Four SMSU Campus Compact Award winners named

Four individuals have been awarded Campus Compact President’s Awards at Southwest Minnesota State University.

Founded in 1994, Minnesota Campus Compact’s mission is to support member institutions as they fulfill the public purpose that is at the heart of higher education. Thirty-eight Minnesota institutions are a part of Minnesota Campus Compact.

The SMSU honorees are:

• Margaret Palan and Lori Lerohl, President’s Community Partner Award. This award is for a community-based organization that has enhanced the quality of life in the community in meaningful and measurable ways and has engaged in the development of sustained, reciprocal partnerships with SMSU. Palan and Lerohl, from United Community Action Partnership’s Kitchen Table Food Shelf, have been instrumental campus partners with the implementation of Mustang Market — a perishable foods and personal hygiene food shelf at SMSU. Lerohl assisted with the first Mustang Market orders through Second Harvest Heartland, while Palan facilitated a food scale donation for measuring donations received, and attended the initial Mustang Market distributions.

• Mae Wrase, President’s Student Leadership Award. This award goes to an individual student or student organization that models a deep commitment to civic responsibility and leadership. Wrase is a senior exercise science major taking courses delivered at North Hennepin Community College, one of a trio of Twin Cities-based community colleges offering the SMSU Exercise Science degree. Wrase created and serves as president of the Exercise is Medicine Club on the North Hennepin campus. She serves on the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Northland chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and as NACSM’s lone student representative for the national-level ACSM.

• Crystal Watts, President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award. This award is for a faculty, administrator or staff person that has significantly advanced their campus’ distinctive civic mission by forming strong partnerships, supporting others’ civic engagement and working to institutionalize a culture and practice of engagement. Watts has been an AmeriCorps Health VISTA representative on campus the past two academic years and has advanced the civic mission of SMSU in a very short period of time. Her ability to form relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships with the community is unique. Explicit in the requirements of VISTA service are that the projects focus on capacity building. Her work has built a strong capacity and has served to institutionalize a new resource to serve SMSU students as well as benefit the community.

The four will be honored at an April 17 banquet at St. Mary’s University, Twin Cities.

SMSU/Community Concert Band and SMSU Symphonic Chamber Winds concert Thursday

The SMSU/Community Concert Band and SMSU Symphonic Chamber Winds, conducted by John Ginocchio, will present a concert, “International Affairs,” on Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre on campus.

The concert is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Ginocchio at: John.Ginocchio@SMSU.edu, or call 507-537-7209.