The start of a new year is an opportunity to look back at the top stories from the year that just ended. With that in mind, here are the top ten stories from the University of Minnesota.
Ceremonies for the inauguration of Mary Holz-Clause, Ph.D., as the sixth chancellor for the University of Minnesota Crookston were held on Friday, April 6, 2018, at noon in Kiehle Auditorium. Special guests for the day included University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and several members of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/inauguration-chancellor-mary-holz-clause-set-friday-april-6-2018
John Hoffman, Ph.D., accepted the position of vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Minnesota Crookston and began his duties in July. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/john-hoffman-phd-named-vice-chancellor-academic-and-student-affairs
The Bachelor of Science in Health Management received accreditation approval by the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) at its mid-year meeting held in November 2018. With the NAB accreditation, the program also received Health Service Executive (HSE) qualification earning both accreditations under the leadership of Susan Klassen, program director. More:https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/nab-accreditation
High school students were on campus for the inaugural Northern Great Plains Youth Institute on Monday, May 7, 2018. The Northern Great Plains Youth Institute, an official World Food Prize event, is a potentially life-changing experience where high school students engage with local leaders and experts on critical global challenges and participate in hands-on activities. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/inaugural-northern-great-plains-youth-institute
Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause and President Kouyaté of Université de Ségou (University of Segou), Mali signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage further exploration of ways the two universities can work together. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/visitors-université-de-ségou-mali Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC) and the University of Minnesota Crookston announced a new comprehensive Dual Admissions agreement between the two institutions on Tuesday afternoon, May 15, 2018, at NCTC’s Thief River Falls campus. CTC President Dennis Bona and U of M Crookston Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause signed the new memorandum of agreement that will provide access and opportunity for students from both institutions. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/dual-admission
The inaugural Farm to Table dinner celebrated northern Minnesota grown foods on Friday, November 2, 2018. One of the highlights of the dinner was vintage and select wines from Fantesca Estate and Winery located in Napa Valley, Calif., along with choice meats raised by Protein Alliance in Alexandria, Minn. More:https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/inaugural-farm-table-dinner
The idea of freshwater sponges living in lakes and streams in Minnesota may come as a surprise to many, but these simplest-of-all animals have been filtering the waters of the northland for millennia and their presence has often been overlooked. Since spring 2016, four faculty members—two biologists and two chemists—at the University of Minnesota Crookston have been focused on these non-moving invertebrates living at the bottom of bodies of water and what their presence might mean to Minnesota waters. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/freshwater-sponges-minnesotaand https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/michaela-lano
Two majors and a minor were added to the portfolio of academic offerings at the University of Minnesota Crookston. A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Agricultural Communication along with an online B.S. in English, and an English minor online, were approved at the February 2018 meeting of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, the University system's governing body. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/bachelor-science-degrees-agricultural-communication-and-english-online
Faculty and staff came back this fall to the opening of a new research space at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Center for Collaborative Research opened on Tuesday, August 14, 2018, to an enthusiastic crowd of faculty and staff who had looked forward to the Center’s opening since the project received funding in fall 2017. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/center-collaborative-research
The University of Minnesota Crookston was named one of the best in the rankings from U.S.News released in early September 2018. In the category Midwest Top Public Regional Colleges for 2019, UMN Crookston ranked in the number two spot. The campus has ranked in the top 4 consecutively for 22 years. The campus also ranked among the top 100 Baccalaureate Colleges in the U.S. by Washington Monthly in its 2018 College Guide. The University of Minnesota Crookston ranked #5 among public and private institutions of higher education in Minnesota in terms of having one of the lowest average student debt figures. It also ranked #184 among the “Public Top 200 Lowest Debt” public colleges and universities in the nation. These rankings were released as part of LendEDU’s third annual Student Loan Debt by School by State Report. More: https://www.crk.umn.edu/news/midwest-top-public-regional-colleges-2019
