meaning for our students and assist in their identity development and their emotional growth as women and as Bennies. We expect the space CSB provides, and the activities needed for this development, to be supported by an integrated model that invests equally in the curricular and cocurricular experiences of women and men.

As a college for women, CSB advocates for women and women’s issues, seeking to end institutionalized sexism and structural inequity present within and outside of our community. Bennies graduate from CSB with a full understanding of their rights as women and with tools to dismantle systems of privilege and oppression. As a college for women, CSB develops women leaders. Visible role models within the community are key to that aim. We expect CSB and SJU to continue CSB’s legacy of thoughtfully and intentionally recruiting and hiring women into positions of power. We expect the expertise, leadership and professionalism of women at all levels of the integrated organization to be authentically valued. We expect their advocacy on behalf of CSB students to be listened to intentionally. We expect women and men to be paid fairly and their work to be valued equally. We expect opportunities to be given based on ability and potential, rather than gender stereotypes. Endorsed by the CSB College for Women: Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions Committee on June 5, 2020 Endorsed by the CSB Board of Trustees on June 19, 2020 Endorsed by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict on Oct. 22, 2020