School of Graduate Studies

From Africa to Minnesota: BSU Grad Student Studies Water Quality

Kody Hagen — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 18:55:30 +0000

Mirabel Tamukong came to Bemidji from Cameroon, West Africa to study hydrogeology in 91̽��’s environmental studies graduate program.

Graduate study at Bemidji State offers students the opportunity to achieve an advanced state of knowledge based on the philosophy, history, theory and methodology of a discipline. The ability to conduct research and to present results to other scholars and the community are among the professional skills obtained through the program.

Contact

Patty Hartshorn, student and administrative support specialist, patty.hartshorn@bemidjistate.edu

Links

91̽�� School of Graduate Studies

91̽��, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding. For more, visit bemidjistate.edu or find us at BemidjiState on most of your favorite social media networks.

2019-B-141

BSU Students Honored by Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society

Kody Hagen — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:15:42 +0000

91̽�� students were honored at the Minnesota Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s annual conference held in Duluth, Minn. at the end of February.

Joey Riley, a biology graduate student from Minneapolis, Minn., received the 2018 Student Conservationist Award. The award is presented to a Minnesota student studying wildlife activity who has shown high scholastic achievement and promise as a future wildlife professional.

Riley received this award for his high commitment to the wildlife community. Throughout his time at BSU, he has been an active member of The Wildlife Society and the Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society at Bemidji State. His professional goal is to build bridges between people and natural resources to aid the conservation of wildlife.

Elizabeth Rave, professor of biology, believes Riley is on the right track to achieve this goal.

“Given his exemplary work ethic, I have no doubt that he will succeed in this goal and excel in the wildlife profession,” she said.

Riley earned his Bachelor of Science in wildlife biology with a GIS minor at Bemidji State. He is now continuing his education at BSU as a graduate student, studying the distribution and habitat of woodland jumping mice in northern Minnesota.

In addition, BSU students Mattie Osborn, a senior majoring in wildlife biology from Bemidji, Minn. and Nikki Shaw, a senior majoring in aquatic biology from Embarrass, Minn. were also awarded Best Undergraduate Student poster at the conference, with their poster “Water Uptake Capabilities of Sphagnum Moss.” The poster compared two species of sphagnum moss, their individual water uptake capabilities and how the species with the higher capability of uptake may be more beneficial to use in wetland restoration efforts.

Members of BSU student chapter of The Wildlife Society who attended the conference include

Mitch Anderson, a senior majoring in wildlife biology from Champlin, Minn.
Nikki Shaw, a senior majoring in aquatic biology from Embarrass, Minn.
Joey Riley, a biology graduate student from Minneapolis, Minn.
Cianna Quien, a senior majoring in wildlife biology from from Cambridge, Minn.
Nicole Hendrickson, a sophomore majoring in wildlife biology from Bemidji, Minn.
Timothy Drake, a junior majoring in environmental studies and wildlife biology from Maplewood, Minn.
Joseph McGee, a sophomore majoring in wildlife biology from Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Garrett Sherry, a junior majoring in environmental studies and wildlife biology from Franklin, Tenn.
Paul Warner, a sophomore majoring in wildlife biology from Montgomery, Minn.
Betsy Riley, a junior majoring in wildlife biology from Grand Rapids, Minn.
Jack Morawcynski, a junior majoring in environment studies and wildlife biology from Laporte, Minn.
Kate Peterson, a graduate student from Virginia, Minn.
Liz Olvera-Chan, a freshman majoring in wildlife biology from Crystal, Minn.
Harry Stanius, a senior majoring in wildlife biology from St. Cloud, Minn.
Ciara McCarty, a biology graduate student from Bemidji, Minn.
Shannon McNamara, a biology graduate student from Solway, Minn.

Contact

Dr. Elizabeth Rave, professor of biology; (218) 755-2785, elizabeth.rave@bemidjistate.edu

Links

2019-B-112

Bemidji State Grad Student Featured in National Publication

Kody Hagen — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 16:46:22 +0000

Photo courtesy of Kathryn Renik, published in DUN Magazine

Kathryn Renik earned an undergraduate degree in wildlife and fisheries biology and management at the University of Wyoming before coming to BSU for graduate school.

“Fisheries have always been a big part of my life,” she said. “I grew up on a trout farm in western Nebraska, and I’m excited to keep pursuing this. I love brook trout and this is a great opportunity.”

BSU’s 2017 release about Renik’s graduate research.

91̽�� graduate student, Kathryn Renik, was recently published in the fall 2018 edition of DUN Magazine, a quarterly, lifestyle publication geared toward women fly anglers. In her submission, Renik discusses her research and experience in the debate on whether beaver and brook trout can cohabitate.

Renik, who grew up on a trout farm in western Nebraska, graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in fisheries. Upon graduating, she spent a year helping her dad raise trout and then a summer at an Alaskan salmon hatchery where she met Evan, her husband and kindred angler.

The couple moved to Minnesota in 2017 and Renik started to pursue her graduate degree in aquatic biology at BSU. She will graduate in 2019 and plans to continue her work to improve fisheries habitat.

In the summer of 2017, Renik and research assistant Kylie St. Peter, a then-senior aquatic biology major from Bemidji, analyzed 30 streams and 10 beaver habitats to kick off a two-year cooperative project between Bemidji State and the University of Minnesota Duluth. The project is funded by a . Dr. Andy Hafs, BSU associate professor of biology, works as the primary investigator, while Renik leads the field work. Renik returned to the North shore to complete her research in the summer of 2018.

About DUN Magazine
DUN Magazine is a lifestyle magazine geared toward the female fly angler. Created for women and edited by women, DUN has become the home base for anglers of all skill levels. With the goal of empowering women, not ignoring men, all anglers will find value in DUN magazine’s articles focused on education, conservation, destinations and the fun of fly fishing. The magazine is also eco-friendly, made of recycled papers and vegetable ink.

Contact

Kathryn Renik, graduate student, biology, 91̽��; kathryn.renik@live.bemidjistate.edu
Dr. Andy Hafs, associate professor of biology, 91̽��; (218) 755-2789, ahafs@bemidjistate.edu

Links

Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant Proposal, “” (PDF)
Grad Student Explores Beaver/Brook Trout Relationships Along North Shore
BSU’s Andy Hafs and Student Katti Renik to be featured on “Praire Sportsman” TV series

Bemidji State’s Master of Special Education (MSpEd) Ranked Among Nations Most Affordable

Kody Hagen — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 17:31:50 +0000

Bemidji State’s online Master of Special Education (MSpEd) has been ranked as one of the 30 most affordable in the country at number 9 by the website GradSchoolHub.

The 36 credit degree program focuses on curriculum techniques, due process in special education, math and reading difficulties.

A majority of the required credit hours in the MSpEd program are based on the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Minnesota Special Education Licensure Standards.

By completing three additional required licensure courses a MSpEd candidate, who already has a teaching degree, can obtain ASD, EBD and/or SLD special education teaching licensure(s) in addition to the master’s degree.

Ranking Methodology

GradSchoolHub reviewed 79 colleges and universities with masters in special education online programs. The schools and programs had to have received accreditation, either nationally or regionally. They selected schools with annual graduate tuition/fees under $21,000. They also looked at rankings from major publications like U.S. News and World Report to see if the program or institution had received some level of recognition and then ranked in order of affordability.

Contact

Patricia Rochelle Lynn Hartshorn, student and administrative support specialist; (218) 755-2027, grad@bemidjistate.edu

Mini-Grant Application Available through November 30th!

Kody Hagen — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 16:38:01 +0000

The mini-grant application is now available to graduate students! The application process has also been improved to provide better inclusion for all degree-seeking graduate students.

Apply today!

Graduate Students Attend Annual Orientation

Kody Hagen — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 20:50:18 +0000

On Aug. 21 91̽�� graduate students participate in the annual orientation conducted by the Department of Graduate Studies.

More than 1,100 Graduates From Class of 2018 Earn Degrees

Fri, 04 May 2018 22:20:57 +0000

Will Weaver, professor emeritus of English, challenged graduates of 91̽�� to “be open to surprise, to chance, to the lives of people close at hand. You have no idea how that stranger might affect your life — or you theirs.”

As the recipient of this year’s Distinguished Minnesotan award, Weaver delivered the Commencement address to Bemidji State’s Class of 2018, which included:

64 master’s degree recipients. BSU awarded 22 master of science degrees; 7 master of arts in teaching degrees; 21 master of special education degrees; 4 master of arts in English degrees; and 10 master of business administration degrees;
338 undergraduates who graduated with honors: 66 Summa Cum Laude honorees, 127 Magna Cum Laude honorees and 148 Cum Laude honorees; and
1,082 students who were eligible to receive undergraduate degrees, including 402 graduates from BSU’s College of Arts & Sciences; 326 from the College of Business; and 354 from the College of Health Sciences & Human Ecology.

BSU’s graduating class also included 53 Native American students, the most in the school’s history, and 39 military veterans.

Distinguished Minnesotan Will Weaver

Weaver said his long history as a professor of English at Bemidji State — where he taught from 1981 until he retired in 2006 — gave him a perspective on today’s celebration that differed from other commencement speakers.

“Commencement speakers often don’t have a close connection to the school at which they speak: they fly in, make their remarks and they fly away,” he said. “But I have an advantage today — I can speak directly to the outcomes of BSU grads just like you. They were my students. I know what’s become of them. I know how their lives have unfolded because they stay in touch.”

He shared brief stories about BSU graduates with whom he has recently interacted — an airline pilot, several teachers, a Ph.D. in literature who owns a computer repair business, a Russian translator at an embassy in Washington, D.C., a mother who’s returning to school after 20 years to pursue a master’s degree, and a former student he referred to only as “Darren.”

“Darren is a guy who, in the words of the poet Dylan Thomas, has forked no lightning in life. He’s not an airline pilot, he’s not a teacher, he doesn’t have his own company. But he’s a guy who brings the fun,” he said. “He makes people laugh and he makes us smile. And we need Darrens.”

Weaver reminded graduates that their classmates sitting next to them had their own powerful stories to share, and that they should take every advantage of opportunities to meet those people and learn their stories.

BSU President Faith C. Hensrud

BSU President Faith C. Hensrud opened her remarks by giving graduates one final assignment — to get their phones and send a message to a special person who helped them reach their goal of graduation.

“I would like you to take it out, and then send a text, post a message to Facebook, send a Snapchat, or tweet, or post to Instagram to thank that special someone for helping you achieve this goal,” she said.

Hensrud recognized the graduates as being part of a special milestone class at Bemidji State — the 99th class of graduates as the university prepares for its Centennial anniversary.

“I hold up this institution’s journey across 10 decades as a metaphor for the life journey each of you graduates is about to begin – to commence,” she said.

She recalled Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” and said it reflects the consequences of life’s choices. She recalled her own journey as the first of seven children in her family to attend college, a journey which saw her earn a bachelor’s degree, join the Army, become a mother and arrive as president of Bemidji State.

She said in hindsight her path was a direct result of her own choices, and she encouraged graduates to make thoughtful choices along their own journeys and to take full advantage of the opportunities found in those choices.

“Not one of us can say where your particular road will take you. But, I am certain of one thing: Years from now, many of you will be amazed at how far you have come,” she said.

Addressing the Graduates: BSU Student Daniela Maltais

Daniela Maltais, a graduating psychology student from Bemidji, said her own experience as a person who emigrated to the United States from Colombia showed what was possible if her fellow graduates were willing to overcome obstacles and define their own futures.

“When I came to America, I did not know English. I was raised by a mother who also did not speak English well,” she said. “I had a family member with mental and physical illness. These challenges — the challenges within my life — were exactly what I needed to guide me toward a career I am passionate about.”

She challenged her fellow graduates to be both farsighted and shortsighted as they traverse the paths ahead of them: to keep their eyes on their futures, but not lose track of what’s around them in the present.

“Nearsightedness teaches us about the value of being present and in the moment,” she said. “Make a choice to do something that scares you the most. Live with purpose. Be authentic.

“Never let where you began, or where you are today, define your future. You have the power to choose how your story ends.”

Addressing the Graduates: Minnesota State Trustee Roger Moe

Roger Moe, a trustee of the Minnesota State colleges and universities, greeted graduates on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Devinder Malhotra and the state colleges and universities system’s 16,000 faculty and staff members at its 54 campuses.

“We have come together because we believe in you,” he said. “It wasn’t easy for any of you. Your hard work has paid off and each of you has earned the right to call yourself graduates of 91̽��.”

Addressing the Graduates: Peggy Ingison

Bemidji State alumna Peggy Ingison, president of the Board of Directors for BSU Alumni & Foundation, welcomed the Class of 2018 into the family of more than 44,000 BSU alumni around the world.

Cum Laude honors

The practice of recognizing outstanding academic achievement with Cum Laude honors dates to the earliest European college and university practices in the 13th century. Summa Cum Laude denotes graduates with cumulative grade point averages of 3.90 or higher, Magna Cum Laude recognizes those with GPAs between 3.70 and less than 3.90 and Cum Laude recognizes those with GPAs between 3.50 and less than 3.70.

2018-B-L-102

BSU Magazine: Students Study Mystery of Martins’ Decline

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 19:17:08 +0000

This story appears in the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of 91̽�� magazine.

Sustainability is a frequent theme for student research at 91̽��, especially in the fields of aquatic and wildlife biology.

Over the past four years, both graduate and undergraduate students have worked with Dr. Brian Hiller, associate professor of biology, to band 1,500 purple martins to help solve the mystery of their declining migration from South America.

Climate change and the insect eaters’ reliance on a shrinking supply of human-provided housing are among possible explanations, Hiller said.

Bemidji State maintains two martin houses along its own Lake Bemidji shoreline. Hiller and his students also monitor two martin houses further up the shore at Cameron Park, installed in collaboration with the city of Bemidji and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, as well as two others on private lakeshore property and a seventh on Lake Lomond in Bagley.

The effort also includes regional Audubon societies, the Minnesota Ornithological Union and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Biology senior McKenzie Ingram, from Lee’s Summit, Mo., worked with Hiller to band 434 purple martins last summer. Because the martin houses have removable drawers, and the birds don’t mind being handled, they can be safely banded and returned.

Ingram also monitored the birds from afar. “I had this huge spotting scope to read their tiny little bands around their legs,” she said. “I would record their age, sex and the band number, and then the weather, and how many birds total, because they don’t all have bands on.”

Most recently, BSU used simple bands with identifying letters and numbers, but in 2015 Hiller and graduate student Cathy Henry attempted to use GPS to track the martins’ migration from Bemidji to the Amazon rainforest. They banded 10 juvenile birds with geolocators, but none returned.

Over two years, Henry checked colonies in Bemidji and Bagley every three days and recorded the martins’ band numbers and reproduction. She also used Doppler radar to identify roosts where they gather before heading south. Animated radar data indicated departing flocks.

“I would go to the area well before sunrise, launch a kayak and paddle around the lake, listening for purple martins calling,” said Henry, who now works as a wildlife technician with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game while preparing to defend her BSU master’s thesis on martin populations.

Hiller said one theory for the birds’ population nosedive in Minnesota is their historic dependence on martin houses, once much more common than they are today.

“The largest reason is that martins are almost exclusively reliant on people putting up housing for them,” Hiller said. “They switched over from using natural cavities to those that humans provide.”

In addition, the earlier arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere because of climate change may put the martins’ migration out of sync with their insect food supply.

“If spring happens earlier, then the bug hatch might happen earlier and it might not coincide with when you have to feed your babies all that protein,” Hiller said. “It’s about that connectivity. The world is connected in ways that sometimes people don’t think about.”

Written by Bethany Wesley

Gallery: Record Participation at 19th Student Achievement Conference

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 21:34:45 +0000

A record number of 91̽�� students presented the results of their academic efforts in a day-long series of oral presentations, poster displays, art exhibits and musical performances April 4 at the university’s 19th Annual Student Achievement Conference.

Dr. Travis Ricks, assistant professor of psychology and interim director of the conference, praised the students for their work during opening remarks at the conference’s kickoff breakfast.

“It was a record turnout because of you, the students who are presenting,” he said. “It’s an immense amount of time and effort, and you’re to be commended for that.”

BSU President Faith C. Hensrud also spoke at the kickoff breakfast and relayed her congratulations to all of the day’s participants for their efforts.

“My greatest source of pride as president continues to be the quality of our students and their many accomplishments, which reflect so well on BSU as a whole,” she said.

She added that the academic and artistic achievements on display at the conference shows some of the many ways students can exceed their own expectations and experience dramatic personal growth during their time as BSU students.

“Congratulations on distinguishing yourselves as scholars,” she said.

The conference featured nearly 150 projects and presentations by nearly 300 students representing a wide variety of academic majors and programs, with additional students participating in invitational displays featuring design, fine arts and music.

More than 140 students delivered oral presentations on subjects including theories of income polarization in the U.S., live-cell imaging of a protein called TCL, fish house rentals at the BSU Outdoor Program Center, CARE training for bystander intervention in sexual assault cases, and the relationship between working and grade-point average for college students.

Jessie Fuhrman, a senior double-majoring in criminal justice and psychology from Maple Grove, Minn., presented about gender stereotypes and how those stereotypes affect facial recognition and the mind’s ability to create false memories.

“False memories are really interesting to me,” she said. “There was a study where they showed people false pictures from their childhood and people actually started remembering the things that were happening. It never happened, but a couple months down the road they would recall those false memories. It’s scary to think you can implant those thoughts in people’s minds.”

Mountain Lake native Clarice Wallert, a graduate student in biology, presented the results of her eight years of work as a member of the Wallert Cancer Research Team, run by Dr. Mark Wallert, an associate professor of biology at BSU and Clarice’s uncle.

“It’s really had to think of what I have learned after eight years,” she said. “I think what I really learned was how much trial and error goes into our type of research — a lot more trial and error then you could ever imagine.”

Poster presentations by 159 students included topics such as facial recognition software, an examination of nesting habits of purple martins on Lake Bemidji, how different cultures reflect shapeshifting in their myths and legends and an environmental impact assessment of Bemidji Brewing.

Dr. Robert Youmans, head of user experience research sciences at YouTube, was scheduled to present the conference’s morning keynote address, but was unable to attend. He remained in California as his employees were among the victims of the April 3 shooting at YouTube offices in San Bruno, Calif.

Students in the Spotlight at BSU’s Annual Student Achievement Conference

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:46:26 +0000

A keynote presentation by a product-development researcher for Google headlines 91̽��’s 19th annual Student Achievement Conference on April 4.

The conference features nearly 150 projects and presentations by nearly 300 students representing a wide variety of academic majors and programs, with additional students participating in invitational displays featuring design, fine arts and music.

The theme for this year’s conference is “A Century of Inspiration.” The conference falls on the 100th anniversary of the groundbreaking for construction of Bemidji Normal School, a building that today is Deputy Hall on the 91̽�� campus.

The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. with a keynote breakfast in the Beaux Arts Ballroom of BSU’s upper Hobson Memorial Union, which leads into the 9 a.m. keynote address by Dr. Robert Youmans, a lecturer at the University of California Berkeley. Oral presentations will be held in two sessions in Hagg-Sauer Hall, with a morning session beginning at 10:30 a.m. and an afternoon session beginning at 1 p.m., and poster presentations begin at 11:30 a.m. in Memorial Hall.

In addition, the American Indian Resource Center will hold a fry bread taco sale between 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

More than 140 students are giving oral presentations on subjects including theories of income polarization in the U.S., live-cell imaging of a protein called TCL, fish house rentals at the BSU Outdoor Program Center, CARE training for bystander intervention in sexual assault cases, and the relationship between working and grade-point average for college students.

Poster presentations by 159 students include topics such as facial recognition software, an examination of nesting habits of purple martins on Lake Bemidji, how different cultures reflect shapeshifting in their myths and legends, and an environmental impact assessment of Bemidji Brewing.

A complete list of presenters and presentation topics is available on the conference’s website, and Hagg-Sauer Hall will include signs with presentation schedules and locations on the day of the conference.

All activities of the Student Achievement Conference are open free to the public.

Conference Schedule

8:30 a.m. — Keynote Breakfast Buffet, Beaux Arts Ballroom, upper Hobson Memorial Union.
9 a.m. — Keynote Address: Dr. Robert Youmans, Beaux Arts Ballroom.
10:30-11:45 a.m. — Student Presentations: Morning Sessions, Hagg-Sauer Hall. Four 15-minute sessions with five-minute breaks in between.
11 a.m.–1 p.m. — Fry bread taco sale, American Indian Resource Center.
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m— Poster Presentations and Design, Fine Arts and Music Invitational Displays, Memorial Hall.
1–2:15 p.m. — Student Presentations: Afternoon Sessions, Hagg-Sauer Hall. Four 15-minute sessions with five-minute breaks in between.

Dr. Robert Youmans

Dr. Robert J. Youmans is a cognitive psychologist who directs product-development research at Google and is head of user experience research sciences at YouTube. Prior to joining Google, he was the director of the Creative Design and User Experience laboratory at George Mason University and an assistant professor of applied cognition at California State University, Northridge.

He earned his doctorate in cognitive psychology with a doctoral minor in industrial design at the University of Illinois at Chicago for his research on links between physical prototyping and creative design. He also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Wake Forest University.

Calendar

April 4 — 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. – 19th Annual Student Achievement Conference at 91̽��. More than 300 BSU undergraduate students share their academic and creative achievements through presentations, poster sessions and performances. Features 9 a.m. keynote address by Dr. Robert J. Youmans, head of user experience research at YouTube. Presentations begin at 10:30 a.m. in Hagg-Sauer and Memorial halls; complete schedule available on conference website (visit and search for ‘student achievement conference’). All events open free of charge to the public.

Contact

Dr. Travis Ricks, assistant professor of psychology, interim director of the Student Achievement Conference; (218) 755-2106, travis.ricks@bemidjistate.edu

Links

2018-B-L-091