Welcome to the NSU News Update - providing information on events happening on campus or involving NSU students, staff and faculty. 

To submit a news item, send it via email to NSUNews@northern.edu by 5 p.m. Thursday of the week before the announcement should run.

COVID-19 News

• Current Self-Reported Case Count: Total active cases: 5 (2 students; 3 faculty/staff). Total students quarantined or isolated: 13 (8 on campus; 5 off campus). (Numbers as of Feb. 12, 2021; please note: those in quarantine/isolation aren’t necessarily confirmed or symptomatic cases)
• Mask Level: NSU is at Level 3, which requires face coverings in all public indoor spaces on campus. Learn more about the SDBOR Face Covering Protocol here.
• Webpage Updates: Northern has updated its COVID-19 Webpage, now including various FAQs for students, faculty and staff.
• Requesting Supplies: To request COVID-19 supplies from NSU Facilities, please work with your supervisor to determine the proposed needs for your entire department and submit an order using this online form.

Upcoming CETL Programs

• Thursday, Feb. 18, at 4:30 p.m., CETL is holding a Feel Good Thursday event with faculty from the counseling program. Co-hosts Drs. Shalini Mathew and Shuhui Fan will discuss mindfulness and being aware of oneself and others. Scholarly articles indicate mindfulness can help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, and improve sleep. Please consider joining us for the discussion via Zoom (Passcode: Zbx5JM).    
• Monday, Feb. 22, at noon, CETL and Sponsored Projects are hosting part two of the Get Grant Money! panel discussion. A free lunch of pizza and salad will be provided for those who attend in person. Please RSVP to CETL@northern.edu. This event will focus on how to write and produce grants. We will further explain the role of the Office of Sponsored Projects and listen to more NSU faculty speak about their experiences writing and procuring grants. Please join us in person in MJ 203 or via  Zoom (Passcode: 45jkDE).    
• Thursday, March 25, at 2 p.m., visiting scholar, Dr. Stephanie Kerschbaum, will lead an interactive discussion on disability in the classroom in LIB 117, where attendees will enjoy a free nacho bar. Dr. Kerschbaum is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Delaware; her work focuses on theories of difference and disability. If you plan to attend the event in person, please send your RSVP to CETL@northern.edu. You can also attend via Zoom (Passcode 236eLBP). 

Northern Theatre Presents “God of Carnage”

In this dramatic one-act by Yasmine Reza, two sets of parents find their politeness eroding and hidden vitriolic emotions spew forth. This production stars Suzi Fitterer, Loretta Simon, Jake Swanson, and Garytt J. Tostenson. “God of Carnage” runs Feb 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb 21 at 3 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. Masks are required.

Dacotah Hall Closure

NSU employees: Please note that Dacotah Hall is closed for NCAA testing beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at noon and ending on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m.

Blood Drive

The Pre-Med Club is sponsoring a blood drive on Friday, Feb. 26, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Student Center Centennial Rooms. Email George.nora@northern.edu or visit vitalant.org to schedule a time for donation. Walk-ins are welcome.

Nominations for Outstanding Faculty

Northern State University is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. To recognize our faculty’s commitment to excellence, we are pleased to announce nominations are open for two outstanding faculty awards:

1. NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award
2. NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award

We invite you to nominate faculty members for these awards. Nominations are welcome from any member of the Northern community, and letters may be written by an individual person or a group of individuals. Nominations from students are always welcome. All nominations are due by 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 19, 2021.

To nominate a full-time teaching faculty member for the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award or the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award, please send a compelling letter of nomination to Judy Lapka in Academic Affairs (judy.lapka@northern.edu).

In the letter, please indicate the specific award for which you are nominating the person and the specific reasons for the nomination.

• Please save the file name in this format:

Award[Excellence or EarlyCareer]_FacultlastnameFacultyfirstname_Nominatorlastname

For example, a nomination for faculty member Katherine Watson for the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence award written by nominator John Keating would be: Excellence_WatsonKatherine_Keating

• Email the nomination letter as a file attachment (PDF or Word) to Judy Lapka (judy.lapka@northern.edu).
• Nominations must be received from the Northern State University email address of the nominator. Nominations from email addresses other than the nominator’s will not be accepted.
• The deadline for the receipt of nomination letters for both awards is 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 19, 2021.
• The Provost’s office will notify faculty who are nominated for either award by Monday, March 22, 2021. The letter(s) of nomination and name(s) of the nominator(s) will not be shared with them unless they are selected as 2021 recipients of one of the two awards. Nominated faculty will be asked to provide the provost’s office with an updated CV in support of their nomination by 5 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 26, 2021.

Award Criteria:

The NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award recognizes faculty for excellence in teaching and learning, a sustained commitment to faculty service, and achievements in research and creativity within their discipline.

• Nominees may be at the rank of professor, associate professor, instructor, or lecturer and must have served a minimum of six (6) years as a member of the Northern State University teaching faculty. Someone who is in their seventh (7^th) year is eligible; someone who has completed fewer than six (6) years of teaching service at Northern is not.
• Nominees must have a stellar record of teaching and advising, must have been significantly and consistently involved in a variety of service roles through department, college/school, university, and/or community service activities; and need to be meaningfully engaged in research and creativity in their discipline.
• Any full-time faculty member who has not received this award (or the formerly named outstanding faculty member award) previously and who meets the number of years of service requirement is eligible for this award.
• In addition to a monetary award ($1,000), the recipient receives a commemorative award from the NSU Foundation.
• Current NSU faculty who already won the Outstanding Faculty Member award (see list below) are not eligible to win the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award.

The NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award is presented to an early career full-time faculty member who demonstrates a strong record and commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and service.

• Nominees must be at the rank of assistant professor, associate professor, instructor, or lecturer who has between two and six (2 and 6) years of full-time teaching service at Northern State University. Someone who is in their sixth year is eligible; someone who has already completed six years of service is not. Please make sure the individual you are nominating for the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award is eligible.
• Nominees must have a strong record of teaching and advising, begun contributing to the research and creative activity in their discipline, and will have demonstrated a commitment to service in the department, college/school, or university.
• In addition to the monetary award ($1,000), the recipient receives 2 Wolves Club tickets to NSU athletic events for the next academic year (Wolves Club tickets cannot be resold and are not transferrable).

Selection Process:

A committee of 9, including: three (3) deans (or their designees), the four (4) most recent NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award winners (or Outstanding Faculty Member award winners) who are still actively teaching at Northern State University, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, will review all nominations and select the recipients of both awards as a committee.

Winners of both awards will be recognized at the Northern State University spring commencement. By tradition, the winner of the NSU Foundation Faculty Excellence Award will deliver the commencement address at the Northern State University winter commencement. The winner of the NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award will deliver the Wolf Talk during new student orientation in August. If either recipient is not available to deliver said address, the other recipient will be invited to do so.

Questions? Please direct questions to Dr. Erin Fouberg, erin.fouberg@northern.edu, 605-626-3456.

Recent NSU Outstanding Faculty Member Award Recipients

2020    Jon Mitchell

2019    Greg Blair

2018    Peter Ramey

2017    Courtney Waid-Lindberg

2016    Anthony Wachs

2015    Sara Schmidt

2014    Sara Christensen Blair

2013    Alyssa Kiesow

2012    Daniel Yurgaitis

2011    Erin Fouberg

2010    Robin Rosenthal

2009    Peter Kilian

2008    Gayle Bortnem

2007    Paul Everson

2006    William Wieland

2005    Jon Schaff

2004    Jon Lim

2003    Jeff Jay

2002    Grant Manhart

2001    Lysbeth Benkert-Rasmussen

2000    Ken Blanchard

1999    Connie Geier

1998    Ric Dias

1996. Abid Elkhader

1996    David Grettler

NSU Outstanding Early Career Faculty Award

2020    Kristi Brownfield

American Indian Circle Program Cultural Education Time

NSU is dedicated to the recognition of tribal traditions and ceremonies that complement the holistic well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The first Tuesday of every month from 12:15-12:30 p.m., we come together and have cultural education time to talk about what smudging is, the importance it symbolizes in Indigenous culture and a time of reflection. For the spring 2021 semester we ask that you mask up and meet on the campus green in front of Spafford so that there can be social distancing. The American Indian Circle Program would like to invite the campus community to come and participate in our monthly Smudge. Everyone is welcome!

Do you have a health-related goal for the new year?

Join our Undergraduate Research Project! We are looking for individuals who are ready to set and crush their health or fitness goals. Get paired with a student fitness consultant to shape a plan tailored to your needs. Track your progress with FREE body composition testing each month. Achieve your new year’s goals while helping NSU undergraduate researchers! Sign up to participate online at this link, or stop by the Human Performance Lab Monday, Feb. 8-Wednesday, Feb. 10, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To get to the Human Performance Lab, use the main doors to the Barnett Center, first door on the right past the basketball offices. If you have any question in our project, please contact the Project Faculty Advisor, Dr. Chelsee Shortt- chelsee.shortt@northern.edu.

Online Tutoring Sessions

The NSU Tutoring Center offers free online sessions to any Northern student for all general education courses and most upper-level courses. The sessions are conducted via Zoom, which allows real-time interaction between students and tutors. For more information or to set up an online tutoring session, students can email nsututoringcenter@northern.edu

Water Wolves Program

NSU Swimming is running swim lessons through our Water Wolves program. We are looking for swim instructors to work spring sessions. Swim lesson experience is preferred but not required. For more information or to apply, please contact Mikaela Waiflein at Mikaela.M.Waiflein@northern.edu.

Employee Assistance Plan

Benefits eligible staff: Please keep in mind that your benefits plans include free use of our Employee Assistance Plan. Every eligible staff member has five free visits available with a counselor. If you need assistance, please utilize this wonderful benefit, found at this link; the password is southdakota.

Name Tag Orders

NSU Communications and Marketing orders name tags for employees once a month. To request a name tag for the next campus-wide order, fill out this online form.

Wolves Athletics

Stay up to date with NSU Wolves news on the athletics webpage.