Fragile monarch butterflies migrate some 2,500 miles every year to overwinter in the same trees they have visited for generations. In order to understand the migration habits of the monarch and protect precious habitat, the butterflies are tagged in late August just before they begin their fall migration.

The public is invited to a Monarch Tagging Open House on Saturday, August 28, 2010, hosted by the U of M, Crookston's Agriculture and Natural Resources Department and the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC). The open house will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Red River Valley Natural History Area. The natural history area is located west of the Crookston campus and signs will mark the route.

Visitors to the open house will have an opportunity to capture and tag monarch butterflies while learning more about their amazing migration and contributing to a scientific study. For more information, contact Laura Bell, lab services coordinator at the U of M, Crookston at 218-281-8131. Nets will be provided, but guests may bring their own.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 17 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Laura Bell, lab services coordinator, 218-281-8131 (lbell@umn.edu) Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

Don R. Cavalier was recently elected  by the all University of Minnesota Civil Service Committee as chairperson elect for the 4,800 civil service employees on all five campuses of the University of Minnesota.  Cavalier will become the Civil Service Committee chairperson for the 2011-12 academic year.  He is presently the director of the Career and Counseling Department at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. 

Mr. Cavalier brings a range of experiences to this committee post, having served and represented the Civil Service Committee on several other all-University Senate committees including the Benefits Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee, the Equal Opportunity and Access Committee and the Civil Service representative on the Grassroots Legislative Committee.  He also is a past vice-chairperson in 1996-97 and the All-University Civil Service Committee Chairperson in 1997-98.  

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 17 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Don Cavalier, director, Career and Counseling, 218-281-8585 (cavalier@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

A minor in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism (HRT) Management was recently added to the array of academic program choices in the Business Department at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.  The addition of the minor provides students majoring in business or another academic program the opportunity to explore the hospitality industry, complement their major, and broaden their skills.  

The new program name for the bachelor's degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management was also approved by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents and better reflects current industry needs. It was formerly known as hotel, restaurant, and institutional management.  This name change along with recent curriculum updates fine tunes the program to best meet student job opportunities in the broad and expanding field of hospitality and development of tourism destinations.

Graduates have accepted management positions with Hilton, Marriott, Omni Hotels, Madden's on Gull Lake, Wingate, Walt Disney World Co., AmericInn, Big Sky Montana, Chilies, Red Lobster, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Grand View Lodge, Torgerson Properties, Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, Reinhart Foodservice, and many more fine companies. 

The HRT degree program prepares undergraduate students for management positions in hotels and lodging properties, restaurants, convention bureaus, conference and meeting centers, private clubs, commercial, institutional and health care food services, and contract management companies.

For more information on HRT, visit www.umcrookston.edu/academics.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 17 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources;  business; liberal arts and eduction; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Ken Myers, associate professor, Business Dept., 218-281-8200 9kmyers@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

Listening sessions related to the 2010 Summit Connecting Ag have been scheduled across Minnesota including one to be held at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. With job creation a priority for the state, these sessions will help design, develop, and create the future direction of agriculture. The session at the U of M, Crookston is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in the Kiehle Auditorium.

Lunch will be provided, and the public is welcome. Attendees should register for the session online at www.2010summit.umn.edu/rsvp.htm. Participants will include representatives from all levels in education, agriculture, and related fields.

According to research completed by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the agricultural, food, and renewable natural resources sectors of the U.S. economy will generate an estimated 54,400 annual openings for people with baccalaureate or higher degrees in food, renewable energy, and environmental specialties between 2010 and 2015. Session participants will discuss how Minnesota can take best advantage of this opportunity by discussing the following topics: who will fill these jobs, how can agriculture education best prepare students to compete for these jobs, and is Minnesota's agriculture education community prepared to provide the necessary training.

Results of the eight listening sessions will be shared at a state-wide summit scheduled for December 2010 titled, "Connecting the Growth Opportunities in Agriculture." To learn more, visit www.2010summit.umn.edu.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 17 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources;  business; liberal arts and eduction; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Linda Kingery, director, Northwest Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, 218-281-8697 (kinge002@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

Research currently being conducted at the University of Minnesota, Crookston on wetland plants may provide important answers to solving one of our most pressing environmental challenges - the restoration of contaminated soil sediments. 

Starting in February 2010, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences Katy Smith and recent university graduate Tamara Luna used a growth chamber in the lab to conduct tests on several plant species including Iris, Mimulus, Switchgrass, and Fescue. These were selected following an examination of the varying rates of radial oxygen loss, the rate at which wetland plants lose oxygen to the external environment.

"Some plants have high rates of radial oxygen loss and others are more efficient," Smith says. "We are interested in wetland plants and their effects of contaminants such as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil. Eventually, as contaminants move up the food chain, they reach humans and we store them in our body fat." The contaminants can occur naturally through events such as volcanic eruptions, but they are also produced in larger quantities through incomplete combustion so they are often associated with automobile exhaust and industrial waste, making their environmental impact significant.

The fact that these contaminants are toxic and carcinogenic makes the research both important and relevant to the field.  Luna wrote her senior thesis in the honors program on her work with Smith. Early tests are still being evaluated and will become part of a body of scientific research in this area.

For now, the plants are cared for in the growth chamber and testing will begin again in earnest in February 2011. At that time, Smith and Kristin Werner, a senior horticulture major, will conduct a chemical analysis of the PAHs in the soils as well as three toxicity assays which will be used to determine the degree to which the toxicity of the sediments has been reduced by the presence of the plants.  These toxicity assays include lettuce seed germination, an earthworm toxicity assay, and a rotifer toxicity assay.  Lettuce and earthworms complete their lifecycle in the soil while rotifers are microscopic invertebrates that live in the water above the sediment.

Bringing research into the classroom

Smith makes it a priority to bring her research into the classroom. "When students in botany study aerenchyma, the tiny air conduits that allow plants to live in a saturated environment, I bring my research directly to my students in the classroom," Smith says. "I am able to show them the value of studying the intricacy of plant life and some of the ways humans can impinge on our sensitive environment."

Smith's research interests mesh with the introduction of a new degree program on the Crookston campus this fall. With the addition of a bachelor's degree in environmental sciences, students will have an opportunity to study and address environmental issues, in areas such as, environmental ecology, water quality, agricultural environmental stewardship, environmental health, and environmental toxicology and chemistry. The program is interdisciplinary and includes coursework in the Math, Science, and Technology and the Agriculture and Natural Resources departments on the Crookston campus. Smith says she is excited about engaging students in a field with such relevance, importance, and global need.

For more information on the environmental sciences degree program, visit www.umcrookston.edu/academics.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 17 minors, and more than 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources; business; liberal arts and education; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

 

Contact: Katy Smith, assistant professor, environmental sciences, 218-281-8262 (katys@umn.edu);Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

Daniel Svedarsky, professor in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department and the director of the Center for Sustainability at the University of Minnesota, Crookston is a 2010 recipient of the University of Minnesota President's Award for Outstanding Service. Recipients of this award have gone well beyond their regular duties and have demonstrated an unusual commitment to the University community. Svedarsky was one of 11 to receive this year's award.

Svedarsky has been at the University of Minnesota, Crookston since 1969. He is a certified wildlife biologist and researcher with the Northwest Research and Outreach Center where he specializes in tallgrass prairie restoration and management, especially for greater prairie chickens. At UMC he teaches wildlife habitat management techniques and integrated resource management. Publications include; editing the book, The Greater Prairie Chicken; A national look, and senior author of land management booklets entitled; A landowner's guide to prairie management in Minnesota, and Effects of management practices on grassland birds: the greater prairie chicken.  

As the first Director of the Center for Sustainability, Svedarsky is the Crookston campus advocate for sustainability issues and led efforts to develop the campus Action Plan for Climate Neutrality and Sustainability in response to the signing of the President's Climate Change Commitment by U of M President Robert Bruininks.

Described as a visionary, Svedarsky has spent four decades promoting UMC and the University of Minnesota nationally and internationally, most recently in the area of sustainability. In December of 2009, he represented the 8,000-member The Wildlife Society as an official observer at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Over the years, Svedarsky has been involved in the development of several degree programs and numerous courses in wildlife management and natural resources at UMC. He has advised hundreds of students and served as a peer mentor. He is a true promoter of others and has successfully nominated and/or developed many nominating portfolios for faculty, staff, students, and professional colleagues as he promotes a culture of encouragement, positive growth, and recognition.

He has served on numerous University committees including the UMore Park Planning project in Rosemount, All-University Honors Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He is a past board member of the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

Svedarsky served a 3-year term as the North Central Section Representative of The Wildlife Society (TWS) and is immediate Past President of TWS at the national level. He was recently appointed to a Blue Ribbon Panel to study the future of the wildlife profession in North America.  Svedarsky is a recipient of several awards; National Stewardship Award of The Nature Conservancy, The Hamerstrom Award of the Prairie Grouse Technical Council, The Minnesota Award of the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and the Torch and Shield Award to recognize leadership in the development of UMC, Northwest Research and Outreach Center, and Extension.

Nominators wrote; "Dan embodies a living history of the evolving mission and work of the University of Minnesota in northwestern Minnesota. He will forever be a part of UMC as much as UMC is a part of his being." They referenced Professor Svedarsky's own words ...."How do we serve? We start as individuals, by doing good work, and the work that needs to be done. We must model integrity as we brighten the corner where we are." They concluded with the following statement. "Dan has certainly brightened the lives of those who have passed through UMC."

Also receiving the 2010 award were two individuals from the Morris campus, one from the Duluth campus, one from the Carlson School of Management, and six from the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. "The credit they bring to the University of Minnesota is simply beyond measure," President Bruininks said in his e-mail announcement.

The University of Minnesota President's Award for Outstanding Service was established in 1997 to recognize faculty and staff who have provided exceptional service to the University. It is presented each year in the spring and honors active or retired faculty or staff members. For more information, visit http://uawards.umn.edu/Awards/Presidents_Award_Outstand.html.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers more than 25 bachelor's degree programs and 50 concentrations, including several online degrees, in agriculture and natural resources; arts, humanities and social sciences; business; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

In the photo (l to r): Clyde Allen, chair, U of M Board of Regents; Svedarsky; Robert Bruininks, president, University of Minnesota. 

Contact: Dan Svedarsky, director, Center for Sustainability, 218-281-8129 (dsvedars@umn.edu); Elizabeth Tollefson, assistant director, communications, 218-281-8432 (ltollefs@umn.edu)

The University of Minnesota, Crookston contributes $50 million annually to the local and regional economy, according to a study recently completed by University of Minnesota Extension's Center for Community Vitality.  The economic impact of the Crookston campus supports a total of 602 jobs and $25.1 million in labor income.  The study factored the economic contributions of faculty and staff spending, construction projects, daily operations, student spending, and spending by visitors at campus events in 2009. 

"We've always known that the U of M, Crookston has a positive effect on our region in the areas of community service and quality of life.  With this study we are able to quantify the impact our campus has on our local economy," said U of M, Crookston Chancellor Charles Casey, D.V.M., "and it certainly is significant."  

The study reports the U of M, Crookston contributed--via direct expenditures and related ripple effects--a  total of $50 million in economic activity to the economy of the Crookston/Grand Forks region in 2009.  Of that:

• Spending by faculty and staff employed by the U of M, Crookston contributed $27.4 million and 366 jobs to the regional economy.
• Spending by the University on construction projects on campus contributed $7.5 million and 65 jobs to the regional economy.
• Spending by the University on daily operations contributed a total of $7.2 million and 73 jobs to the regional economy.
• Spending by U of M, Crookston students contributed $6.96 million and 81 jobs to the regional economy.
• Spending by visitors from outside the region to events held on the Crookston campus contributed $1.1 million and 19 jobs to the regional economy.

The direct impact is equivalent to the spending by the University, its employees, its students, and visitors from outside the region.  The indirect impact is the summation of changes in the local economy that occur due to spending for goods and services; as the University purchase items, its suppliers must replace them and/or increase their production.  As these ripples move through the economy, they can be measured, and such ripples related to the purchase of goods and services are indirect impacts.  Induced impacts are effects in the local economy that occur due to spending by employees to purchase housing, to buy gas, groceries, and personal items, and to go out to dinner.

In 2009 the largest segment of the U of M, Crookston's economic impact came from spending by the 257 faculty and staff directly employed by the campus.  The campus is among the top five employers in Crookston.  The impact in labor income was $14.7 million, the annual payroll, with an additional $3.5 million in ripple effects, and a total direct, indirect, and induced output of $27.4 million and 109 additional jobs.  Essentially, because these 257 employees earned their paychecks from the University and spent the bulk of their money in the region, they supported 109 additional jobs that would not otherwise exist.

Spending by the 1,310 degree-seeking students enrolled at the Crookston campus added nearly $7 million in additional economic output and supported 81 regional jobs.  And visitors (such as family, friends, and rival athletics teams from outside the region) who came to the campus for various events throughout the year, contributed over $1 million in economic output and supported 19 jobs.

Residents of Crookston and the region benefit in many ways in addition to the $50 million in economic impact, according to Chancellor Casey.  "Because the University of Minnesota has this campus in Crookston, roughly $10 million in state tax dollars returns to the region in the form of state operational support for the campus.  Taxpayers see a direct investment by the state of Minnesota in this community." 

Campus activities like athletic events, performers, plays, concerts, speakers, presentations, alumni events, and graduation contribute to the quality of life for residents of the community in addition to the money campus visitors attending those events bring into the local economy. 

Casey added that whenever possible the campus makes a priority of purchasing items and services from local and regional businesses.  "The University takes its role as a community member very seriously, and we want people to know we purchase locally to support our region's economy," he added.

While the U of M, Crookston collaborates with University of Minnesota Extension's Regional Center and the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC), which are co-located on the Crookston campus, the report did not include expenditures by or effects from Extension or NWROC.  The three units are distinct and operate separately. 

The economic contribution of the U of M, Crookston was calculated using input-output modeling software and data from IMPLAN (IMpact analysis for PLANning) by Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc.  The primary study area for the report was the greater Crookston region, including Polk County, Minnesota, and Grand Forks County, North Dakota.

The IMPLAN model traces the flow of dollars throughout a local economy and captures the indirect and induced, or ripple effects, of that economic activity.  Researchers involved in the process made use of actual payroll and operating expenditure data from the Business Affairs Office at the U of M, Crookston, giving a high degree of accuracy or "ground-truthing."

Primary researchers and authors of the report were Brigid Tuck, Arthur Nash, and David Nelson of University of Minnesota Extension.  The report was peer reviewed by Bruce Sorte, visiting associate Extension professor and William Lazarus, professor in the Department of Applied Economics, Twin Cities campus.  The full report is available online at:
www.umcrookston.edu/chancellors-office/documents/UMC-EconomicImpact2010.pdf.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers 29 bachelor's degree programs, 18 minors, and 40 concentrations, including several online degrees, in the areas of agriculture and natural resources;  business; liberal arts and education; and math, science, and technology.   With an enrollment of 1,300 undergraduates from more than 25 countries and 40 states, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.

Contact: Andrew Svec, director of communications, public relations, and marketing; Art Nash, assistant Extension professor, 218-281-8689; David Nelson, regional Extension educator, community economics,507-389-6660