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CSP News
Campus Compact Honors CSP Senior Hannah Gustafson, Dr. Cheryl Chatman
CSP senior Hannah Gustafson, Executive Vice President and Dean of Diversity Dr. Cheryl Chatman, and the Union Park District Council were among 100 honorees selected at the Iowa & Minnesota Campus Compact 2020 Presidents’ Engaged Campus Awards. This year’s awards were selected by the 38 member college and university presidents. Awardees were selected for their role as student leaders, civic leaders, and for community-campus partnerships.
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“Concordia University, St. Paul is a leader in the Twin Cities higher education community. Its success stems, in large part, from its outstanding faculty and staff, dynamic student body and strong civic partnerships throughout the metropolitan area. We are delighted that Hannah, Dr. Chatman and Union Park are being honored as recipients of the 2020 Presidents’ Engaged Campus Awards. Each is most deserving,” stated CSP President, Brian Friedrich.
A standout student leader, Gustafson has been involved in service throughout her college career. Most recently, she has been instrumental in educating the student body about mental health issues and led a campaign called the Green Bandana. It included a pledge for taking care of yourself and listening to others, information about mental health services on campus and in the community and tying a green bandana on your backpack to signal that you took the pledge to understand mental health issues.
Dr. Chatman is often described as the “heart” of Concordia—reflected in the many students and faculty who visit her office frequently to receive a welcoming smile or word of encouragement. She serves a similar role in the community spending long hours supporting community efforts such as Arts Us, EveryBody In and the NAACP.
The Union Park District Council creates a welcoming space for diverse residents from new immigrants to renters, property owners, and students and has helped create a fund to build community capacity. UPDC works to ensure college students are welcome in the community and higher educational institutions and students are represented on its board and activities.
C. Charles Jackson Foundation Grant Partnership
Concordia St. Paul has signed an agreement with the C. Charles Jackson Foundation for a three year, $165,000 partnership to expand leadership programming at CSP. The grant will launch CSP's first living learning community (business emphasis) this fall in Hyatt Village and expand its ability to reach online students with a leadership academy. It will also allow for the expansion of the Ignite Leadership Program and create new avenues for leadership development for all of student leaders through additional training and development opportunities. L to R: Katrina Vang, Sara Stickler, Tim Vogt
The new Jackson Business Leadership Community is for first-year students who are interested in developing leadership skills while networking with peers and faculty the business fundamentals and entrepreneurship course and CSP Seminar with their pod-mates who all live in Hyatt. Students do not need to be a business major to participate in this free program.
around similar areas of interest. Students are enrolled in
Photo by Stephen Geffre
Scholars at the Capitol
Six CSP science students (Katrina Vang, Hannah Gustafson, Tim Vogt, Sara Stickler, Skye Martin and Jeenue Vang) presented their research projects as part of the Minnesota Private College Council’s Scholars at the Capitol event March 11 in the State Capitol Rotunda. The event highlighted the impressive work by CSP’s science students and faculty in their partnership with the Mayo Clinic.
An enhanced Fellowship Plaza on the south side of the LTC includes expanded seating options for the CSP Community as well as a water fountain feature.
Record Summer Enrollment
Concordia St. Paul observed significant enrollment growth for the 2020 summer semester. Total enrollment for the summer term jumped to a record 3,583 students from summer 2019’s enrollment of 3,293 students. The totals include 225 traditional undergraduates, 1,606 adult undergraduate/online students and 1,752 graduate students.
Most notably, the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing (ABSN) grew by over 500 students as CSP provided transfer solutions following the announcement of CU-Portland’s closure in the spring of 2020.
This growth pattern continues CSP’s unprecedented run of overall enrollment growth as a record 5,139 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled for the fall 2019 semester, compared to 5,038 a year ago.
Concordia University, St. Paul has announced the addition of its fifth academic college, the College of Human Services and Behavioral Sciences. The new college, which supports the strategic goals and priorities of CSP, will be led by interim Dean Dr. Michael Walcheski.
The College of Human Services and Behavioral Sciences will consist of two departments, the Department of Criminal Justice (criminal justice, sociology, forensic behavioral health) and the Department of Psychology and Family Science. This new college structure will promote educational program growth in areas identified as having positive employment growth.
HLC Approves Ed.D. in Kinesiology Program
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) has approved Concordia University, St. Paul to add a doctorate in education (Ed.D.) in Kinesiology, further expanding the University’s growing health care offerings.
There is a growing need for faculty to build and evolve kinesiology programs at the university level as recent data shows occupations for kinesiology and exercise science graduates are projected to grow at an average of 15 percent over the next 10 years. Concordia St. Paul’s Ed.D. in Kinesiology program will be offered fully online, making it the first of its kind in the state of Minnesota.
