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Thank you, Laurie Hamen
Since 2020, Laurie Hamen has played a pivotal role as Transitional President of the College of Saint Benedict. As she steps away from the post, we celebrate the legacy and the indelible mark she leaves on the college and the community.
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“During her two years in leadership, Transitional President Hamen has brought energy and commitment to our work together,” said Kathy Hansen, recently retired vice president of institutional advancement.
“It’s particularly gratifying to see the creation of the new Multicultural Center as well as the search for a senior diversity officer for inclusive excellence. These are overdue initiatives that will make a material difference for our students. She has also been a wonderful fundraising partner – even during these challenging pandemic times. Together, we have raised millions of dollars for new scholarships that will allow women from all backgrounds to say ‘Yes!’ to a Saint Ben’s education.”
Under Hamen’s leadership, CSB continued the journey to explore Strong Integration, preparing CSB and SJU for their first-ever single president, aligning the institutions through enhanced, integrated student experiences and shared services. On behalf of the CSB community, we extend Laurie Hamen sincere gratitude for her service, commitment and leadership.
Farewell, Kathy Hansen – Welcome, Heather Pieper-Olson
For the past seven years, Kathy Hansen has served past, present and potential Bennies as the College of Saint Benedict’s vice president of institutional advancement (VPIA). She has led fundraising, alumnae relations and stewardship efforts, as well as providing essential support for the president and the board. Her leadership led to the overwhelmingly successful conclusion of the Illuminating Lives campaign, which raised $113 million and helped to more than double the college’s endowment. She secured the $10 million gift that created the Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in action, as well as a second eight-figure gift that will be added to the college’s endowment. Her leadership of her team, passion for creating opportunities, and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice have made Saint Ben’s better and stronger. But her love of family, birth of her fifth grandchild, and desire to spend more time with her aging parents make now the right time for retirement. She will be missed.
She leaves with peace of mind, knowing the VPIA role will be in the capable hands of Heather Pieper-Olson. Heather holds bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and Spanish from the College of Charleston (where she was a three-time captain of the Division I volleyball team) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School. A dual citizen of the United States and Mexico, she was appointed to serve as a counselor attorney to the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul during her tenure as a litigation associate at Gray Plant Mooty. She joined the Institutional Advancement team at Saint Ben’s in 2008 and has served in ever-increasing leadership roles. Since 2010, when Heather was named director, annual giving revenue has increased by a remarkable 43%. In 2014 Heather stepped in as the interim VPIA during the search for Kathy Hansen. During that 11-month transition, she provided support and counsel to then-President Mary Dana Hinton (during Hinton’s inaugural year), guided her team members and managed the early stages of the Illuminating Lives campaign. By 2015, Heather was named associate vice president of institutional advancement, and has grown in that role since. She continues to also serve Bennies as a volunteer assistant coach for the perennially nationally ranked Saint Benedict volleyball team.
374 Bennies Walk the Stage
For the first time in almost three years, the CSB graduation ceremony resembled the tradition it is meant to be.
During their college experience, this class persevered through a global pandemic – including the shutdown of their campus as sophomores and the inconveniences of social distancing and masking for much of the past two years. The commencement tradition was marked by sunshine and a gathering of more than 2,000 supporters in Clemens Field House.
The ceremony included remarks from current chair of the CSB and SJU Boards of Trustees LeAnne Mathews Stewart ’87, chief financial officer for Axia Women’s Health and student speaker Regan Dolezal, political science major and global business leadership minor from Woodbury, Minnesota. Dolezal recently received a Fulbright Scholar award to be an English teaching assistant this fall in the Czech Republic. Stewart was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. The ceremony also included the presentation of the CSB President’s Medal to two longtime school leaders: Susan Palmer, who is retiring as vice president of finance and administration and Kathy Kurvers Henderson ’85, a 10-year former CSB trustee, received the honor for their dedication and service. (Retiring vice president of institutional advancement Kathy Hansen also received the President’s Medal this year.)
4+1 BSN-MSN and Global Health Minor
Aim to Meet Demands of Health Care Landscape
Starting in fall 2022, the Graduate Nursing program at CSB and SJU will offer a 4+1 BSN-MSN option. This program is for ambitious junior undergraduate nursing students who wish to accelerate their master’s degree.
Attendees in the program will take graduate courses toward their Master of Science in Nursing – Leadership and Education for Practice. In four years, students of the program will complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing plus one year toward their graduate degree and be prepared to take their Minnesota boards. The 4+1 program saves time and up to $9,000 in tuition, while preparing students to be practicing nurses and leaders. Graduates can decide to continue in their graduate education or begin a career as a practicing nurse – or both. Meanwhile, the interdisciplinary global health minor, to be offered in fall 2022, is a 20-credit program that teaches students to think critically about global health challenges and solutions to global health problems. The program emphasizes the contributions that the social sciences and humanities – such as anthropology, sociology, history, communications and psychology – can make to understanding human experiences of health, illness and healing. Students will experience a liberal arts approach to the study of health within a global context. The courses and training will help students analyze some of the most pressing problems that shape our world, preparing them for exciting careers in health care, public policy, international service and more.
Students present Mayo Scholars experiential research project findings
Four Bennie and Johnnie students recently concluded their work in the Mayo Innovation Scholars Program (MISP).
CSB senior nutrition and communication double major Grace Johnson (Andover, Minnesota), SJU junior biochemistry and economics double major Bradley Koskie (Medina, Minnesota), SJU senior nutrition major Jason Matz (Clearwater, Minnesota) and CSB senior mathematics major Dacoda Speidel (Rogers, Minnesota) made up the team from CSB and SJU. This year’s team’s assignment involved working crossfunctionally to evaluate a new medical intervention device. “The Mayo Innovation Scholars Program was a great opportunity to gain experience working and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team,” said Speidel. “This program also allowed me to gain exposure to the technical processes involved in successfully getting a medical idea to market. In my future, I hope to be involved in researching and innovating orthopedic and rehabilitation devices, and this program was a great way to introduce myself to this field.” “The Mayo Innovation Scholars Program is the best of undergraduate liberal arts education,” said Jennifer Schaefer, professor of biology and one of the team’s two project advisors. “Students are given a real-life innovation proposed by a Mayo researcher or clinician. Science and business students then work together, “learning each-others’ languages”, to evaluate the proposal and to make recommendations about how and whether to bring the innovation to market. The students worked as a team on the project on campus throughout the 2021-22 academic year. They presented their findings to campus mentors and leaders from Mayo Clinic Ventures in March and in a written report. On average, each student put in 175 hours of work during the program.
20 CSB Students Accepted into Elite Catholic Honor Society
On Friday, April 1, select CSB juniors and seniors were inducted into Delta Epsilon Sigma (DES) based on a 3.9 grade-point average or higher on a 4.0 scale and their involvement in the community through volunteer and extracurricular activities.
DES is a national Catholic Honor Society with the purpose of recognizing academic accomplishments, dedication to intellectual activity and service to others. CSB has been a member of DES since its beginning in 1940. This year’s inductees are: • Megan Anderson
Maple Grove, Minnesota psychology/global health • Claire Boettcher
Duluth, Minnesota history/political science • Katherine Fenske
Shoreview, Minnesota integrative science • Olivia Flack
Lake Crystal, Minnesota biology • Tess Glenzinski
Morristown, Minnesota
English/communication • Morgan Hughes Waconia, Minnesota elementary education • Theresa Koll Cold Spring, Minnesota elementary education • Margaret Mary Krutchen Newburgh, Indiana social sciences • Linnea Metelmann Belmont, Massachusetts nutrition • Clare Michalowicz Woodbury, Minnesota nursing • Cecelia Miller St. Michael, Minnesota elementary education • Makayla Miller Prior Lake, Minnesota nursing • Thea Oman Crookston, Minnesota elementary education • Elizabeth Ruckman Monticello, Illinois environmental studies • Olivia Tikalsky Lakeville, Minnesota communication/global business leadership • Elise Vomacka
Kandiyohi, Minnesota psychology • Ashlee Vyskocil
Green Bay, Wisconsin political science/sociology • Meagan Wentworth
Alexandria, Minnesota mathematics
• Kyleigh Winkler
Blaine, Minnesota elementary education • Mai See Yang
St. Paul, Minnesota elementary education
Two Pillars of CSB Athletic Department Receive Honors
Robin Balder-Lanoue ’91, the longtime cross country and track and field coach at CSB, was chosen as one of the recipients from around the state for this year’s Breaking Barriers Award. In addition, Professor Emerita Margy Hughes, who began teaching in the Physical Education Department at Saint Ben’s in 1966 and went on to become the chair of the joint department before her retirement in 2003, was honored with the Marie Berg Education Award.
The two were celebrated as part of Minnesota’s celebration of National Girls and Women in Sport Day. The ceremony was held Feb. 2, at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.
Hughes played a big part in helping CSB establish its foothold in intercollegiate athletics – using her position in the Physical Education Department to push for and facilitate the hiring of full-time coaches, then finding ways to ensure those individuals were given the time they needed to focus on coaching their teams. Balder-Lanoue, a former track and field and cross-country standout at CSB who returned to her alma mater to take over as head cross country coach in 1997, became the head track and field coach in 1999. She has guided the cross-country team to a top-ten finish regionally in 17 of the past 25 years. In track and field, her teams have finished in the top five in 10 of the last 13 indoor conference meets and eight of the last 11 outdoor MIAC championships. She has been named MIAC indoor coach of the year three times and outdoor coach of the year twice.
Robin Balder-Lanoue ’91
Margy Hughes
CSB Names Head Lacrosse Coach
Saint Ben’s has turned to one of the state’s top prep coaches to head its new varsity lacrosse program. Patrick Crandall has been hired to lead the Bennies’ program, which begins play in spring 2023.
Crandall has been the head girls’ lacrosse coach at Lakeville South High School since 2011. During his tenure there, his teams twice finished as state runners-up and twice as state consolation champions. In 2015, he was named the Minnesota Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He also was instrumental in the creation and growth of the True Minnesota Lacrosse Club, which has become one of the top-ranked programs in the country. “I am most looking forward to working with the student-athletes, developing relationships, and a culture that can take the program to a high level of competition and relevance immediately,” stated Crandall. “It was a very difficult decision to leave Lakeville South and the program that I started there, however, I am looking forward to bringing highly competitive lacrosse to CSB and the surrounding community. Go Bennies!” In December 2021, the Bennies were accepted for membership into the Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference (MWLC), where they will become the eighth league member – joining Minnesota schools Augsburg, Hamline and Northwestern, Iowa schools Cornell and Wartburg, and Illinois schools Lake Forest and Monmouth. The MWLC was formed in 2010 and began play in spring 2011. The Bennie lacrosse team will practice and play on the turf field at the Outdoor Athletic Complex and will have a locker room in the Sister Lois Wedl Athletic Center.
The CSB Softball Complex is drawing national acclaim.
In fall 2021, the complex was named the Division III winner of the 2021 Netting Professionals/NFCA Field of the Year award. The honor recognizes fields and stadiums across the nation for their flawless grounds maintenance and exceptional playing surfaces. “I am thrilled to have our softball complex recognized by the NFCA,” said CSB softball coach Rachael Click. “Many hours went into the planning and construction of the fields, and they continue to be maintained at the highest level by our dedicated grounds crew. Our current team loves and takes great pride in our facility, and it makes for a great competition site for visiting teams and fans to enjoy the game.” The complex includes a turf and natural field, as well as turf bullpens and batting cages. It also features a heated press box, sound system, lighted grandstand and dugouts, dugouts with custom player lockers and bat racks and branded backstops.
