31 March - Celebration of Excellence Convocation

Dear Students,

We invite you to attend the 2005 Celebration of Excellence Convocation. The Convocation will be held in Memorial Auditorium on Friday, April 1, from 9:20 to 10:20. After brief remarks to open the convocation, the majority of the session will occur on the floor of Memorial Auditorium where students will be displaying their work in a poster session. Through your attendance, you will recognize the importance of academic excellence as well as support your fellow students. For the students who are not seniors, we hope the session will inspire you so that, at some point during your time at Concordia, you will decide to develop a similar project and present during a future Honors Convocation. This type of activity is important in helping you work towards excellence as well as show employers and graduate schools that you can achieve academic distinction.

Please join the faculty, students and staff of Concordia College as we celebrate our academic success during the 2005 Celebration of Excellence Opening Convocation.

Sincerely,

Dr. Pamela M. Jolicoeur, President

Dr. Mark Krejci, Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the College

30 March - Announcement of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College

TO: Members of the Concordia College Community

FROM: Pam Jolicoeur

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Krejci has accepted the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. Dr. Krejci has had a distinguished career at Concordia College serving as Chair of the Psychology Department and most recently as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. A graduate of the University of North Dakota, Dr. Krejci earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame. He is an outstanding faculty member whose record as a teaching professor, scholar, and servant of the college is exemplary.

I would like to commend all faculty, administrators, staff and students for the professional manner in which you carried out your responsibilities during the search. Your thoughtful and active participation throughout the search process has been greatly appreciated and is indicative of the importance you assign to this position and the future of Concordia College. I would also like to give special thanks to Vince Arnold and the Search Committee for their commitment and hard work throughout the year. Their thoroughness and careful deliberations have brought this search to a successful conclusion.

29 March - Deadline Extension - Minnesota Humanities Commission

To: All Faculty

From: Jim Aageson, Chair, Division of Arts and Humanities

The Minnesota Humanities Commission has extended the deadline for "Works in Progress" grants. The new deadline for drafts is April 25, final applications must be in by May 20.

In 2005, the Minnesota Humanities Commission (MHC) will fund up to ten, $2,500 "Works in Progress" grants in support of humanities-centered scholarly writing and research. Up to five projects will be funded through a special "We the People: Significant Events in American History and Culture" initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Five additional awards will support research and writing in other humanities content areas.

Theses grants are intended to support research that will result in a scholarly publication and will also reach a wider, public audience in some way. This public connection can take place through a speaking engagement, newspaper feature, magazine article, book for a general readership, exhibit, media production, or other means. Faculty may use the MHC grant for expenses related to research, including for sabbatical support, student workers, research travel, secretarial assistance, and publication expenses. The grants cannot be used for purchase of equipment or for travel to scholarly conferences. Research awards are for work already underway; projects proposing new research will not be considered.

MHC staff can assist faculty in assessing ways that scholarly research can reach a non-academic audience. Draft applications for "Works in Progress" grants are due by April 25, 2005. Final applications are due no later than May 20. Awards will be made on June 10.

For further information about the grant program, please contact Jane Cunningham at MHC, 987 Ivy Ave. E., St. Paul, MN 55106; phone 651-772-4249, fax 651-774-0205; e-mail jane@minnesotahumanities.org. Application forms for the 2005 "Works in Progress" awards will be available on the MHC website, www.minnesotahumanities.org. beginning February 23.

Below is a list of previously-funded, peer-reviewed "Works in Progress" grants:

• MJ Abishakar, Normandale Community College, Moral Realism as a Framework for Justice in International Conflicts, $2500
• Dale Ahlquist, American Chesterton Society, St. Paul, The Amber Chesterton, $2500
• Ciara Briganti, Carleton College, The English Domestic Novel and the Representation of Domestic Space in the Twentieth Century, $2500
• Marilyn Chiat, Minnesota Independent Scholars Forum, Minneapolis, A Comparative Study of Religious Architecture in the Old and New World, $2500.
• William Fitzharris, University of St. Thomas, Our Disgraceful Surrender: A Comparative Study of Surrender, Morale and Unit Integrity in Two Civil War Units, $2500.
• Jill Gidmark, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, An Encyclopedia of American Literature of the Sea and the Great Lakes, $2500.
• Richard Hauser, American Institute of Archaeology-MN, Reading Figurines: An Interpretative Catolog, Volume I--Animal Finds from Royal Building AK at Urkesh 1990-1998, $2500.
• Marcia G. Anderson, Science Museum of Minnesota, A Minnesota Focus on Ojibwe Bandolier
• Nancy M. Thompson, St. Olaf College, The Atelier De Matteis: The Revival of Stained Glass in 19th and 20th Century Florence, $2,500
• Carla Rahn Phillips, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Looking at a Sixteenth-Century Painting: 'The Virgin of the Navigators' by Alejo Fernandez, $2,500
• Marlo M. Belschner, St. Cloud State University, 'Thereby Hangs A Tale': The Culture of Hanging in Shakespeare and Marlow, $2,500
• Steven Hoffbeck, Moorhead State University, Bobby Marshall: A Minnesota Pioneer African-American Athlete, A Short Biography, $2500.

24 March - Student Lecture Series--Second Call for Nominations

The Special Awards Committee asks faculty members to nominate students for participation in the Student Lecture Series for Fall Semester 2005. This series recognizes outstanding original scholarly work done by students at Concordia College, providing them with an opportunity to discuss their findings with others in a public forum. Presentations of interest from students in all fields of study are welcome in order to represent the broad spectrum of student talents at Concordia. Lecture topics chosen previously for the Student Lecture Series include:

"Irish-Americans in the Civil War: The Path Toward Gaining Acceptance"

"Babel Myths in Popular Fiction"

"2001: A Space Odyssey: "Beyond Knowledge and Certainty"

"From Across the Sea. . . A Look at Two Deadly Tropical Diseases"

Nominating Process All students who wish to participate must be nominated by a faculty member. Faculty members are requested to nominate students who are working on a class project or who have completed a project in a previous class. Nomination of a student or student group indicates a faculty member's willingness to be a resource person for the student lecturer.

In order to nominate a student or group of students, a faculty member should submit a letter of nomination that includes:

a) an evaluation of the quality of the proposed presentation, and

b) an assessment of when the project will be completed

The student(s) should submit:

a) a concise title for the presentation, 

b) an abstract (150 words maximum) of the presentation suitable for publicity purposes, and 

c) a 2-3 page summary of the presentation

The above should be submitted in both hard copy and electronic form.

Deadline: Please submit these materials to Paul Nesheim, Chair of the Special Awards Committee, nesheim@cord.edu, by Monday, April 4, 2005. Notification of selections will be made before the end of April.

Criteria for Selection The Special Awards Committee of the Faculty Senate selects up to three students or student groups to give lectures each semester. Preference will be given to projects and presentations of quality that are likely to stimulate discussion in a general audience. An effort will be made to present a balance in the disciplines represented by the lectures.

Students or faculty members who have any questions about the nomination or selection processes may contact Paul Nesheim, Chair of the Special Awards Committee, 299-3285, Ext. 310 or nesheim@cord.edu

Pat Bastion, Academic Division Administrative Assistant, Concordia College Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

23 March - Open forums for discussion of Curriculum Task Force report

To: All Faculty

From: Mark Jensen, Chair, Core Committee Linda Johnson, Chair, Curriculum Coordinating Committee

The Task Force charged by the Faculty Senate with establishing a model for a new Core Curriculum anticipates completion of its report by the April 4th Senate meeting. Copies of the report will then be electronically distributed to all faculty on Tuesday, April 5. The Curriculum Coordinating Committee and the Core Committee would like to announce three upcoming open forums to discuss the Task Force report. These forums will be held in the Centrum at the following times: 

1. Wednesday, April 6, 4:00-5:15 pm 
2. Thursday, April 7, 7:00-8:15 pm 
3. Friday, April 8, 9:20-10:20 am 

These discussions will be facilitated by members of the Curriculum Coordinating Committee, with members of the Core Committee acting as recorders. One or more representatives of the Task Force will be on hand to answer questions.

All departments are asked write a response to the Task Force Report, and then to submit these responses to Mark Jensen, chair of the Core Committee (jensen@cord.edu), by Friday, April 22. Individuals are welcome to provide written responses as well. The Curriculum Coordinating Committee and the Core Committee will then use the information gathered from both the open forums and the written responses to consider changes to the Task Force report before bringing the curriculum model to the Senate for a vote early in the fall of 2005.

Please feel free to contact members of either the Core or Curriculum Coordinating committees should you have any questions or concerns. Curriculum Coordinating Committee: Dan Breedon, Marilyn Guy, Mark Jensen, Linda Johnson, David Sandgren, Dawn Tommerdahl, Mike Wohlfeil Core Committee: Vince Arnold, Dan Breedon, Maddy Burchill, Bob Chabora, Adam Currier, Mark Jensen, Lisa Sethre-Hofstad

23 March - Celebration of Excellence

Dear Faculty and Administrative Staff

I am inviting you to participate in the Celebration of Excellence activities on April 1st and 2nd. We use this opportunity to honor academic excellence in its many forms and we encourage you to attend and to invite students to participate.

On Friday morning (4/1), at 9:20 in Memorial Auditorium, Concordia College will hold the Celebration of Excellence Opening Convocation and Student Poster Session. This event will be different from previous years. This remains an official convocation and so all faculty are expected to attend, but we will not wear our academic gowns and will not process. Faculty and administrative staff will be seated in the front section of the permanent seats and students and other members of the community will be seated behind them. The Student Poster Session will be set up on the floor of Memorial Auditorium and, after remarks opening the Celebration of Excellence, the rest of community time will be used to view the posters. The session has been expanded this year to accept submissions from every academic division.

Please encourage your students to attend this session. They will hear about the importance of academic excellence and be able to see examples of it by viewing the posters. You can suggest to them that they might gather ideas during this session so that at some point during their student life at the College they may participate in this program.

Faculty encourage students to participate in the life of the mind. We do this through our courses, through our mentoring relationships, and by helping them achieve excellence through their work. Please join me in celebrating the achievements of our students and the faculty as we demonstrate our commitment to academic distinction.

Attached to this mail is the complete schedule of Celebration of Excellence events.

I look forward to seeing you on Friday morning.

Mark J. Krejci, Ph.D. Interim Dean & Vice President for Academic Affairs

23 March - Call For Nominations For The Flaat Distinguished Service Award

The Flaat Distinguished Service Award recognizes excellence in long-term service to the College by a member of the administrative staff. The award carries a $1000 per annum cash prize. The recipient must be both outstanding in their professional role and a person who is committed to the mission and goals of Concordia.

Nomination Process: Concordia faculty and staff may nominate a member of the administrative staff for this award. The nomination must include the name of the nominee along with a statement of support that exemplifies the nominee's outstanding achievements, excellence in service and commitment to the mission of the college. Previous nominees are eligible to be nominated again. The deadline for submitting nominations to the President's Office is April 8.

Pamela M. Jolicoeur, President

23 March - Marketing Consultant Visit--your input needed

Dear Administrative Colleagues:

The College has engaged the services of Hawkeye Creative Communications for the purpose of refining and implementing a comprehensive brand marketing strategy that appropriately reflects our institutional values and mission. Their work doesn't start from ground zero, but instead builds on the positioning research completed by Stamats in the spring of 2004. Part of Hawkeye's charge is to develop a new suite of Admissions materials that more overtly capture our commitment to academic rigor.

Your input is invaluable to the success of the project. Members of Hawkeye's strategic development team will be on campus next week to conduct focus groups with our key campus stakeholders. There will be four opportunities for administrators to participate as follows:

• Monday, March 28, Frida Nilsen Lounge
  • 3:15 to 4 p.m. 
  • 4:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 29
  • 10: 30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
  • 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

RSVP your intent to attend to Kim Kappes (kappes@cord.edu) by 4 p.m., tomorrow so that proper arrangements can be made. Please indicate all times that you are available so that we can work to balance the number of participants for each session.

Thank you for your thoughtful participation in this important endeavor at this very busy time of year.

Roger Degerman Senior director, Communications and Marketing

22 March - Hawkeye Creative Communications

Colleagues,

The College has engaged the services of Hawkeye Creative Communications for the purpose of refining and implementing a comprehensive brand marketing strategy that appropriately reflects our institutional values and mission. Their work will build upon the positioning research completed by Stamats in the spring of 2004. Part of Hawkeye’s charge is to develop new Admissions materials that more overtly capture our commitment to academic rigor.

Your input is invaluable to the success of the project. Members of Hawkeye’s strategic development team will be on campus next week to conduct focus groups with our key campus stakeholders. They want to talk with faculty and so the Office of Communications has scheduled three opportunities for faculty to participate as follows:

• 2:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 (Box lunch provided) Location TBA o Department chairs
• 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 Location TBA o General faculty session
• 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 30 Location TBA o Division chairs and Dean

Please RSVP your intent to attend by Thursday (3/24) so that proper arrangements can be made (email kappes@cord.edu). When you respond you will be notified of the location for the meeting.

Thank you for your thoughtful participation in this important endeavor at this very busy time of the year.

Mark J. Krejci, Ph.D. Interim Dean & Vice President for Academic Affairs

21 March - Call For Nominations For The Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award

The Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award is given annually to a Concordia College faculty member in order to recognize excellence in teaching. The award carries a $1,000 per annum cash prize for three years. Because fine teaching is found in areas such as libraries, May Seminars, music studios, coaching assignments and laboratories as well as classrooms, all faculty who serve in these environments are eligible for the Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award.

Nomination Process: Concordia students, alumni, emeriti faculty, and faculty may nominate a faculty member for this award. In order to nominate a person for the Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award, you must submit a nomination packet in support of your candidate. A nomination packet must consist of a nomination form (attached; hard copies by request), five letters of support and the curriculum vita (extended résumé) of the nominee. Of the five letters of support, at least one must be written by a current Concordia student and two must be by Concordia faculty members. The remaining letters may come from individual Concordia students, faculty, alumni and/or emeriti faculty.

The letters of support may address the following five questions:

• How does this faculty member motivate students to reach their potentials?
• How does this faculty member demonstrate respect for and interest in students?
• How does this faculty member successfully practice the art of teaching?
• How does this faculty member show a love of learning as well as of teaching?
• What other qualities caused you to nominate this faculty member?

Deadline for submission of nomination packet: April 8.  Submit nomination packet to: Paul Nesheim, Chair Special Awards Committee Music Department.  Questions or requests for hard copies of nomination forms can be directed to Paul Nesheim at nesheim@cord.edu or 299-3285, ext. 310

18 March - March edition of the F.Y.I. Assessment and Institutional Research Newsletter

To: Faculty and administrators

From: Kay Schneider

The March edition of F.Y.I. is accessible via a Concordia network connection at http://www.cord.edu/dept/acd/local/assess/mar2005.htm

Contents include an announcement for the "Talk About Learning" summer workshop and results of the senior survey, which was completed by more than 300 students.  Hard copy is available upon request.

15 March - Open sessions with VPAA candidate

To: Concordia College Community

From: Ron Twedt for the Vice President of Academic Affairs Search Committee

Re: Open sessions with candidate

Please note that there will be open sessions with our next finalist, Dr. Mark Krejci, on Thursday, March 17 from 4:00 until 5:00, and Friday, March 18 from 9:20 until 10:20. As some members of the campus community have noted, the Friday morning session coincides with a Community Time event regarding student financial aid issues. In order to provide wide and fair opportunities for the community to interact with Dr. Krejci in the search process, the Friday session will be held despite the conflict. We hope that all of you are able to balance your participation in this search process with becoming fully informed and participative in the important issues we face with respect to student financial aid.

Candidate information and complete schedules for campus visits are available at the Academic Affairs web site at http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/Default.asp

11 March - Faculty development opportunities

To: All Faculty

From: Jim Aageson, Chair, Division of Arts and Humanities

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) "Pedagogies of Engagement Conference" will take place April 14-16 in Bethesda, MD. The conference will explore how pedagogies of engagement can deepen student knowledge and nurture habits of the mind and practice for life-long learning. Assessment tools and practical strategies for implementation will also be featured.

Registration deadline: March 31 Hotel registration deadline: March 23 For more information and to register online: http://www.aacu.org/meetings/pedagogies/index.cfm 

The Collaboration invites proposals for the Fall 2005 Conference "Diversity Here and Now: Holistic and Sustainable Approaches to Multicultural Learning" The conference will be held November 18-19, 2005 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel.

Call for proposals deadline: April 15, 2005

To download call for proposals: http://www.collab.org/programs&services/conferences/CFP.pdf 

10 March - VPAA Search: Schedules of campus interviews

To: Concordia College Community

From: Vice President of Academic Affairs Search Committee

The Search Committee for the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College has finished developing schedules for the VPAA finalists. The schedules for Drs. Krise, Krejci and Braun are listed at http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/Default.asp. We regret that the interviews have been scheduled during registration week, but the committee feels that it is in the best interests of the institution to proceed with the interviews at this time.

Candidate evaluation forms will be available at each venue for your convenience. We ask that you turn in your evaluation forms as soon as possible, but no later than 12:00 PM on 23 March 2005. The evaluation forms can be sent to DeeAnn Krugler at the President's Office or to any member of the search committee.

We look forward to your participation in the search process.

10 March - Events for the Inauguration

Colleagues,

I thought you would want to see the schedule of events for the inauguration. You will each be receiving an invitation in your campus p.o. box. I want to draw your attention to the Seminar event at 4:00 on Thursday. This event will serve the purpose of highlighting the academic mission of the college. Dr. Peterson will provide the campus with his perspectives on the topic of higher education and his address will be followed by a faculty response panel. Linda Johnson and I are organizing this event and we will send you a more formal invitation and description in the future. The Inauguration ceremony itself is a faculty convocation and so we will be processing in our academic regalia.

INAUGURATION EVENTS SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, APRIL 21 

SEMINAR – “American Education at the Dawn of the 21st Century” 4:00 p.m. Frances Frazier Comstock Theatre Keynote Speaker: Dr. Paul E. Peterson ’62 Director, Program on Education Policy and Governance John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

CONCERT – Maasai Girls Choir, Monduli, Tanzania 7:30 p.m. Knutson Center Centrum

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

FOUNDERS DAY BANQUET 6:00 p.m. Memorial Auditorium Lori Line, piano

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

INAUGURATION CEREMONY 11:00 a.m. Memorial Auditorium Reception immediately following in Olson Forum

SUNDAY, APRIL 24

ORATORIO CONCERT – The Requiem by John Rutter 4:00 p.m. Memorial Auditorium Rene Clausen, conductor

Mark J. Krejci, Ph.D. Interim Dean & Vice President for Academic Affairs

8 March - Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of College Search

TO: Members of the Concordia College Community

FROM: Vincent Arnold, Chair, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College

Search Committee

SUBJECT: Visit to the Campus by VPAA Finalists

The final phase of our search for the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College includes an invitation for three finalists to visit the campus of Concordia College. We are pleased to announce that we have invited three candidates to visit. Please see the attached memo for introductions and visit schedules for each candidate.

8 March - Changes in Concordia College's IRB Policies, Procedures and Forms

Date: March 8, 2005 To: Faculty, Staff and Students

From: Institutional Review Board. Mona Ibrahim (Chair), Eileen Buslig, Mark Covey, Frank Elston, Mathew Lindholm, Hank Tkachuk

Concordia College's Institutional Review Board (CC IRB), which is charged with the duty to protect the rights and welfare of humans recruited to participate in research involving human subjects conducted at CC or by CC affiliates, would like to share with you some of the exciting improvements that were introduced this semester in IRB policies and web page.

Please note that the CC IRB regulations apply to ALL research involving human subjects conducted at Concordia College, as well as research conducted elsewhere by CC's faculty, staff, and students.

• The changes introduced are intended to make the process of submitting a research protocol for approval simpler and less time consuming. We invite you to check out the new CC IRB web page at http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/irb. Some of the significant changes you will find on the IRB web page include:
• Course instructors can now submit one application to the department Chair that covers several exempt research projects conducted by students in their course. More details on this change and the application form that instructors can use can be found in the document titled "CC IRB Policies and Procedures for Exempt Research" available on the CC IRB web page.
• Four model forms are now available on the our web page for use by researchers:
  • A "Model Informed Consent Form When Signature Required"
  • A "Model Description of Study"
  • A "Model Debriefing Statement"
  • A "Model Informed Consent Statement When Signature Waived"
• The educational requirements for principal investigators and key research personnel on campus are now more focused on 4 specific components:
  1. Reviewing the 8-page "Guidelines for Ethical Human Subjects Research" document available on the CC IRB web page
  2. Reviewing the 3-page "Summary of the Belmont Report" document available on the CC IRB web page, and
  3. Completing the on-line course sponsored by the NIH titled "Human Participants Protection Education for Research Teams" once in the last 5 years.
  4. Viewing the first two films on the IRB video. Copies of the IRB video in DVD and videocassette formats are available on library reserve under IRB 1 and IRB 2.

Thank you for following the IRB policies and procedures and for ensuring the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects. Please don't hesitate to contact the IRB committee if you have any questions.

8 March - Curriculum vitae for Dean candidates

The letter of application and curriculum vitae for each of the three candidates for Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College are available at the Academic Affairs web page. The following links go directly to these materials:

Dr. Mark Braun: http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/restricted/MarkBraun.pdf 

Dr. Mark Krejci: http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/restricted/MarkKrejci.pdf 

Dr. Thomas Krise: http://www4.cord.edu/acadAffairs/restricted/ThomasKrise.pdf 

Please note that you must use Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat to access these files.

Ron Twedt Secretary, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Search Committee

8 March - Assessment and You: Experiences of Graduating Seniors

We recently analyzed the results of the 2004-05 senior survey. One of the more interesting questions asked seniors " What would you do differently if you could start over at Concordia College?"

Many students listed more than one activity. However, two activities were listed by a large number of graduating seniors:

• 83 seniors wished they had been more involved in activities.
• 40 seniors wished they had studied harder.

We also asked students "Which aspects of your undergraduate education seem most useful and appropriate to you?" The following were the most frequently mentioned responses.

• 85 students listed liberal arts/core classes.
• 74 students listed classes in the major.
• 41 students listed co-curricular activities.
• 32 students listed relationships with professors.

To keep you informed about how assessment information is used by the college, occasional "Assessment and You" updates will be sent to you by the office of Assessment and Institutional Research, Kay Schneider, director. For more assessment information, contact Kay at schneide@cord.edu or visit the assessment home page at: http://www.cord.edu/dept/assessment/index.htm

8 March - Presidential Distinction Award

Dear Faculty Member,

Concordia College will be welcoming over 120 students to campus this Sunday & Monday, March 13 & 14 for the Presidential Distinction Award program. We are still in dire need of faculty assistance to allow students to compete in the Group Interaction event.

The purpose of this event is to learn how scholarship semi-finalists might contribute in the classroom at Concordia College. Should you be available, you will receive a packet of information a few days prior to the event containing questions, your interview partner, interview location and sample scoring sheets (each student will provide you with his/her official scoring sheet.

The times for the interaction event as are follows:

Monday, March 14th

_____ 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

_____ 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

(Please allow 5 minutes prior and 5 minutes following the interaction for student travel time and scoring)

We need an additional 20-24 faculty members for this event.

Also, on Sunday night, students will be given an opportunity to taste the wonderful food on campus, but more importantly get to know the wonderful faculty members in a more intimate setting during our banquet. Should you be available, you will be seated at a table with six-seven students who will ideally have an interest in your discipline. There may also be students at your table who are undecided on a major area of interest. This is an opportunity to showcase your Department and get students excited about being a part of the Concordia community.

The banquet it scheduled for Sunday, March 13th from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Centrum.

If you are able to assist with these events, please call me at 299-4562 or email me at axvig@cord.edu. If you have already signed up to participate, a packet of information and email will be sent on Thursday of this week.

Thank you for your consideration.

Have a wonderful week.

Sincerely,

Samantha Axvig, Presidential Distinction Award Coordinator

8 March - Financial Aid

To: Concordia Faculty, Staff and Students

From: President Jolicoeur

Re: FINANCIAL AID SITUATION STILL CRITICAL - Reminder to Act

On February 17th I sent a Cobweb message to the campus community asking each of you to contact Governor Pawlenty and your Minnesota legislators to remind them of the importance of the Minnesota State Grant Program to Concordia students. My thanks to those who responded. If you did not, there is still time. The Governor's proposed budget has no new dollars for the Minnesota State Grant Program. And recent changes in the Federal Need Analysis System have reduced eligibility for Pell Grants and need-based aid from all sources - state, federal and private. The reduction in eligibility combined with flat funding for the Minnesota State Grant Program means potential decreased support for many students.

You can contact the governor and your legislators by signing up for the Minnesota Private College Action Network (PCAN) at http://mpcc.e-actionmax.com/. The Action Network identifies your senator, representative, and their e-mail addresses. Click "Sign Up" and click on the "Act Now" bar at the top to begin your message. The PCAN service also provides tips on what to include in your message, background information on programs and regular updates on legislative happenings. Out-of-state residents should use their Concordia address when advocating support for our students.

Thank you for taking action.

4 March - Advising

To: Faculty

From: Core Committee

Colleagues,

With advising time now upon us, the Core Committee would like to bring to your attention some elements of the Core curriculum most commonly overlooked by students and advisors:

Only 1 distribution course can be counted from each department in a given area (A-E). Language courses in area C are an exception.

 

Only 1 course from a major (not including supporting courses) may count toward the 7 required distribution credits. Exceptions do exist for interdisciplinary programs.

 

Students receive core credit for Integration (X) and 300-level Religion courses (J) only when these courses are taken in the junior or senior year. Exceptions have been legislated for certain international programs (Credo in Crete, Rethinking Development in India, Malta and the Mediterranean, and Scandinavia and the Baltic).

 

Only courses with the "J" designation can be used for the upper-level Religion requirement. There are Religion courses that are approved as core courses in area D, but these do not count toward the religion requirement.

 

Students who intend to study abroad should do their best to determine before departing which core requirements can be met while participating in their off-campus program.

 

Advisors and students should never assume that a particular non-Core course can be substituted for an approved Core course.

In no way is this meant to be an inclusive list of potential problems, but oversights in these areas have given rise to a large number of student core appeals.

Thanks for all you do as advisors.

Sincerely,

Mark Jensen, Chair

Other members: Vince Arnold, Dan Breedon, Maddy Burchill, Bob Chabora, Adam Currier, Lisa Sethre-Hofstad

2 March - Deadline to drop a full semester class

TO: Concordia Students and Faculty

FROM: Carole Stalheim, Registrar

REMINDER: The last day to drop a full semester class is on Thursday, March 10, 2005.  Please contact our office if you have any questions. We are located in Lorentzen and our phone number is 299-3250.