Viterbo is offering more online and condensed courses this summer after surveying Viterbo students enrolled in summer courses last year. “Undergraduate enrollment in Viterbo’s traditional summer courses has been generally low, despite the fact that graduate and adult programs at Viterbo have flourished in the summer,” said Jan Eriksen, assistant dean, School of Letters and Sciences.
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There’s a new text in town, and its name is “Backspace.” Starting in the Fall 2010 semester, “Backspace,” a magazine, will be appearing in Viterbo University’s bookstore as a text for students in English 103.
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Have you ever known someone: a friend, a relative or co-worker who had or has a problem with alcohol or drug abuse or dependence? According to Associate Professor Deb Murray, most people who end up working as a substance abuse counselor answer yes to that question.
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Roland “Buzz” Nelson has served Viterbo University as the vice president of enrollment and director of Admission for 25 years. During those years he has watched the university blossom. “When I first started, back in 1975, we enrolled maybe 800 students that year,” Nelson told Lumen.
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Martin Weiss, who survived two of Nazi Germany’s most notorious concentration camps, shared his story of resilience and forgiveness to a full capacity crowd of 1,100 on March 23 in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre. Weiss’ presentation corresponds with Viterbo’s annual “Teaching the Holocaust” Workshop, which was held March 23–24.
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March marks 20th anniversay of her death
Many Viterbo students may not know of Sister Thea Bowman. However, that may soon change after they read “Thea’s Song: The Life of Thea Bowman,” by Sr. Charlene Smith, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA). Her book “tells Thea’s inspiring story to as wide an audience as possible,” Sr.
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Service trip included taste of New Orleans
For 21 Viterbo students, spring break consisted of trudging through marsh water, harvesting spartina plants, planting on dredge for coastal restoration, and helping build homes. Viterbo Campus Ministry sponsored the 2010 spring break service trip to Galliano, La.
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Construction plans dependent on available funding
“You cannot create a vision by yourself,” President Artman told Lumen. “A vision is a community effort.” And that’s exactly what it took to develop Viterbo’s long-term plan. The ideas for the long-term plan were a collaborative effort, Artman said, that included input from students, staff, the deans of the schools, Franciscan sisters, and the city of La Crosse over a nine month period.
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Another male college student was recently found in the Mississippi River after missing for two days. Craig Meyers, 21-year-old Western Technical College, was found in roughly 20 to 25 feet of water near the Courtyard by Marriott hotel and the Riverside Center buildings.
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Incoming freshmen in the fall 2010 semester will have a different experience than those who came in fall 2009. The change in the fall 2010 semester will be the addition of a required seminar for all freshmen students on Franciscanism. This is the first of a series of revisions that are being made to Viterbo’s General Education program.
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Hideko Tamura Snider was just 10 years old, playing at home just over a mile away from downtown Hiroshima, when an atomic bomb destroyed her residence, her family and almost everything else around her.
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The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) will include Viterbo University this spring semester. The purpose of this survey is to assess the extent to which students are engaged in good education practices and to understand students’ perception of what they gain from their college experience, said Naomi Stennes-Spidahl, director of assessment and institutional research.
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A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the most populated area of Haiti, 16 miles west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12, with over three million people being affected as estimated by the International Red Cross. The United States Geological Survey recorded 33 after shocks, 14 of which were between the magnitudes of 5.
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"My spiritual home is in Mexico, I will always be drawn back,” Diana Elena Moran told Lumen. Moran’s abuelita (grandmother) buried her umbligo (umbilical cord) which is considered sacred; in Mexico to be sure that Moran would always be a part of Mexico.
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Viterbo students who may be having trouble fitting too many credits into one semester might delighted to know that a J-term is being considered for the coming years. Starting in the spring, a task force under the faculty council will be assembled to discuss the matter and decide if the J-term is a good idea.
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Graduates face tough job market
It’s almost that time of the year again: the time for caps and gowns, for shaking the president’s hand and for pictures with a diploma. No, it’s not May; it’s December. Viterbo University’s commencement for fall 2009 is Saturday, Dec.
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Construction dependent on funding
The project: Viterbo’s new School of Nursing building. The goal: Break ground in April 2010. Silvana Richardson, dean of the School of Nursing, told Lumen that plans to start the building this spring are still underway. Contractors will aim to complete the project by August 2011, just in time for the fall semester.
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Midterms. The word conjures up images of intense study and exams, followed by a few days’ respite from the rigors of academia. And for 479 students at Viterbo this semester, it also brings images of a high importance e-mail that announces that they currently have a grade of a D or even an F in one or more of their classes.
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Compassionate Friends helps Steinhoff remember son
Most Viterbo students know the smiling woman in Franny’s coffee shop named Karen. Karina Knutson, former liberal arts major and graduate, said Steinhoff “always served me with a smile, and often bought me coffee on days when I needed a pick-me-up or stress reliever.
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Sometimes the best way to learn is through experience. Hundreds of study abroad programs are offered through the Viterbo Global Education office, located in Murphy Center, room 400. Study abroad coordinator, Susan Pham, and Director of the Global Education Department, Beth Moore, are both available on weekdays to get students started on planning a trip of their own.
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What effect does graduating in four years rather than five years have on Viterbo’s student body? According to Wayne Wojciechowski, assistant academic VP/ADA coordinator, it ultimately has no effect on Viterbo’s overall 1,600 undergraduates.
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Community based programs, like Big Brothers, Big Sisters help local youth by being the mentors and role models. Megan Loftsgaarden, junior biology major, is a mentor for her “Little” and has been with her “Little” for two years.
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