MSU President's Newspaper Column
November 6, 2021
MSU Division of Science and Mathematics has exciting plans for November 9
The Mayville State Division of Science and Mathematics has planned a day filled with activity on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Mathematics faculty and their students will host a math meet for area high school juniors and seniors. Agribusiness and science faculty will host Agribusiness Activity and Research Day for area high school students, as well. Their plans also include opportunities for community members. Mayville State students enrolled in Division of Science and Mathematics courses will not meet for class on Nov. 9, but will instead be helping with the events for high school visitors.
Activities such as these align with our “Comet Stars” initiative. The idea is to connect with regional populations and provide information, services, or resources. “Comet Stars” gives people an opportunity to benefit from the knowledge base of our faculty, staff, and students. Through the initiative, we are encouraging, celebrating, and promoting Mayville State University’s innovation, expertise, and creative activities with the citizens of North Dakota and beyond.
All Traill County schools, which include May-Port CG, Central Valley, Hatton, and Hillsboro, will send representatives to the math meet. Each school has been invited to bring as many as two teams of four students. Two members of the teams may be seniors. The others may be juniors, with the option of including sophomores if needed.
Registration begins at 8 a.m., followed by individual and group tests. There are also plans for a Kahoot! interactive group test. The day promises to be challenging and fun for all involved.
The Traill County high schools will also be sending students to participate in the Agribusiness Activity and Research Day activities, as will Thompson and Climax-Shelly High Schools, as well as others. We expect to have about 75 students and their chaperones on campus for this event.
The group will participate in four interesting and informative agribusiness-related mini-workshops. Dr. Michael Kjelland, Assistant Professor of Biology will present a session titled “Animal Genetics and Biotech.” Dr. Khwaja Hossain, Professor of Biology and INBRE researcher, will cover the topic “Plant & Soil Interaction for Maximum Crop Production.” “Farm to Fork and the Miles In-Between” is theme of discussion by Jeff Hovde, Instructor of Biology. Dr. Thomas Craig, Assistant Professor of Geography, will lead a session titled “Using Drones to Improve Agricultural Production and Efficiency.”
It is our honor to have North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring join us at Mayville State on Nov. 9. He will address the Agribusiness Activity and Research Day participants and will also give remarks at a complimentary noon luncheon that is open to the public.
The luncheon event begins at 12:00 p.m. in the MSU Campus Center Luckasen Room. Everyone is welcome! Those who wish to attend should RSVP at 701-788- 4713 or brittany.young@mayvillestate.edu. We extend a hearty “thank you!” to SRS Commodities of Mayville for sponsoring the lunch.
Plans for Nov. 9 will include time for our recruitment staff to give visiting high school students an overview of the opportunities afforded by Mayville State University. They’ll be treated to lunch in our campus Dining Services. We treasure opportunities to host high school students for these kinds of activities and very much look forward to having them interact with our faculty, staff, and students.
Agribusiness Activity and Research Day is open to all high school students. If you know someone who would like to participate, but whose school is not sending a group, they should contact Ted Stoa at theodore.stoa@mayvillestate.edu. We’ll do our best to accommodate all who wish to attend.
I commend the Division of Science and Mathematics, their division chair Dr. Joseph Mehus, and all the division faculty for making events like the math meet and Agribusiness Activity and Research Day possible. These are the kinds of activities that make a difference in the lives of young people, opening their eyes to possibilities and broadening their horizons, which leads to success and leadership. It is our privilege to be a part of touching the future in this way.