Saint Mary’s University to Collect Toys for Tots Donations for the Fourth Straight Year

Toy donations welcome at Minneapolis, Apple Valley,

Minnetonka, Oakdale, and Rochester locations

Statistics show that 22% of children in America live in poverty.   Many of these 16 million children will not receive any presents this holiday season.  Saint Mary’s University wants to do what it can to help brighten the holiday season for Minnesota children.  That’s why we’re collecting Toys for Tots donations for the fourth straight year.  Headed by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for 65 years, Toys for Tots has provided more than 452 million toys to more than 209 million underprivileged children. 

Between November 30 and December 19, Saint Mary’s will accept donations of new, unwrapped toys at four Twin Cities locations as well as at our Rochester Center.  Typically, Toys for Tots experiences a shortage of toys for infants and teenagers.  That’s why we’re placing a particular focus on the ages of 0 to 2 and 15 to 17.  The university is also encouraging donors to contribute educational toys that spur creativity and thought.

We will collect donations at the following Saint Mary’s locations during listed hours.

·      Minneapolis campus (2500 Park Avenue)

-       Weekdays from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

·      Apple Valley Center (14200 Cedar Avenue)

-       Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

-       Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

·      Minnetonka Center (12450 Wayzata Boulevard)

-       Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

·      Oakdale Center (7200 Hudson Boulevard N, Suite 200)

-       Monday from 5-10 p.m.

-       Tuesday through Thursday from 4-10 p.m.

-       Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

·      Rochester Center (1926 Collegeview Drive SE)

-      Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.

-   Friday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

For more information about Saint Mary’s participation in Toys for Tots, follow us on Twitter at @SMUGradPrograms.

Saint Mary’s University to Collect Donations for Toys for Tots

Toy donations welcome at Minneapolis, Apple Valley,
Minnetonka, Oakdale, and Rochester locations

MINNEAPOLIS – Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus and Apple Valley, Minnetonka, and Oakdale centers will be drop-off sites for the Toys for Tots program this holiday season.

Headed by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for 64 years, Toys for Tots has provided more than 435 million toys to more than 202 million underprivileged children. In 2010 alone, the Marines distributed more than 16 million toys to 7.2 million children in more than 700 communities nationwide.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be accepted between November 28 and December 18. Donations should be placed in the designated boxes inside the entrances to any of the following locations:
• Twin Cities campus (2500 Park Avenue, Minneapolis)
• Apple Valley Center (14200 Cedar Avenue)
• Minnetonka Center (12450 Wayzata Boulevard)
• Oakdale Center (7200 Hudson Boulevard N., Suite 200)
• Rochester Center (1926 Collegeview Drive SE)

Saint Mary’s is placing a particular focus on the age categories that in years past have received the fewest toys: ages 0 to 2 and 15 to 17. The university is also encouraging donors to contribute toys that spur creativity and thought, including:
• Ages 0-2: Blocks, rhythm instruments, wooden puzzles, picture books, push-pull toys, nesting toys
• Ages 15-17: Legos, complex models, hobby kits (such as jewelry-making), board games, small electronic games, puzzles, magnetic poetry, journals

“By encouraging toy donations that support youth educational development, Saint Mary’s partnership with Toys for Tots has played a key role in helping build strong communities for the future. We are thrilled to continue supporting this initiative,” said Don St. Dennis, associate vice president for university relations for the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs.

For more information about Saint Mary’s participation in Toys for Tots, contact Julia Jenson at 612-728-5119 or follow Saint Mary’s on Twitter at @SMUGradPrograms.

Saint Mary's commencement ceremonies are May 10

WINONA, Minn. — On Saturday, May 10, the Winona campus of Saint Mary's University will host two commencement ceremonies to mark the end of the academic year.

The Winona campus undergraduate commencement will begin at 11 a.m. in the gymnasium; approximately 250 students will participate in the commencement ceremony. Student perspectives will be offered by this year's Outstanding Male and Female Seniors, Kevin Black and Anastacia Sontag.

Saint Mary’s will also award an honorary doctorate to Dr. Jon Kabara, a 1948 alumnus from Galena, Ill. Dr. Kabara has dedicated his life to medical research. He served as a professor at the University of Detroit and later Michigan State University for more than 30 years, and in 1969, he helped establish the first affiliated school of osteopathic medicine at a major university (Michigan State). An expert in the field of dietary fats and oils, Dr. Kabara has been awarded more than 16 U.S. and foreign patents and is credited with more than 200 publications, including eight books. In 2005, Dr. Kabara and his wife, Betty, began their commitment of supporting the growth of entrepreneurship at SMU. Through a transformational gift, they established the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Approximately 560 students will participate in the Winona campus Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs commencement, beginning at 4 p.m. in the gymnasium. Degrees will be conferred in the following areas: graduate certificate in Instruction, M.A. Instruction, M.A. International Business, M.A. Pastoral Administration, M.A. Pastoral Ministries, M.A. Philanthropy and Development, M.S. in Geographic Information Science, and M.Ed. Teaching and Learning. Student perspectives will be offered by Beverly Koopman, M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning, and Ryan Hughes, M.S. in Geographic Information Science.

Receptions on the plaza will follow both ceremonies. In case of inclement weather, the receptions will be held in Gostomski Fieldhouse.

Prior to the ceremonies, a Baccalaureate Mass will take place in the gymnasium at 8:30 a.m.

The Saint Mary's Nairobi campus will also host its commencement ceremony on May 10. The Twin Cities campus commencement ceremonies are June 8.

Noted faculty featured in new Canon Law program at Saint Mary's

An innovative two-year Graduate Certificate in Canon Law program is now accepting applications for a summer, 2008 debut at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

The program, featuring noted experts as faculty, will be offered to a national student body by the Institute in Pastoral Ministries. Students will engage in a blended-learning format, with both an online delivery as well as a two-week summer residency.

The two-year program will run in conjunction with the Institute's master degree programs in Pastoral Ministry and Pastoral Administration. The first summer residency is June 16 - 28, 2008, with a second residency planned for summer, 2009.

The Graduate Certificate in Canon Law is aimed at Roman Catholic Church administrators at all levels, school and health-care administrators, and civil attorneys. The course of study is designed for those who do not seek a pontifical degree in canon law, but require canonical knowledge for administrative or pastoral duties.

The outstanding faculty include: Sr. Dominica Brennan, OP, JCL, chancellor for canonical affairs, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Rev. Paul Golden, CM, JCD, Vincentian Canonical Services, Denver; Lawrence Price, JD, JCL, director of the tribunal, Diocese of Winona, Minn.; Rev. Daniel Smilanic, adjutant judicial vicar, Archdiocese of Chicago; and Prof. Greg Sobolewski, PhD, director of the Institute in Pastoral Ministries, Winona, Minn.

For more information on the Graduate Certificate in Canon Law, contact Prof. Sobolewski at 800-635-5987, Ext. 1767 or email gsobolew@smumn.edu. Or go online to www.smumn.edu/canonlaw.

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES:

Sister M. Dominica Brennan, OP, MA, JCL has served as chancellor for Canonical Affairs and director of the Office of Conciliation for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis for the past 12 years. Sister Dominica is a member of the Canon Law Society of America and served as a consultor on its Board of Governors from 1996–1998, and as treasurer from 2005–2007.


Rev. Paul L. Golden, CM, JCD is a Vincentian priest who has taught canon law and published monographs and canonical advisory opinions since 1968. He is a past-president of the Canon Law Society of America, which honored him in 2005 with its annual Role of Law Award.








Prof. Lawrence Price, JCL, JD is licensed to practice law in state and federal court, and was a Judge Advocate with the U.S. Air Force for six years. At the Catholic University of Leuven, he received a Licentiate in Canon Law. Since 1998 he has been an ecclesiastical judge for the Diocese of Winona and is director of the Tribunal. He edited The Tribunal Handbook: Procedures for Formal Matrimonial Cases (Canon Law Society of America, 2005).



Rev. Daniel Smilanic, JCD is a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he has worked in the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Chicago and is presently the adjutant judicial vicar. In 2003 he was appointed the Cardinal’s delegate to the Review Board and the Promoter of Justice in penal cases. In October 2007 he was elected vice-president/president-elect of the Canon Law Society of America.




Prof. Gregory Sobolewski, PhD is a professor of theology at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, where he has directed the Institute in Pastoral Ministries since 1996. He was an invited participant in the U.S. bishops' national consultations on Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (2005), as well as a contributing writer for USCCB’s "Proposed Foundational Document on Lay Ecclesial Ministry."

Saint Mary's University reports increase in undergraduate and graduate enrollment

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota reports enrollment growth at both the undergraduate and graduate program levels.

As of the fall "enrollment data freeze" dates, Saint Mary's has a total of 5,960 students, up 394 from last year's total of 5,566.

The number of graduate students enrolled is 3,918 (929 in Winona-based programs and 2,989 in Twin Cities campus-based programs). That number is up 170 from last year's enrollment of 3,748. An additional 692 bachelor degree-completion and undergraduate certificate students are enrolled, up 166 from last year's total of 526.

The undergraduate College at the Winona campus shows enrollment of 1,350, up 58 from last year's total of 1,292. (1,276 are full-time undergraduates and 74 are part-time and non-degree-seeking students.) The freshman class of 399 is the second-largest in Saint Mary's history. Adding in transfers and readmitted students, the total of new degree-seeking students is 455.

Saint Mary’s University receives $2 million gift for speaker series and scholarships

(WINONA, Minn.) —An anonymous donor has given $2 million to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. The largest gift ever received by its Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs will fund endowed scholarships for adult, non-traditional students completing their bachelor and graduate degrees, and provide for a major new Twin Cities speaker series.

The series, to be held annually at a Twin Cities venue, will feature renowned guest speakers. Saint Mary's University will sponsor the event with its Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership, whose student and community programs emphasize the importance of ethical principles, morals, spirituality, and free enterprise. At this event, the keynote speaker will present an award to an outstanding leader for their contributions to global ethical initiatives.

Brother Louis DeThomasis, Saint Mary's chancellor, expressed his "immense gratitude" to the anonymous donor, noting that this gift will help the university in its mission to make life-changing education accessible and affordable. "We're excited that the gift also will allow us to bring a top-flight event to the Twin Cities that will spotlight the national need for ethical leadership," DeThomasis added.

More than 4,000 adult learners at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota attend non-traditional certificate, bachelor-completion, master degree, specialist and doctoral programs at locations in Minneapolis, Apple Valley, Rochester, Winona, around the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Nairobi, Kenya.

“The need for open discussion and learning on values-based leadership has never been greater,” commented Kaye O’Leary, chief financial officer of Buca, Inc., a Twin Cities business executive with interests in ethical issues. “This gift will help Saint Mary’s University to show our current leaders — and the leaders of the future — the importance of values-based, ethical leadership, and it provides a platform for the recognition of leaders who are getting it right.”