MSU President's Column for Traill County Tribune
June 9, 2018
Summer is a busy time at Mayville State
Many may think that after graduation festivities in the spring, things become very quiet at Mayville State. That is not true, however. We find summer to be a very busy time on campus with a number of activities happening right on campus and at a distance.
First of all, our summer school course offerings are extensive. While many courses are offered online, a number of them are also offered on campus. Final official enrollment numbers are not available yet, but we anticipate a new record number of students enrolled in the various sessions, which began the Monday after graduation in May and will continue into July.
There will be a STEM (Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering) Educational Engineering Institute session held June 11, 12, and 13. Twenty area teachers will be attending and six alumni of the program will be presenting STEM lessons that they developed as a result of processes their learned through attending the EEI in previous years. Other presenters will be Gretchen Stefslein and Gretchen Peterson from West Fargo and Molly Bestege from Lake Park.
Our new students who will enroll in the fall semester have been invited to participate in Student Success Days. Sessions began last week and will be offered throughout the month of June. Student Success Days give the soon-to-be Comets a chance to become more familiar with the people of Mayville State, as well as the campus, and to get registered for their fall classes.
This has been a very busy week, as we had the great pleasure of hosting the Interim Higher Education Committee of the North Dakota legislature on Monday, June 4. We were given the opportunity to make a short presentation to the group and also to take them on a campus tour, where we highlighted many of the wonderful facility improvements that have been made over the last several years. Facilities are of particular interest to the group, since much of the funding is provided by the state. Following the campus tour, the group began their regular meeting agenda which spanned over two days. Tuesday’s portion of the meeting was held at the University of North Dakota.
Members of the committee were extremely complimentary of the progress made at Mayville State and said they enjoyed their visit to our campus. Many hadn’t been on the campus in quite some time, while others hadn’t ever been at Mayville State.
Tuesday, June 5 was a history-making day at Mayville State. A great number of alumni and friends joined in watching as some of the major benefactors of our turf project participated in a groundbreaking ceremony at Jerome Berg Field. This marks the official beginning of the project to install turf at Mayville State’s football field. We expect construction will begin next week and be completed in time for our first home football game in the fall, the Farmers Bowl, on Sept. 8.
Mayville State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted a Future Stars basketball camp for kids in kindergarten through grade 6. The camp was so successful that they will offer another four-day camp July 30 through Aug. 2. To learn more about this great opportunity, go to www.msucomets.com. There is a discount for kids who attended the first camp and return for the second.
We’re delighted to again host the pre-Shrine Bowl practices and activities at Mayville State this year. Campers and coaches will be here July 9 through 14. The big game will be played in Fargo this year. We look forward to having this group on campus each year.
Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for some of the other upcoming activities planned for Mayville State alumni and friends. The annual MSU Golf Classic will be held in Detroit Lakes the weekend of June 15 and 16. See the details at www.mayvillestate.edu/golfclassic. Alumni Day and the Alumni Association Awards Dinner are planned for Friday, June 22. See the details and purchase your banquet tickets as soon as possible at www.mayvillestate.edu/alumniday. Mayville State night with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks is Wednesday, June 27. It will be a great night of baseball with your Mayville State friends, enjoyed from the Armadillo Party Pavilion. To assure you’ll have a place, please purchase your tickets by June 11. Details are at www.mayvillestate.edu/redhawks.
If you have questions or would like additional information about any of these events, please contact the MSU Office of Alumni Affairs at 701-788-4750 or alumni.mail@mayvillestate.edu. We look forward to seeing you and sharing in these special times.