2021-2022 Philanthropic Impact Report

“Unleash the Future: The Campaign for St. Cloud State University” is nearing the finish line, and what a campaign it has been!

We’ve not only reached but surpassed the initial goal of $32 million. Over $38 million has been raised to benefit St. Cloud State’s campaign priorities of enhancing academic distinction, enabling a University of teacher-scholars, supporting student success, extending our regional reach, increasing annual support, and meeting school and college priorities. We thank our community for their fantastic support of this institution, the campaign and SCSU.

This fiscal year, 1,027 students were awarded $1.38 million in scholarships. Contributions of all sizes have done everything from support students financially throughout their education, to provide career guidance and support to help them think more globally thanks to study abroad opportunities.

I, along with my husband Jeff, are proud supporters of the campaign, as well as our alma mater as a whole. We are committed to the success of SCSU. We chose to make an impact through an endowed scholarship to assist first-generation college students, supporting new opportunities for generations to come at St. Cloud State.

While we celebrate the success of the campaign, it’s important to remember our work is far from over. If you’d like to make your first gift, increase your giving to St. Cloud State, or are on the fence at all about doing more for the students at St. Cloud State, I urge you to use the enclosed envelope or contact a member of the Advancement & Alumni Engagement team to learn more about the impact you can make. You won’t regret it!

Thank you for joining me in unleashing your loyal support for SCSU!

am excited to join St. Cloud State as Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement! As part of my 20-year career, spent the last eight years leading higher education teams in the United Kingdom. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, and am excited to return to my Midwest roots.

As a new member of the Huskies Nation, it has been humbling to see the support donors have given to students, faculty and staff throughout the Unleash the Future campaign. Your generous contributions have made the University’s first comprehensive campaign in over 20 years a major success.

Contributions such as yours have made it possible for St. Cloud State to host the first endowed speaker series in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, bringing innovative and renowned thought leaders to campus to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas, and further an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process.

The University saw its first international $1 million gift during the campaign, establishing The Per Rasmussen ‘86 and Nina Skage ‘86 Professional Selling Institute as a distinctive component of the It’s Time leadership focus. It also serves as a driving factor in establishing Herberger Business School as a nationally recognized leader in business-to-business sales education. SCSU also dedicated its first named department this year with The Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies, providing scholarships and other advancement opportunities within the department. Judy’s gift will be transformational to the Department and ensure continued success of communication studies students and faculty.

This has been a great year for SCSU. am pleased to be here and I look forward to getting to know all our alumni, students, faculty, staff, donors and friends who make St. Cloud State the institution that it is. We will continue to work together to unleash even more potential for the University’s future.

It has been a fantastic start of the 2022 academic year! The campus is vibrant with students, faculty and staff. Our students are actively engaging in their classes, in campus events and leadership opportunities, and in the community. And of course, our athletics teams are off to a great start. The Unleash the Future campaign is coming to a close at the end of 2022. It has been a tremendous success, supporting thousands of students through scholarships, and by investing in academic programing, advancing our faculty’s teaching and research and ensuring our students have an exceptional and vibrant campus experience. Your investments have increased our distinctiveness as a university and we are being nationally recognized for our efforts, attracting students from Minnesota and around the world.

While there is much to celebrate, we are just getting started! SCSU’s It’s Time vision is our pathway to build on the excellent work of the past and challenge ourselves to be bold, innovative and focused in shaping our future. We will continue to be a university that provides a welcoming and inclusive environment to all students so they can follow their educational dreams, no matter one’s circumstances or background. We will continue to elevate our academic distinction and be a leader in areas of engineering and applied sciences, holistic health and wellness, education and leadership. We will continue to implement our strategy to provide an individualized approach to supporting our students’ success to graduation and never return to the days of a “one size fits all” approach to serving our students.

I am so thankful to everyone for supporting our vison to grow and strengthen St. Cloud State University. As you will see in this impact report, your investment in us is truly making a difference in the lives of our students and this university. If you haven’t yet involved yourself with the Unleash the Future campaign, it’s not too late. Make your impact now – It’s Time.

Lynne Warne ’85 Chair of SCSU Foundation Board of Directors

Nicholas Katona Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Engagement

Celebration takes place for Ralph Heimdahl ’30, his Bugs Bunny illustrations now reside in SCSU’s University Archives thanks to daughter, Martha Slavin

SCSU receives gift from Bennett Melin ’63 to provide endowed university level speaker series

The Per Rasmussen ‘86 and Nina Skage ‘86 Professional Selling Institute is announced, thanks to $1 million from namesakes

Anderson Trucking Service, Inc. supports Herb Brooks National Hockey Center sound and video boards

The Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies announced after alumna makes $1 million gift

Coming spring 2023: The Linda ’74 and Richard Offerdahl Autism Discovery Center

SCHOLARSHIP

SUPPORTS STANDOUT STUDENTS NORWEGIAN ALUMNI ENDOW

PROFESSIONAL SELLING INSTITUTE

The scholarship’s namesake earned her bachelor’s in physical education from St. Cloud State in 1976. While attending the University, she participated in the honors program and competed in women’s swimming and track. Griebel said the honors program taught her what she considers to be the most important lesson she’s ever learned.

“You can always find the answer. By the time I’m asking the question, someone else on planet Earth has found the answer,” she said. “That’s the key to life: what’s the right question to ask.”

WITH $1 MILLION GIFT

St. Cloud State University alumni Per Rasmussen and Nina Skage of Norway were on hand May 16 to announce the first endowed professional selling institute in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The announcement also marks the University’s first international $1 million gift.

business world as well as regional and national recognition as a leading business-to-business sales program.

The Deeann Griebel Honors Student Scholarship, started in 2010, benefits St. Cloud State University students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Recipients must have a financial need, and be active in honors community outreach programs or Honors Community Building. “This scholarship has allowed me to focus deeply on my education and extracurricular activities without the lasting stressor of finances,” said Natalie McIntire, a past scholarship recipient. “I am grateful for Deeann Griebel and her generosity toward students like me striving to make the community better through volunteering and giving back.”

Griebel has supported a variety of St. Cloud State University priorities, including faculty development and scholarships — endowing her Honors Student Scholarship and the Earl H. Potter Memorial Scholarship. She has made significant gifts in support of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and the Centennial Hall Building fund, and supported the SCSU Foundation’s Unleash the Future campaign. In 2017 she was the Visionary Award recipient at the Foundation Gala, and has been a member of the President’s Club since 1997.

For those considering starting a fund at St. Cloud State, Griebel said not to be intimidated. She said providing a meaningful fund doesn’t require an exorbitant amount of money to start, and that her goal each year is to put at least $10,000 into her endowed fund.

“Don’t be afraid to start small,” she said.

The establishment of The Per Rasmussen ‘86 and Nina Skage ‘86 Professional Selling Institute is a distinctive component of the It’s Time leadership focus, and a driving factor in helping establish the Herberger Business School as a nationally recognized leader in business-tobusiness sales education. The gift accelerates and elevates St. Cloud State as a leader in Minnesota, the Midwest and across the nation in academic programming and scholarship.

Dr. Denny Bristow, a Herberger Business School professor, credited Rasmussen’s and Skage’s early financial and foundational support of the professional selling specialization program as critical components of the program’s success. He said the couple’s gift to endow the Professional Selling Institute is a “game changer,” as it will help the program take the next steps toward legitimacy in the academic and

The Per Rasmussen ‘86 and Nina Skage ‘86 Professional Selling Institute will fund additional professional selling scholarships for students as well as externships and research for faculty, and will fund program events such as sales competitions and keynote speaker events.

The endowment will attract and retain top faculty in the professional selling arena, in addition to recruiting students to the selling program. It will also provide stateof-the-art learning facilities and technology for students across the University campus, regardless of major. That technology will also enable the University to work with professional sales specialization strategic partners in the business community to develop sales training opportunities for professionals across the region.

“Now and into the future, the Herberger Business School and The Per Rasmussen ’86 and Nina Skage ’86 Professional Selling Institute will lead the way in businessto-business sales education,” Bristow said.

“The generosity of this gift to St. Cloud State is something special and different,” said Lynne Warne ’85, President of the St. Cloud State Foundation Board and a friend of the couple. “It speaks to the commitment they have to student success — and their desire to give back to the university that helped form their business acumen.”

The endowment for The Professional Selling Institute will enhance opportunities for St. Cloud State to provide the hands-on, experiential learning environment that prepares lifelong learners and successful professionals in the highly competitive business and sales field.

“The Professional Selling Institute is an excellent example

ACADEMIC DISTINCTION

of a St. Cloud State program that prepares top-notch, hit-the-ground-running professionals who have the skills and confidence to communicate, connect and close in real-world sales opportunities,” said Dr. Robbyn Wacker, President of St. Cloud State. “As a university we are gaining a well-deserved reputation for graduating professionals with the credentials for virtually guaranteed placement in their field, including sales.”

Both Rasmussen and Skage said the University gave them

theoretical as well as practical experience — through the papers, presentations, speeches and participation required of students. Having actual sales experience when they graduate helps students become desired job candidates in an ever-competitive field, they said.

“As someone who has a business,” Rasmussen said, “I think it’s fantastic when employees already have sales experience when they start their careers.”

“Being a good sales person is a talent,” Skage added.

The couple said it was St. Cloud State’s reputation as well as their own experiences at the University that makes them continued supporters of their alma mater.

“We’ve had very good careers since moving home to Norway,” Skage said. “When you grow older you think, ‘Why did this happen?’ And then you can transfer some of the learning you got at St. Cloud State that has paid off.”

“What we learned at St. Cloud State, when we came home, we were more competitive thanks to what we had learned,” Rasmussen said. “And we went through 30 years ago, and students today get an even better education than we did. There’s always been progress.”

The impact from one alumna’s gift will be felt for generations at St. Cloud State University.

The announcement and dedication of The Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies took place Sept. 22 in the lobby of Riverview on the University campus. Dr. Judy Pearson has endowed the University’s communication studies department with a $1 million gift, resulting in the first named department on campus.

Pearson’s gift will provide resources to support the advancement of the communication studies department. It has already provided four scholarships to first-year and transfer students, and will provide for the department’s first diversity scholarships. It will also provide funding for conference grants so students can

travel to academic conferences. Additional goals for the endowment are to encourage undergraduate research, bring scholars to campus, and encourage global thinking and understanding by providing more study abroad opportunities for students.

“It’s geared directly toward student development,” said Dr. Marla KanengieterWildeson, chair of the communication studies department. “Dr. Pearson is a prolific researcher in communication studies, her legacy is one of leadership within the discipline ... she’s contributed much to the life and wellbeing of students throughout her tenure as a faculty member.”

Pearson earned her bachelor’s in communication studies from St. Cloud State before earning her master’s in rhetoric and

public address and a doctorate in speech communication from Indiana University.

She then began an esteemed career in higher education, working as a professor in communication studies at Bradley University, Iowa State, Ohio University, Virginia Tech and North Dakota State.

Pearson said she chose the field because she wanted to teach the complexity and development of communication.

“‘A communication problem’ is too much of a catchall phrase,” she said. “Communication is complicated, that’s why there’s so many disputes and conflicts.”

Pearson’s body of professional research and publication has earned her international recognition as a leading voice in the field of communication studies. She was a sought

after keynote speaker, delivering addresses at over 30 universities during the course of her career. Her work in the field is used widely in university coursework through textbooks she wrote and has also been featured on national and local television and radio programming as well as newspapers and magazines.

Dr. Jeffrey Ringer, a professor with the University department and former department chair, said Pearson has always been a mentor — to himself as well. Ringer was a student of Pearson’s in the graduate program at Ohio University, and he also worked with Pearson on two teacher’s manuals that accompanied a few of her textbooks.

“She’s always a mentor, always teaching and always supportive and very professional,”

ACADEMIC DISTINCTION

Ringer said. “She believes in philanthropy. St. Cloud State made a difference in her life, so now she’s making a difference in the lives of St. Cloud State students.”

Pearson said that, while having a department at her alma mater named after her is “the cherry on top of the sundae,” it’s important that higher education continues to be supported, and that it takes a village to do so.

“If we can help students, think it’s an obligation that we do that,” she said. “It’s like being an older child in a family; you help the younger ones behind you.”

Dr. Robbyn Wacker, President of St. Cloud State, said Pearson’s gift supports the pillars of the University’s It’s Time framework, moving the institution forward as a university of choice.

“You are supporting our goal of advancing SCSU’s academic distinction and excellence and our focus on faculty as teachers and scholars,” Wacker said. “As a result, our department and its amazing faculty will continue to incorporate new strategies and new methods of mentoring and providing a unique hands-on learning environment for our students.”

Pearson said giving such a gift to her alma mater just made sense, as St. Cloud State was a “catalyst” for so many milestones throughout her life.

“St. Cloud State was not my third choice, it was my best choice,” she said.

ALUMNI GIVE BACK TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY IN EDUCATION

St. Cloud State’s Minority Teacher Cohort was created at the start of 2022 as an answer to a pressing 21stcentury need to bring about greater diversity in Minnesota’s education work force.

The Minority Teacher Cohort Endowed Scholarship supports a cohort of up to 15 students of color annually by providing them with the financial support to offset their cost of attendance as they matriculate through the College of Education and Learning Design and earn an undergraduate degree and teaching licensure.

Bernie ‘71 and Cindy ‘73 Aldrich consider themselves to be strong supporters of education, and have been proud supports of the cohort.

“We value and appreciate the contributions of the teaching profession,” the couple said. “Cindy was a high school mathematics teacher for 30-plus years and recognizes the difference a teacher can make in a student’s life.”

The Aldrichs said that education is the foundation for success, and that diversity is a critical part of a successful foundation for the greater good.

“We have been fortunate to experience success both personally and professionally, and sharing this success is the right thing to do,” they said. “We have bi-racial grandchildren and recognize the importance to have teachers who they can identify with and are role models in a world that is becoming increasingly diverse.”

SCHOLARSHIP’S NAMESAKE EMBODIED NURSING SPIRIT

Established in 2021 by Tom and Ann ’88 Bastian, the Novella Anne Meany Nursing Scholarship is meant to pay homage to a “natural born caregiver” while assisting students going into the nursing field.

The scholarship’s namesake was selfless, compassionate and the consummate caregiver. She grew up caring for her younger siblings as her parents worked full time. Eventually she would attend college and become a teacher, with her career spanning over 40 years while raising six children. Meany often stressed to her children the importance of education,

and she was very proud that her three daughters all attended St. Cloud State University.

“Throughout her life, Novella put the needs of others before hers — whether family, in the classroom or in her community. Her heart was huge, especially to those she felt were in need and were struggling,” the agreement reads. “So, although not a nurse herself, the way Novella lived her life exemplified the spirit one needs to excel in the nursing field.”

The scholarship, which is meant for nursing students with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, is especially meaningful for the couple, as Ann Bastian is one of Meany’s daughters.

“We are honored to establish a nursing scholarship in memory of Ann’s mother,” the couple stated. “Compassion and love of education were two of her finest traits, and it is our hope that future generations of St. Cloud State graduates pay it forward.”

STUDENT SUCC…SS

St. Cloud State University was well-represented in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, in February 2022, with numerous current and former Huskies competing on the global stage.

Five Huskies past and present from the St. Cloud State men’s hockey team and two current student-athletes from the St. Cloud State women’s hockey team represented their countries in the winter games. Their participation in the Olympics extended a growing list of St. Cloud State athletes and coaches to take part in the Olympic Games.

MEN’S HOCKEY

In the men’s ice hockey competition, St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson, senior forward Sam Hentges and senior defenseman Nick Perbix were part of the 2022 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team. Larson made his Olympic debut as an assistant coach, while Hentges and Perbix took the ice as the eighth and ninth Huskies to be named Olympians in program history, respectively.

Along with that trio on Team USA, St. Cloud

State alumni Patrick Russell (2014-16) and Oliver Lauridsen (2008-11) participated with Denmark’s Olympic team, marking the 10th and 11th Huskies to be named Olympians.

Both the U.S. and Denmark missed out on medals in Beijing, with both national teams seeing their runs come to an end in the quarterfinal round. Hentges finished the Olympics with one goal, while Perbix finished with one assist for Team USA. For Team Denmark, Lauridsen finished with one assist and Russell had three assists.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

In the women’s hockey competition, Huskies senior forward Jenniina Nylund was part of Finland’s national team and junior forward Klara Hymlarova took the ice for the Czech Republic. The duo became the second and third Olympians in program history, joining Janine Alder. Nylund enjoyed a historic run with Finland in the Winter Olympics, capping off her first Olympics appearance by earning a bronze medal and becoming the first-ever active player to earn an Olympic medal in program history. Nylund skated in all seven games for Finland, finishing with one goal.

Hymlarova and the Czech Republic saw their Olympics run end in the quarterfinal round, missing out on a medal. Hymlarova took the ice in four games, putting together a strong showing that resulted in one goal scored.

ATHLETIC SUCC…SS

The St. Cloud State University hockey program received gifts totaling $1.8 million, an investment designed to provide a significantly better experience for fans, secure the men’s team as a perennial top 10 program and boost the performance of women’s hockey.

Thanks to gifts totaling $1.3 million, the fan experience is expected to improve significantly with the start of the 2022-23 season. The old analog video scoreboards will be replaced with the latest digital technology, providing a bright, bold and interactive experience that will amp up the energy in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The gifts will also allow for significant improvement in the audio and acoustics in the Hockey Center, taking the already frenetic energy up a notch.

The hockey program would like to acknowledge a generous leadership gift of $500,000 from Foundation 94. Foundation 94 was established by Henry ’00 and Angel Blattner.

“Henry and Angel believe in our program and its importance to our fans in Central Minnesota and beyond,” said Brett Larson, Huskies men’s hockey head

coach. “Their gift ensures we remain a perennial top 10 program as we relentlessly pursue a national title.”

The gift from Foundation 94 will provide important ongoing operating support for hockey, including the funding of an all-important strength and conditioning coach — considered essential to performance optimization in the hyper-competitive environment of men’s and women’s hockey — and support of student-athlete mental health and leadership programming, areas Foundation 94 deems essential to a well-rounded and responsive hockey experience.

“Huskies hockey is a wonderful brand ambassador for St. Cloud State and extends our regional reach in powerful ways,” said Dr. Robbyn Wacker, President of St. Cloud State. “I’m so happy we’re able to give our fans and our student athletes this gift, and am so grateful to Foundation 94 and Henry and Angelena, and to all whose gifts have made this possible.”

St. Cloud State University has received a principal gift from Bennett D. Melin ’63 to provide both the University’s and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system’s first-ever endowed university level speaker series. In recognition of his gift, the series will be named The Bennett D. Melin Family University Speakers Series.

Announced publicly April 28, The Bennett D. Melin Family University Speakers Series has been established to bring publicly recognizable thought leaders from the arts, humanities, sciences, business, religion, politics, health and human services, education and other relevant areas of contemporary society to the St. Cloud State campus for the purpose of engaging students, faculty, staff and the Greater Central Minnesota community in thoughtful conversation and reflection.

“Bennett’s gift represents a historical milestone for St. Cloud State,” said Matt Andrew, then-Vice President of University Advancement and Executive Director of the St. Cloud State Foundation. “With this gift, St. Cloud State will join the proud tradition of universities all across the U.S. who enrich the experiences of their students by bringing thoughtful and engaging thought leaders to their campuses from across the country and around the globe.”

“As we implement our It’s Time vision that seeks to make St. Cloud State academically distinct, am excited by the prospect of Bennett’s gift bringing a wonderfully vibrant dimension to our university,” said Dr. Robbyn Wacker, President of St. Cloud State. “Bringing innovative and renown thought leaders to campus to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas, and continue an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process is a gift to our campus community and the entire Central Minnesota region.

Melin said his hope is that the speaker series will help students to think more globally. Raised by parents who

taught their children to accept all people with respect and dignity, Melin has upheld this belief throughout his life as he has worked, studied and traveled extensively throughout all seven continents. He graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1963 with majors in history and geography. He began his international travels by independently visiting countries throughout the Middle East and what was then the Soviet Union.

Melin drove himself through many of the countries he visited, including the USSR, Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. In 1967 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to India and, after an exhaustive study throughout the entire country, the program was concluded with a meeting and afternoon tea with then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In 1969 he began his first international work assignment in Vientiane, Laos, and in 1971 he started in the oil industry in Southeast Asia, where he worked for the next 20 years. He then accepted work assignments in several African and South American countries until his retirement in 2007.

Meeting and working with “citizens of the world” for nearly 60 years, Melin said his respect and acceptance of international cultures has only grown and matured. He sometimes worries Americans don’t think globally enough, and tend to forget the U.S. population only accounts for about 4.25 percent of the global population.

“I think everybody wants to leave something behind,” Melin said of his decision to endow the speaker series. He hopes the speaker series will continue on for decades, and that it will bring international voices to campus and encourage audiences to learn as much as possible about the world and all its different cultures.

Molly Callen ’22, Nursing

Recipient of the Olga Satre Hart Nursing “Giving Back” Scholarship

“I had a feeling I would have continuous opportunities and support at SCSU, and my feeling turned out to be more than right. This scholarship contributes to that. ”

Elizabeth Pechovnik ’22, Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering

Recipient of the Clarence Fogelstrom …ndowed Scholarship

“While I doubt I’ll be able to match the extreme generosity you’ve displayed, being on the receiving end of it is inspiring. Hopefully in the future I can pass it along. ”

Dante B. LaPorta ’22, Information Systems

Recipient of the Byron Bergren Business School Scholarship

REGIONAL R…ACH STUDENT SUCC…SS

BENNETT D. MELIN FAMILY UNIVERSITY SPEAKERS IS SCSU’S FIRST ENDOWED SPEAKER SERIES THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS!

BIOFLUORESCENCE MAY BE WIDESPREAD AMONG AMPHIBIANS

Research by St. Cloud State professors Dr. Jennifer Lamb and Dr. Matthew Davis made a splash in February 2022 when it was published in Scientific Reports. Scientific Reports is an open access journal publishing original research from across all areas of the natural and clinical sciences.

Lamb and Davis had found biofluorescence, where organisms emit a fluorescent glow after absorbing light energy, may be widespread in amphibians including salamanders and frogs. Biofluorescence had previously been observed in only one salamander and three frog species.

Lamb and Davis exposed one to five individuals from 32 amphibian species to blue or ultra-violet light and measured the wavelengths of light emitted by the animals using spectrometry. They found that all species examined were biofluorescent, although the patterns of fluorescence differed substantially between species ranging from fluorescent blotches and stripes to fluorescent bones or all-over fluorescence.

The findings suggest biofluorescence may enable amphibians to locate each other in low-light conditions as their eyes contain rod cells that are sensitive to green or blue light. Biofluorescence may create more contrast between amphibians and their environment,

allowing them to be more easily detected by other amphibians. It could also aid amphibians in camouflage, predator mimicry or mate choice, as has been observed in other biofluorescent species. The findings suggest that ancestors of modern amphibians were able to biofluoresce, resulting in the phenomenon being widespread among amphibians alive today.

Their research received worldwide attention and was broadly covered by the press, including the New York Times, Nature, Science News, Scientific American, Wired and others.

Lamb is an assistant professor of biology at St. Cloud State with research interests in herptology, population genetics and conservation. She has done a considerable amount of work with salamanders and other amphibians.

Davis is an associate professor of biology at St. Cloud State with research interests in fish, deep sea, bioluminesence, evolution, systematics, macroevolution, genomics and anatomy. He has previously studied bioluminescence in fish species.

They are continuing their research and presented on it at TEDxStCloud 2020.

UNIVERSITY OF T…ACH…R SCHOLARS

ALUMNI ENDOW SCHOLARSHIP TO SUPPORT STEM EDUCATORS

‘90 have both enjoyed successful careers in STEM — fields based in science, technology, engineering and/ or mathematics. The St. Cloud State alumni feel so strongly about the STEM career field, that they endowed a scholarship based upon it.

The Haller/Peterson STEM Student Teaching Endowed Scholarship supports students while they are student teaching — traditionally a time when it’s difficult to earn extra income. Both Haller — a retired SCSU mathematics professor, and Peterson — who retired from CentraCare Health System, credit their SCSU master’s degrees with propelling their careers and contributing to their professional success.

“We are grateful for the quality of education provided by SCSU in our graduate programs and are passionate about supporting students,” they said. “STEM-based education helps create critical and innovative thinkers. A well-rounded understanding of STEM is critical to our country’s future success. Even those students who choose not to pursue a STEM-related career will benefit from teachers who have a strong STEM background and pedagogical approach.”

Peterson and Haller believe teacher candidates in the STEM professions are highly marketable and have opportunities for careers outside of education. However, they have chosen to prepare students for the challenges that face them and their country.

“This next generation of STEM teachers must be prepared to teach concepts that might not even exist today. It’s important for us to support STEM educators at SCSU because we need skilled teachers in our STEM classrooms,” the couple said. “SCSU has a strong history of preparing skilled and compassionate teachers, and we hope that our scholarship will help those who choose a career in STEM education.”

Kris Peterson ‘97 and Susan Haller

In the college classroom, St. Cloud State University students are used to asking thoughtful questions to develop their understanding. But when students who choose HuskiesAdvance meet with Matt Vorell, Ph.D., he flips that script. His questions are about one crucial thing: care.

Vorell begins each session with a new student mentee by asking, “What’s your story?” He sandwiches in questions that lead to dialogue that’s as meaty as it is meaningful.

“What is the number one way you are misunderstood?”

He goes on to ask students what they are passionate about, and who they are becoming.

“What do need to be the best mentor for you?” is the final question he leaves them with.

As the lead mentor in HuskiesAdvance – the innovative program that helps connect a student’s academic major with their passion – it’s how he gets to know the learner behind the student and what drives them.

“It’s all about relationships, and that’s the secret sauce of the HuskiesAdvance program,” he said.

It’s also one of his favorite parts about being a mentor.

‘IT’S TIME’

The world is changing and so is SCSU. Higher education, in particular, has undergone significant changes in just a few years. A pandemic and changing student demographics nationwide are just two major challenges that colleges and universities weathered and continue to address.

SCSU leaders, faculty and staff remain focused on reimagining higher education and creating a new university. Through President Robbyn Wacker’s leadership and the University’s strategic framework called “It’s Time,” new initiatives like HuskiesAdvance were born.

Soon after the program’s implementation in 2021, five students graduated with HuskiesAdvance credentials on their diplomas. The program anticipates 35 graduates this

year and today, more than 100 students participate.

“There is a real hunger and a real need for connection right now,” Vorell said. “We are coming out of a pandemic. We are coming out of a time when people were just flat images on a computer screen and that really removed any chance for meaningful dialogue.”

HuskiesAdvance looks to change all of that.

SIX TRACKS TO HELP PERSONALIZE SUCCESS

Starting by connecting students with a mentor, they then design an educational experience that fits the student’s professional and personal goals. Throughout the process, students build a professional portfolio and earn a digital credential highlighting what they know and what they can achieve.

Students select one of six HuskiesAdvance tracks, and then work closely with their mentor to choose four experiences that develop value-added skills — such as conflict resolution, problem-solving and teamwork — giving students an advantage in the job market. Throughout the program, students interact with fellow Huskies, faculty, alumni and community members to develop readiness for the workplace, build a network and eventually launch their careers. The six HuskiesAdvance tracks are environmental sustainability, social justice, international engagement, entrepreneurship, leadership and civic engagement.

Peggy Sarnicki, director of HuskiesAdvance, said that during the program, mentors and mentees work very closely

together to personalize every experience that they have throughout their university education.

“Mentors guide and craft those experiences,” she said.

“HuskiesAdvance allows us to get to know our students holistically so we can meet them where they are in their journey.”

Mentoring is a two-way street, and mentors share that they are learning along with their mentees, Sarnicki said. Faculty and staff chose higher education as a career because they wanted to have an impact, to make a difference in the lives of students and as a HuskiesAdvance mentor, they are.

REACHING THEIR FULL POTENTIAL

HuskiesAdvance does not replace academic advisors or counselors, but mentors supplement the work performed in these key roles – connecting students to resources that are important to them and their personal goals.

Vorell has helped first-generation students find and apply for scholarships and encourages neurodiverse students to get involved in campus life and more. For Vorell, who was diagnosed with high-performing autism in his 30s, diversity in the program is crucial.

“It’s important we are connecting to all students — not strictly Honors students,” he said. “If we aren’t also welcoming those who could most benefit from extra support and mentoring, we are not reaching the full potential of this program.”

Students don’t always see where they may be stepping in to fill a leadership role when serving on a student board, for example, or organizing a student activity, Sarnicki said, but mentors help them see the soft skills they are developing.

“Sometimes describe HuskiesAdvance as taking what we do well — by helping students find out who they are through all their experiences both inside and outside of the classroom — and who they are becoming along the way,” she said.

Learn more about St. Cloud State University’s HuskiesAdvance by visiting stcloudstate.edu.