The Western Concept

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Hello fellow Blue Hawks. The DSU Student Senate will be holding an open forum concerning the new Badlands Activity Center on Thursday, January 31 2008 in the student center ballroom. This is the time to let your voice be heard on the subject and to find out what exactly this new facility means for you as today’s students. The appointed time for the open forum is set for 6:00 pm.

Greetings fellow Blue Hawks. Just a quick reminder about some upcoming events that you won’t want to miss: Our Valentine semiformal will be held on Sunday, February 10 in the student center ballroom from 9:00 pm – midnight with music provided by K-Hook. February 18, at 8:00 pm you will not want to miss A.D. The Voice. A.D. has attended Oxford and Harvard Law schools; he is a Rhodes Scholar who has turned to Hip-Hop. To find out more about A.D and for a sample of his music you can go to his my space page. www.myspace.com/adthevoice

 by Ashley Martin 
           
The Presidential Search Committee has narrowed the selection down to three candidates. The three candidates chosen to move forward are Dr. Richard J. McCallum, Dr. Bruce W. Speck, and Dr. Joseph W. Bascuas. Dr. William A. Nevious and Dr. John Ryder were chosen as semifinalists, but did not get voted in with the three finalists. Dr. Gregory Aloia was also a semifinalist, but he withdrew from the search for personal reasons. 

           
Dickinson State University’s current president, Dr. Lee Vickers, announced April 30^th, 2007 that he would be retiring. The Presidential Search Committee was formed shortly thereafter. When the Search Committee narrowed the presidential candidates down to the six semifinalists, each candidate was invited to DSU.

When the semifinalists arrived on campus, they were interviewed individually, and subjected to a number of qualifications. Each member was given a tour of DSU and of the community. Finally, the semifinalists all had to participate in a campus and a community forum.

Finalist Dr. Richard J. McCallum is currently employed as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Missouri Southern State University. During his community forum on November 8, McCallum stated that he has “developed a very strong commitment to higher education.” 

One of the features that attracted McCallum to out campus is DSU’s wide range of international students. “Your commitment to international education and to global awareness is one of the great strengths of this University,” he stated.

Finalist Dr. Bruce Speck stated at his community forum on November 13, that he would like to see Universities strive to incorporate spirituality into their programs. His definition of spirituality is “whatever brings meaning to your life.” An example he gave for this idea was teaching doctors and nursing students to be empathetic with patients to help comfort people.

Speck is currently employed at Austin Peay State University. He is Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. He mentioned that, if he became DSU’s president, he would like to look into recruiting more Native American Students.

Dr. Joseph Bascuas, the third finalist, was formerly president of Medaille College. Bascuas stated that one of his major contributions to Medaille College was his effort to increase enrollment by fifty percent.

“I’m passionate about having really good instruction” and “seeing students succeed,” Bascuas stated at his community forum on November 13.  He also stated that he believes Universities need to work on making classes, such as math and science, “relevant” to students.

The next step for the three finalists is to have an interview with the State Board of Higher Education. They are scheduled to do so on December 5. The new president of DSU will assume office in January of 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

by Beth Hurt    

If Assistant Professor Christine McCoy were a color, she would be a bright one.  Personable and friendly, McCoy is very approachable, a characteristic that is undoubtedly appreciated by her students.

This is McCoy’s first semester at DSU, where she teaches two reading classes, Teaching for Diversity, and Education of Exceptional Learners. So far, McCoy seems quite satisfied with her position at Dickinson State. “I’m enjoying DSU a lot.  It’s stretching me professionally, and I am enjoying that fact.”  McCoy is also pleased with the students at DSU, stating that they are friendly, polite, and make good conversation in class.  McCoy is also very appreciative of the support available for new faculty members. “Everything has been very positive,” she said.              

McCoy grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota as the oldest of 11 children. She originally decided to pursue a degree in Theatre after participating in plays in high school.   It was through her college theatre experience that McCoy met her husband when the two were cast as brother and sister in a production.  McCoy eventually graduated from Southwest State University in Minnesota with a degree in Speech and Theatre and a degree in Secondary Education.  In 1987 she went back to school in Maine and began work on her Elementary Education and Special Education degrees.              

Throughout her career as a teacher, McCoy has taught at a variety of locations, including Indiana, Maine, Florida, and South Dakota.  With her late husband being involved in the radio industry, McCoy and her family found themselves traveling a lot.  McCoy stated that her experiences in teaching African American students and Native American students were very different.  She said that it was a life lesson on how to deal with diversity and that it gave her a greater understanding of fairness.               

Dr Glashan, Chair of the Teacher Education Department was quite emphatic about her experience with diversity: “She was the most qualified.” He said McCoy’s experience in teaching students of diverse races as well as her experience in teaching students from poverty conditions and students with learning disabilities was definitely a deciding factor in the hiring process. Glashan also expressed enthusiasm for McCoy’s background in Reading.  “In the Reading area, it is much more difficult to find qualified applicants.  Reading is her genuine specialty.”              

Frankie Schoonover, a student in McCoy’s Education for Exceptional Learners class, said that “she is fun to take class from.  You can tell she loves what she does.”              

Currently McCoy is working on completing her doctorate through the University of South Dakota and plans to accomplish that soon.  “I’m a person who loves to learn,” McCoy says.  While that may be so, it is also very clear that Christine McCoy is one individual who was born to teach.

by Beth Hurt

The Dickinson State University Student Senate welcomed guest speakers Charles Conrick and Professor Hanson of the Business Department to discuss the addition of a new major in Finance at their weekly meeting on Thursday, November 1^st.  Conrick and Hanson asked Senate for their help in spreading the word about the new course of study.  “Hopefully you can help us get the word out,” said Hanson. 

The pair were largely concerned with making sure that students of Dickinson State would be aware of the differences between the Accounting major and the new major in Finance.  “Anyone walking around campus undecided, send them to me…I‘ll help them explore different career options,” said Hanson.  The Business Department plans to circulate fliers with information about the new major but hopes to find other ideas about how to spread the news.  The student senate agreed to put some thought into how they could assist in this matter.

By Alicia M. Haich

Why consider a field in the Geosciences? Dr. Eric Brevik, the new professor of geology and soils at DSU, smiles at this question and answers, “It’s a fun field to teach in; you’re not stuck in an office all day. It’s great, especially if you like the outdoors—you get to dig holes all day and get paid for it.”

Brevik’s great love of the geosciences has been with him ever since an eighth-grade field trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

“My eighth-grade teacher took us on a week-long field trip to the Black Hills,” Brevik explains. “While there, we looked at caves, mines and for minerals. It was a great experience that just stuck.”

When the choice of a college major came up, Brevik naturally chose to receive his B.S. and M.A. in the field of geology in 1992 and 1994, both from the University of North Dakota. He went on to obtain his Ph.D. from the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University, majoring in soil science with a soil morphology and genesis concentration.

“I went to Iowa State because it’s one of the top schools in the world for soil science, which is what my Ph.D. is in.” Brevik explains. “They also have a good geology program, and I took classes in that at Iowa State as well.”

 After earning his Ph.D., Brevik was hired in 2000 as an Assistant Professor of Geosciences by the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences at Valdosta State University. He taught at Valdosta State for six years, becoming an Associate Professor in 2005 and helping with more than a dozen undergraduate theses.

“It’s not often you get someone who has training and teaching experience in both geology and soils,” Dr. Richard Brauhn, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, said. “Dr. Brevik offered DSU a unique background with the combination of academic training and teaching experience in both of those fields.”

“He gave an outstanding teaching presentation during the interview on campus,” Brauhn added. “Even I learned something from him during the presentation.”

“He’s very knowledgeable,” said Holly Gullickson, a student in Brevik’s Soils class. “He’s very laid back. He’s been very helpful with papers, and exams and he’s very understanding.”

Brevik has enjoyed returning to North Dakota to teach, but it’s been quite a change from the six years he spent in Valdosta, Georgia.

“There’s no real winter there,” Brevik says of Valdosta. “It gets to only about forty degrees in the winter for them. A few times that it froze, people thought the earth was coming to an end.”

Brevik’s father was originally from Williston, so coming back to North Dakota was a natural move for Brevik to make, and he’s enjoyed it so far.

However, Brevik is also used to moving around and traveling from place to place. His father was in the Air Force until Brevik was fifteen years old and his family didn’t settle in Minot, ND, until Brevik was twelve years old.

“I’ve had about twenty-six different addresses in my lifetime,” Brevik says.

Aside from traveling because of his father’s career, Brevik has traveled because of his own love of the geosciences. In order to study the soils and geology of various places, Brevik has been to Canada and Mexico and to every state in the United States except Hawaii and Alaska.

“Hawaii and Alaska are on the list as soon as I find the time and the money to get there,” Brevik says. “As for overseas, I’d like to visit just about anywhere. In particular, I’d like to travel and study in Europe, but especially Australia and Antarctica.”

Digging in the dirt, being outdoors, traveling, and simply enjoying your work seem to be some great perks to the fields of geology and soils—perks which Brevik has enjoyed in his career and will now enjoy at DSU.

 By Ashley Martin

What could be better than a new department chair who has a sense of humor? One who also brews his own beer? Dr. Alan Church, the new chair for the language and literature department at Dickinson State University does just that. Before jumping to any conclusions, though, it is important to note that he does not approve of drunkenness. Church himself does not get drunk on the beer he brews or on any kind of alcohol. “Brewing beer is a hobby for me,” he stated.

After doing his research, Church learned the process of brewing beer and has been doing it for twelve years now. “Domestic beer is rather flavorless and uninspired,” he said. He is now able to brew the kinds of beer he likes with the amount of alcohol he prefers. “I take pride in the craftsmanship (of brewing beer). . . I admit I’m a beer snob,” Church added.

Church received his BA and MA in English Literature form Arizona State University. He received his PHD from the University of Washington. He specialized in medieval literature throughout college. Since he graduated, he has taught English, British and world literature, composition, and graduate research methods.

Church moved to Dickinson from Brownsville, Texas, shortly before the fall semester began. He stated that although “I thank God for the chances I had there (Brownsville), I’m really happy to be here.” Church was looking for a smaller university in a rural area. He chose DSU “because of the quality of life.” He said that the only thing he misses about Texas are the friends he left behind. He loves “the room to breathe and live” that he has found in Dickinson.

Another reason that Church wanted to move from Texas was to provide a better environment for his children. He was previously living in a one bedroom apartment. It is easy to imagine how crowded it would become when his two children would come to stay with him. Church now has more room in the house he and his wife have recently purchased in Dickinson.

Getting used to the time blocks of the classes he is teaching has proved to be a bit of a struggle for Church. He prefers to teach classes that run for about three hours. “An ideal class should include lecture, discussion, group work and applied exercises,” he said. He doesn’t think that all of that is possible in a fifty-minute time block.

Church feels as though his teaching may be suffering a bit as he gets used to the responsibilities of being a chair. His students disagree. Amy Harris, who is a nursing major is enrolled in Church’s British Literature course this semester. She said, “He’s a good teacher,” and added that “he adapts to his students” and is very good at helping each student understand the material.

Church stated that he has ”a lot of confidence in the people I work with (at DSU). I think the strength of the department is in the faculty. They’re an amiable, hard working group. I hope the students realize how hard their professors work.” He also said that many students at DSU seem to like learning “for learning sake,” and that they are more curious than students he has taught elsewhere.

Dr. Solheim, a professor in the Department of Language and Literature, believes that it is important to bring in new influences to improve the department. “I was chair for about a dozen years, and I reached a point where I felt I didn’t make many changes,” he said. That was when Solheim decided is was time to step down as chair. He stated that Church not only brings new teaching experience, but he is also working on making better policies within the Department of Language and Literature. Solheim said that Church has been talking about trying out a course in translation and is willing to try experimental courses to see if they meet the needs of the students. 

In the future, Church said that he hopes to work with Alan Reed, the managing editor at the Dickinson Press, to help the campus newspaper The Western Concept. As of right now, though, this is just an idea. Working with Reed would help improve the journalism minor at DSU.

Church stated that although he did not come to DSU to change anything, new expectations are constantly being placed on the faculty. He said that he will not make any changes unless the faculty can support them, but he will make changes that improve the administrative process.

By Misty Rilly

How many of you are history majors? Or, just really enjoy history and have been wondering if there are any clubs out there that you may enjoy? Well, there is. History Society is a club where you can meet and talk to other people who really enjoy history. This semester we meet every first and third Tuesday at noon in Klinefelter Hall room 108. Our advisor is Dr. Taylor, and with his help we do many great things. Have you ever been to a classic movie night? These can be used as extra credit for his class. History Society puts on these classic movie nights. We pick the movies and the dates to show them so our fellow classmates can enjoy them. Some of the other things we have done were the pie a professor game at the carnival where a lot of kids enjoyed throwing a pie at Dr. Taylor, Mr. Hanson, and Dr. Doherty and let’s not forget Dr. Conner. With all their help it was a huge success. A few of the other things we have done are, going to academic conferences in which we write a research paper on something that has taken place in history and we present it at these History conferences. Several of our members have had the opportunity to do that. It is a very rewarding experience and if you are interested in graduate schools, these conferences are a great place to network. Another thing we have done is bring in a guest speaker, last year we brought in Sara Weddington and are looking at bringing another speaker in the spring. Another thing we are doing, which is coming up rather quickly, is a panel discussion in which will discuss what led up to the cold war and the after math of it, which will take place on November 27 at 6:30 p.m. It is free of charge and open to the public. It will be student led and a great deal of fun for many people. If you have any other questions I urge you to email me, as I am the vice president of the History Society, at rilleyq2@yahoo.com . I hope everyone has a great week and thank you for your interest in the History Society.

On Tuesday, October 9, Dickinson State University said farewell to one of its administrators. Dr. Mary Jo Gonzales is no longer the director of the Academic Success Center (ASC) at Dickinson State University. After being part of our campus for over five years, Gonzales decided it was time to move on to Iowa State University where she has taken a position as Associate Dean of Students.

Gonzales was born and raised in Hollister California. She received a bachelor’s degree in communications from San Jose State University. She received her masters and Ph.D. in education from Washington State.

When Gonzales was an undergraduate, she never imagined herself getting a Ph.D. She stated that more than anything else, it was two faculty members who motivated her to achieve a higher education. One of these faculty members told her that she was a smart young woman and showed her how she could achieve bigger things. The other faculty member told her that she wouldn’t make it very far.  Gonzales wanted to prove this faculty member wrong, so she worked hard to achieve her goals. Although this negative comment helped her, Gonzales said that she tries not to be a “negative motivator.” She tries to encourage students to do their best.

In April of 2002, Gonzales had the opportunity to become part of our campus. “I came because I thought I could make a difference,” she stated. Gonzales feels that through the ASC, she has made a difference in the lives of many DSU students. “With all the programs we have built, we have been able to help all kinds of students we wouldn’t have been able to, had we not taken some chances and risks,” she said.

When she was working at DSU, Gonzales directed academic support systems on campus. This included tutoring students, new student orientation, and academic advising. She also helped make the ASC available to all students on campus. She said that making the ASC more available was important because “without a program like this, I never would have made it through college.” She also added that, in her opinion, many students at DSU would struggle without the ASC.

Gonzales said she decided to leave DSU because “we had built pretty much what we could under my leadership. I learned so much while I was here, but it was time for me as an individual to grow.” She stated that she hopes the ASC grows bigger than it already is. “I really hope that the campus continues to support the staff who works in the ASC. The staff does an awesome job,” she said. She added that “some of my colleagues, faculty, and staff are just incredible people. It will pain me to leave some of them behind.”

Over all, Gonzales said she will miss the students at DSU the most. She has found it exciting to see people that she has known since freshman year graduate. “There’s (sic) some pretty talented students here,” she said.

On October 18, Gonzales begins her new adventure in Iowa. She will be supervising the Academic Success Center, multicultural affairs, and many other student support services at Iowa State University.

She is unsure how long she will be at Iowa State University or what she will be doing in the more distant future. “I tend to let God take me where he wants me to go,” she said. She said she will probably stick to working in programs that deal with student development.