Making the R unds

News, updates and highlights from around the College—and the world

Dental Education brings oral health care to Belize

Dental Hygiene and Dental Education students worked with nearly 2,000 children (1,930 to be exact!) during a service-learning trip to Belize. They provided much needed oral health care after the pandemic, offering fluoride treatments to prevent decay, and helping with patient education, teaching patients how to brush and floss their teeth. Closer to home, the program continues to provide lowcost dental care at the Public Dental Clinic on the campus of Minnesota State Mankato and offers several opportunities for free dental care throughout the year. Please visit ahn.mnsu.edu for upcoming events.

Health Science students gain real-world advocacy skills

Student advocates from Applied Health Science participated in Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation’s Day at the Capitol. They joined their peers from across the state to encourage lawmakers to pass a bill to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol products, in Minnesota.

Health and Biomedical Sciences Summit focuses on health equity

The College of Allied Health and Nursing featured health equity as the topic of the 2023 Health and Biomedical Sciences Summit. “Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity” started a conversation about what health equity should look like in our region and featured keynote speaker Dr. Mary Owen, associate dean of Native American Health, Center of American Indian and Minority Health at the University of Minnesota. The event also featured a series of lightning round presenters, breakout sessions and an opportunity for students to share their research, like those shown here.

Athletic Training students and alumni go to the circus

Master’s in Athletic Training student Megumi Furuta (far left) had the opportunity to assist alumni Alesha Flom ’22, Connor Poling ‘17 and Joey Timgren ‘15 and the Circus Juventus Medical Team at TRIA Orthopedics providing movement screenings for the Circus artists, to identify areas

Social Work sees a new dimension through virtual reality

To provide a more experiential component to training students and community members to be mandated reporters, Social Work is collaborating with local law enforcement to help create a virtual reality/simulated experience to complement academic and community training that can be used in real-

Student Nurses Association named a national “Stellar School”

The Minnesota State University, Mankato chapter of the Student Nurses’ Association (SNA) received Stellar School recognition during the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) conference. Minnesota State Mankato was just one of five schools in the country to achieve this status and the only school in the Midwest. “Stellar” status was given to schools that have a commitment to shared governance and professional development of their students and faculty while supporting the ongoing involvement in NSNA. Pictured are the incoming SNA board and faculty advisors.

Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society delegation travel to Ireland

Although not all pictured here, 15 current and retired faculty, along with students, joined 500 attendees from nearly 30 countries for the International Family Nursing Conference in Dublin, Ireland this past June. The Taylor Institute has had a longstanding partnership dating back to the beginning of IFNA and Minnesota State Mankato faculty continue to serve on committees, conduct webinars and contribute to the science of Family and Societal Nursing and Wellbeing.

RPLS looks to future with renamed program; announces 2023 Hall of Fame

To better reflect the program’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of its field, the RPLS department has been renamed Recreation and Parks Leadership Studies.

“The new name better conveys the scope of our programs to prospective students and provides a better connection to what employers are looking for,” Jonathan Hicks, Ph.D., professor and department chair of RPLS said. “RPLS has been a leader in recreational leadership for more than five decades and this evolution will help shape our programs for decades to come.”

The department also hosted the second annual “RPLS Day,” which celebrated the profession, the community-building nature of RPLS and the overall importance of RPLS in the lives of people everywhere. One of the highlights of the event was the RPLS Awards Ceremony, which welcomed their most recent RPLS Hall of Fame inductees, pictured left to right:

• Tom Schmitz, New Ulm Park and Recreation Director

• Linda McDonald, Mayo Clinic Health System Volunteer Coordinator

• Sandy Breuer, former Washington County, Minnesota Parks Director

• James Decker, longtime scholarship provider

• Mike Pflaum, former Badlands National Park Superintendent

• John Frawley, Minnesota Zoo Director