2005 Spring Saint Benedict's Saint John's Magazine

              COLLEGE OF
The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University have an historic
commitment to making a positive difference in the world. The education we
provide to our students challenges them to do more than remain content with
what is and to dedicate themselves to what can be. Today's world - fraught
with division and complex challenges- demands
such creative, generative thinking.
Moving the world requires a firm foundation
on which to stand. Our Catholic and Benedictine
tradition, as well as our unyielding commitment
to educational excellence, provides a stable
footing, from which our graduates may go on to
positively influence not only their own future but
also that of a delicately interdependent global
MaryAnnBaenninger,Ph.D.
commumty.
This resolute investment in hope is illustrated
by the articles in this issue of the CSB/SJU
magazine which profile our alumnae/i and present
news of the many extraordinary-people who
belong to the extended community of Saint
Benedict and Saint John's. Connecting them all is a common thread - an
undaunted will to create organizational solutions to societal needs, to find
peaceful answers to political problems and to share with others the best of
themselves and what they've learned. This is the essence and power of a liberal
arts education. It has a vital role to play in all our lives and in the promise of
the future.
Br.DietrichReinhart,aSB
~b ~~~~~~
Br. Dietrich Reinhart, OSB
President
College of Saint Benedict
President
Saint John's University
2
WhereEverybody
Knows hisName
Within a month of Brian Schnese's
arrival in the tiny German town of
Luckau, some 80 Ian south of Berlin, his
picture was on the front page of the local
newspaper and everyone seemed to know
his name. Schnese '04, a Fulbright
teaching assistant in the English depart-ment
of the local junior high school, says,
"It is not uncommon that every few days,
someone I've never met will come by and
knock on my door. I enter shops I've
never been to before and am greeted by
my first name,"
By Jo Ann Shroyer
As a result, the young management/
German double major, who is unaccus-tomed
to such stardom, says he has to be
constantly aware of his actions and
behaviors. "That can be a little stressful at
times," he concedes, at the same time
describing the town as "absolutely
wonderful." Schnese thinks he's the first
American to ever live in Luckau.
"Fulbright scholars are viewed not so
much as academic specialists but as
ambassadors of the United States," says
Nick Hayes '69, CSB/SJU professor of
history, University Chair in Critical
Thinking at Saint John's, and a faculty
contact person for the Fulbright program
on the CSB/SJU campuses. Of course, it
also is essential to demonstrate academic
excellence, he adds.
"I give full credit to the high-caliber
faculty of CSB/SJU," Schnese says about
his preparation for his fellowship, adding
that the entire MCL department had
played a role in encouraging him to
pursue the Fulbright.
"Our students are well-prepared in
3
German," says Fr. Mark Thamert,
professor of German in the MCL
department. "The German major at
CSB/SJU tends to be more demanding
than at other schools, in terms of credit
hours." German professor Lisa Ohm also
credits the CSB/SJU study abroad
program in Salzburg, Austria, for
students' success. "They are well-prepared
to function in another culture,"
she says. Schnese's Fulbright advisor was
associate professor of political science,
Scott Johnson, a Fulbrighter himself "He
played an extremely important role,
giving me much of his valuable time and
expertise," Schnese says.
Hayes sees a tremendous benefit in the
ability of students to have such strong,
4
BrianSchnese'04atSaechsischSechweiz
NationaPl arknearDresdenG, ermany.
PhotobyAndreasMittig.
dose relationships with faculty. "We're
able tb help guide them toward their
goals." Schnese explains that it made a
difference that he turned in papers and
exams to professors he might have had
dinner with the night before. "They
wanted me to succeed like my mother
and father wanted me to succeed."
Benefitsare Personal
and Professional
Meanwhile, the rewards of a Fulbright
fellowshipare many, the greatest being
personal development, Hayes says. "The
in-depth immersion experience, along
with the resources and status that the
Fulbright brings, will ensure that this
informal ambassadorship will forever
change the participant," he says.
Hayes would know. He went to the
SovietUnion on a similar government
sponsored post-graduate program, called
IREX, in 1978-79, and, in 1994-95, a
Fulbright fellowship in journalism in
Zagreb, Croatia, reporting on the war in
the former Yugoslavia. He says both
experiencesutterly changed his life and
his career."No matter what you do in
life, it's going to benefit you. You simply
become a broader person, in terms of
intellectual and personal capacities; it
givesyou an overwhelming advantage in
graduate school and in professional life.
Youcome oUt with a whole series of
personal and professional connections
that just carry you into your career."
Fortunately, though, Hayes adds, "our
students are inclined to see things not
just in terms of their own particular
career interests, bUt also in the context of
larger social and community goals." By
the time CSB/S]U students are seniors,
Hayes explains, they rypically have not
only the recommendations and support
of professors who know them well, but
also have studied abroad, served as
community volunteers, done service
internships, "just a whole series of
experiences that demonstrate that they
are genuinely socially committed
people," he says.
BeyondAncientWalls
Luckau, in the former East German
Communist state of Brandenburg, is still
surrounded by its original city wall and
moat, while nearly all of the buildings are
old "bUt immaculately maintained,"
notes Schnese, who lives in an old
church, a 5-minute bike ride away from
the school where he teaches.
The town's relative isolation offers a bit
of a challenge for Schnese, who grew up
in a Twin Cities suburb. "We don't have a
train station and I don't own a car, so that
makes getting out of town somewhat
difficult," he says. "But I am happy to
report that hitch hiking still works in this
area of the world."
As a teaching assistant, Schnese works
with students on their English speaking
skills. He also has initiated an extra
project for the students: a video docu-mentary,
in English, showing a typical
day at the school. He found plenty of
volunteers among the 7th through 10th
grade students willing to .work on the
documentary.
Schnese also is expected to complete a
research project and file a report with the
Fulbright Commission. "I set out to
examine and explain the influence that
the English language is having on
German," he explains. "I wanted to
examine youth culture and slang, current
marketing techniques, as well as genera-tional
differences." In addition to
researching scholarly sources, doing
interviews and collecting samples from
media and commercial products, Schnese
records examples he hears in daily
conversations in the small notebook he
carries everywhere.
So far, Schnese feels he is achieving
what he set out to do: expand his
international experience, improve his
5
language skills by living among native
speakers and, after tutoring for four years
in the modern and classical languages
(MCL) department at CSB/S]U, test his
increasing interest in education and
pedagogy.
Schnese also has applied for an
internship through Fulbright that would
allow him to get practical experience in
the international business sector by
working for at least three months with a
German corporation like Siemens, Bosch
or Mercedes. "I feel that more practical
experience could be beneficial," he says.
"Whether it's teaching or business, the
nature of the world today demands a
diverse multitude of experiences. You just
have to be well-rounded these days."
Meanwhile, after he was unable to
secure the special visa necessary in time
to visit Ukraine for the historic election
over the Christmas holidays, Schnese and
a friend decided to travel to Prague in the
Czech Republic. "Prague offered a great
comparison to Luckau and former East
Germany, since it, too, was under the
occupation of others for much of its
history," Schnese says. When local
Czechs offered them a traditional Czech
Christmas dinner, they jumped at the
opportunity, he says. "We knew carp was
involved because we had already seen the
tanks of water on every street corner,
where fish were being beheaded, scaled
and wrapped up right on the street.
Dinner consisted of carp soup, carp,
potato salad, and rap bit stew." The two
friends had a chance to talk with Czech
locals about such topics as the European
Union and the fUture for still-lingering
German-Czech tensions. "It was a rich
and fulfilling Christmas break," Schnese
says, "despite my not being able to be
home with my family."
DeepRoots,LongFriendshipsin Austria
Among the programs administered by
the Fulbright Commission, Saint
Benedict and Saint John's send more
graduates- four to sevenannually - to
the U.S. Teaching Assistantship Program
in Austria than to any other. Coordinated
by the Austrian Ministry of Science,
Education and Culture, the teaching
assistantship program is an apt demon-stration
of the core Fulbright mission. It
is based on a long-term association and a
subde cultural understanding.
LonnieJohnson'74,indowntownVienna,
Austria,infrontoftheMuseumof FineArtswith
theHofburgPalacecomplex, theformerimperial
residenceoftheHabsburgsin, thebackground.
By Jo Ann Shroyer
"Graduates of CSB and SJU have been
accepted into the Austrian Federal
Ministry of Education's U.S. Teaching
Assistant program with great regularity,"
says Lonnie R. Johnson '74, executive
director of the Fulbright Commission in
Austria. He attributes this to the sound
foreign language preparation and
advising students receive in the modern
and classical languages department. "And
the values and attitudes CSB/SJU
graduates demonstrate," Johnson says.
"Successful candidates for this program
need to be open to new experiences,
interested in other people and cultures,
and committed to sharing and learning."
Unlike Fulbright grantees, the teaching
assistants in this program are employees
of Austrian provincial boards of educa-tion
and paid like any other teacher in
the school system.
Fr. Mark Thamert, the faculty contact
for the Austrian Fulbright program, cites
the study-abroad program with the
University of Salzburg in Austria for
preparing CSB/SJU students for teaching
assistantships. Since 1977, when the
program began, 726 CSB/SJU students
have participated. Thamert also believes
the CSB/SJU culture resonates well with
Austrian cultural values. "Our culture
here is more like the culture of Austria, in
terms of hospitality and relationships,
respect for each other, our Benedictine
values," Thamert says. "Austria'swhole
culture is like that. Instead of occupying
the hectic fast lane, they tend to be
slower paced, try to get along with less
and appreciate their beautiful surround-
6
ings. Our students do very well there."
Otrnar Orekonja, professor emeritus of
German and a Fulbright faculty contact
at CSB/SJU for 15 years, says the
Austrian program has had good luck with
CSB/SJU students. "Never a dud; they
always clicked with the Austrian culture,"
he says. "The Austrians appreciate the
Midwestern work ethos of our students
and how resourceful and constructive
they are. They are such good ambassa-dors."
An estimated 40 CSB/SJU
graduates were Fulbrighters under
Orekonja's guidance.
The Fulbright Commission in Austria
(Austrian-American Educational
Commission) has provided grants to
Austrian and American students and
scholars on a bilateral basis since 1950,
Johnson explains. "It is funded by both
governments and governed by a bi-national
board consisting of five Austrian
and five U.S. citizens appointed by the
respective governments. Since 1962, it
also has managed a program for U.S.
teaching assistants in Austria that has
grown from a few positions to over 100
today. "
Johnson himself went to Austria on an
SJU study abroad program affiliated with
the Institute of European Studies Vienna \
Program. Later, during the 1977-78 and
1978-79 school years, he taught in the
Austria Ministry of Educations U.S.
Teaching Assistantship Program, while
working on his doctorate in philosophy
at the University of Vienna. In 1978 he
married a Viennese woman, Monika
Sch6nstadt; they have tWo sons.
TheInfluenceof Mentors
Johnson was mentored by professors
Drekonja and Eila Perlmutter, "who
encouraged me to study abroad because
it was a natural for a humanities major at
SJU to go and see, as Professor Drekonja
said, 'the real thing'." Drekonja, a native
of Klagenfurt, Austria, was a Fulbright
grantee himself, at Kent State University
in 1962-63. He taught part-time at SJU
a year later, and after he had returned to
Austria, was recruited by Saint John's to
teach full-time in 1967. He's been here
ever since, retiring in 2000. "Otmar
Drekonja embodies the spirit of interna-tionalism
and exchange that are core
values of the program," Johnson says.
"Over the years, he encouraged many of
his students to study and live abroad."
For his part, Johnson has worked in
Europe for 30 years to advance the cause
of international education. He has
written numerous scholarly articles and
three books about Europe, most recently
CentralEurope: Enemies, Neighbors,
Friends(Oxford University Press: second
edition, 2001). When it was first
published in 1996, Central Europe was
selected as the Editor's Choice of the
History Book Club and as one of the
Outstanding Academic Books of 1997 by
the American Library Association
magazine Choice.
"Despite considerable cultural affinities
between Europe and the United States,
there are dramatic cultural differences
and one has to learn how to negotiate the
differences," Johnson says. "Things
might seem the same, but they work
differently. Living in a foreign culture
entails taking risks, because you never are
really sure what you are getting into." For
the Fulbright scholar, it's an immense
problem-solving exercise. "Because the
definitions of problems and the identifi-cation
of the most appropriate solutions
are culturally conditioned," he says,
requiring the young citizen diplomat to
be flexible and creative. "It isn't an easy
job, as you can imagine. American
popular culture and American tourists are
ubiquitous in Europe, yet many Europe-ans
never have had much person-to-person
contact with Americans. Europe-ans
also have very strong opinions about
what the United States is or is not. The
job of our teaching assistants ultimately is
to help interpret U.S. culture and
debunk some of the stereotypes and
cliches."
Meanwhile, Fulbrighters have to
function alone and independently in
their host country, Drekonja explains.
Part of his job was to encourage students
to believe in themselves and take that
scary leap.
TheGutstoTakea Chance
Today, of course, with the Internet and
e-mail, Fulbrighters are able to keep more
connected to their families, friends and
home culture. But, in the 1970s, when
Kathleen Fluegel '77 studied for a year
and a half at the University of Salzburg
and later served a Fulbright teaching
assistantship in Austria, it was quite
different.
"I think it's very difficult today for
7
"Youget a different perspective on life, even
yourface changes,whenyou speaka different
language,"saysKathleenFluegel'77.
students to understand how really
terrifYing that was," Fluegel says. "It was
more like what my great grandparents
did when they came to the United States.
There was no e-mail, phone calls were a
rarity, mail took forever and you really
were doing something that was very
isolating and quite frightening."
Fluegel came to eSB, already fluent in
German, thanks to a particularly good
teacher in the Robbinsdale, Minn.,
school system, she says. While at eSB,
she was able to study with Otmar
Drekonja, "who absolUtely changed my
life," she says. Drekonja encouraged
Fluegel to study in Austria when her
financial situation threatened to keep her
out of school in the United States. "At
the time, it cost only $200 a semester to
study in Austria," she remembers. "I
thought I didn't have any options, but
this wonderful person, whom I trusted
and loved said 'Don't be silly.You've got
options. And I'll help you do this.' So I
moved. Now, when I look back, it was
like having the heavens open up and the
light shine down."
Mter studying in Salzburg, Fluegel
found, through contacts, a job at the
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in
8
New York, translating the papers of
German architect Mies van der Rohe,
author of the famous catch phrase, "b~
is more."
"Today, someone my age, with the
credentials I had, would never get a
chance like that," Fluegel says. "I've had
such incredible experiences, in part,
because Otmar taught me how impor-tant
it is to take chances." She took a
leave of absence from the MOMA job
when she found out she could return to
Austria on a Fulbright grant. The
museum encouraged her to go and, in
fact, put her on a small retainer to
research a Vienna show they were
planning. The assignment opened many
doors for her. "And it was incredibly
glamorous. People introduced me as
someone who worked for the Museum of
Modern Art. It was really kind of
wonderful."
After her Fulbright experience, Fluegel
returned to M0 MA, finished the
translating job and began writing for the
fundraising department of the museum.
Before she left MOMA, she had worked
on the campaign for the MOMA tower
and worked on a number of architecture
and design exhibitions. Thereafter, she
worked for such New York institutions as
the Bronx Zoo, the Brooklyn Children's
Museum and P.S. One (now part of
MOMA). When she was recruited by the
Walker Art Center in 1989, the offer
allowed her to come home and be near
her ailing father. During that time she
also finished her doctorate in German
literature. Today Fluegel is the executive
director ofHRK Foundation, in St. Paul,
a family foundation that promotes
healthy families and communities by
helping to sustain education, arts, health
and community building initiatives.
"I realize now that I was far too young
to know any better when I did the
biggest things I've done," she says. "But
I'm really happy now that I did. When
people have dismissed what I have done
as 'luck,' Otmar always reminded me
that the first time, it's luck. After that, it's
because you had the guts to take chances.
I cannot say enough about the influence
he has been on my life. He is a remark-ably
wonderful human being who is all
about life, engagement and putting
yourself out there and thinking big. He
believes, and I do, too, that if we work
together and think big enough, we can
do amazing things."
OtmarDrekonjandhiswife,Ingrid,wearingorchidleis,enjoyedthespeechesatthecelebration
honoringhiscareerandannouncing thescholarshipestablishedin hisname.IngridDrekonjalso
taughtGermanatCSB/SJUfor13years.
A Day anda Scholarshipin hisName
In November, 2004, Otmar Drekonja
was recognized by his colleagues, former
students, friends, the community and the
state for all he has done for education
and international understanding. On
Monday, November 29, at a private
celebration, colleagues, friends and
former students announced the Otmar
Drekonja German Cultural Studies
Scholarship fund. It will benefit promis-ing
students seeking undergraduate
degrees in German studies, in keeping
with the enthusiasm of the beloved
professor.
Br. Dietrich Reinhart, OSB, SJU
president, and John Ellenbecker, mayor
of the City of Saint Cloud, proclaimed
Nov. 29, 2004, "Otmar Drekonja Day"
to honor his distinguished teaching
career and his many contributions
beyond the campus. The Minnesota
9
State Senate issued a congratulatory
proclamation honoring his considerable
achievements, talents and leadership,
while Minnesota's Governor Tim
Pawlenty, awarded Drekonja a certificate
of recognition.
During his career at CSB/SJU,
Drekonja directed 15 groups, more than
200 students, on study abroad programs
in central Europe, including many
semesters of the Salzburg study abroad
program, which he founded in 1977. His
contacts and interest in the former East
Germany allowed CSB/SJU students to
study abroad behind the Iron Curtain
and enabled many East German writers
and scholars to come to Minnesota.
"He has been a wonderful inspiration
to so many students," says Fluegel, who
spoke at the celebration and has helped
to make the scholarship possible. ''And he
will continue to inspire."
En
LESSONS IN
preneu~~jp
People who start a business often say
it's what they learned after everything
they learned in school that makes the
difference between the success or failure
of their company. Terri Barreiro hopes to
change that.
''After interviewing a lot of alums who
are entrepreneurs, many of them have
said they wish they'd learned much more
in college, rather than having to do it the
hard way, on their own," Barreiro says.
"The most successful entrepreneurs so
often talk about having an older person,
who's been through it, give them
personal advice and be personally
connected to them."
That personal connection is what
Barreiro hopes to provide in her role as
director of Donald McNeely Center for
Entrepreneurship at Saint John's Univer-sity
and the College of Saint Benedict.
The center will bring students and
faculty together with alumnae/i entrepre-neurs
in order to foster those connections
and pass on some of the crucial knowl-edge
that alums had to leave campus to
learn.
There are other resources for entrepre-neurs,
such as the government's Small
Business Administration, but Barreiro
thinks the McNeely Center can provide
something more useful with the personal
involvement of alums. "The SBA's
services are very helpful, bUt it doesn't
have the coaching part that the center
can offer," she says. "The biggest
difference is that the relationship has
already been established, because we are
all part of Saint John's and Saint Ben's.
And because of that, there's probably a
longer-term commitment that's likely to
occur naturally, more of a willingness to
offer assistance and do it for free. I think
there will be many more long-term
relationships developed because of the
kinds of connections that the center
makes possible.
"I've spent most of my career connect-ing
people to other people, so it's a good
fit with what I'm skilled at."
Barreiro brings a distinguished back-ground
in social services and philanthropy
to her position at CSB/SJD. She was
manager of corporate giving and a
foundation program officer for what was
then the Dayton Hudson Corporation,
and later served in several senior staff
positions at the Minneapolis United Way
and the Greater Twin City United Way
after the merger of the Minneapolis and
St. Paul United Ways. Her undergraduate
degrees were in liberal arts fields (psychol-ogy
and Spanish), bUt she went on to earn
a masters in business administration from
the University of Minnesota while
running a small non-profit.
10
The McNeely Center is not the first
for entrepreneurs in Minnesota; other
centers already exist at the University of
Minnesota, St. Cloud State University
and the University of St. Thomas. BUt,
unlike those centers, which are focused
primarily on services for graduate
students and businesses in their commu-nities,
the McNeely Center will focus on
providing assistance to undergraduates.
In addition, there is a strong emphasis on
"social entrepreneurship."
"We're really hoping this center will be
seen as a resource for non-profit organi-zations
as well as for-profit businesses,"
Barreiro says. "I think what finally made
the idea of an entrepreneurship center
click here was when the faculty and
alums who were involved in planning the
center realized the unique mission for the
center was to help enterprises create
social value. Whether the enterprise is a
business or a nonprofit, the focus should
be on creating social value with entrepre-neurial
strategies. They recognized that
social entrepreneurship in the non-profit
sector needs coaching and support just as
entrepreneurship in business does. They
decided that could be part of what the
McNeely Center is. That fits the cultures
of these two institUtions so powerfully."
The McNeely Center will Utilize
alumnae/i expertise in several ways. E-
Scholar Sponsor Mentors ("E" for
entrepreneur) will work with a group of
12 student E-Scholars in an intensive
two-year entrepreneurship course series.
Center Mentors will consult in their
professional areas of expertise, traveling
to campus several times a year for one-on-
one meetings and informal evening
meals with participants. Advisory
Council members will give policy
oversight and program development
advice to the center, while other alums
will be used as guest speakers, panelists
and individual advisors.
Here's how Barreiro describes the role
of a Center Mentor: "Students, or
members of our faculty, staff or the
monastery, can sign up for a half-hour
interview with this person. They might
ask, 'Here's an idea. Is it off the wall?
Here's as far as I've gotten in starting this,
what am I missing?' Or, 'I've already
started my business, but now I know I
need to have a contract with my custom-ers,
how do I write that?' So we'll have
lawyers, strategic planners, bankers,
people who have run non-profits and
chief financial officers.
"One of the challenges in trying to
teach people about entrepreneurship,"
she adds, "is that it's kind of a magical
mixture of knowing skills and knowing
how to trust your intuitions, and some of
that can only be understood by spending
a lot of time talking to people who are
already doing it. How to put together a
business plan, where the money comes
from, how do you market so that people
will buy what you are'excited to sell to
them - those are some of the things
alums are going to be teaching us."
Barreiro's aspirations for the McNeely
Center are that "businesses and non-profits
will be successfully started by our
students and faculty, and alums that
already have started businesses will be
able to credit the center with having
helped them to succeed. And that we'll
be known in the region for being a place
where you can go and get good advice on
how to be more effective." Along the
way, future CSB/SJU students will be
able to learn some things on campus that
their predecessors had to wait until they
made it into the business world to
discover.
11
"It's not just for business majors," says
Sarah Kopischke '05, senior management
major and vice president of the CSB/SJU
branch of SIFE or Students in Free
Enterprise. "SIFE is more about making
a difference than making money."
Kopischke has been a member of SIFE
since her sophomore year and has served
as an officer for most of that time. "Our
membership has grown steadily in the
past couple of years, as word has gotten
around that it's something any student
can get a lot out of It's a great way to
develop leadership and take initiative, to
have experiences you might not other-wise
get at college."
An international nonprofit organiza-tion,
SIFE's official mission is "to provide
stUdents the best opportunity to make a
difference and to develop leadership~
teamwork, and communication skills
through learning, practicing, and
teaching the principles of free enterprise."
The CSB/SJU branch pursues this
mission through a variety of projects that
teach elementary through college-aged
stUdents, as well as the wider community,
about finance, ethics, global organiza-tions
and entrepreneurship.
Students are guided by an advisory
board of faculty and community business
members. And this year, the new
McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship
became a resource to SIFE. "Terri
Barreiro, the director, has been a mentor,
and other members of the McNeely
Center board have already been really
helpful to me, critiquing presentations
and helping to design meetings. The
McNeely Center is going to benefit
stUdents incredibly," says Kopischke.
Although teaching had always ap-pealed
to her, Kopischke decided on
management pardy because she likes
numbers. "But I still like teaching and
communication. I'll graduate only a few
credits short of a communication minor.
My dad is a CPA, but I don't like
numbers enough to do that! I'm more
interested in marketing and people."
With relatives and other connections in
the pharmaceutical business, she
hopes to go into pharmaceutical sales
after graduation.
The national SIFE organization
sponsors competitions each year,
and for the last five years, CSBI
SJU's team has beaten such big
names as Harvard University
and Boston College to make it
into the national competition.
Kopischke is proud of this
record and hopes that next
year's team will go even
further, but winning the
SIFE competition is not
what it's all about for
her either.
"We do a project
at Kennedy
Elementary
School where
we help kids set up a Christmas card
business. They develop a budget, set
prices, make the cards, advertise and sell
them. The kids run the business and
donate the profits to the school. I love
to see them learn what it's all about.
Sometimes I can tell, from their eyes,
the exact moment they understand
something for the first time. It really
is like a light bulb goes on. I feel the
impact we're having, and I love that."
SarahKopischke'05
E-ScholarPlansa Business
By Jean Scoon
Entrepreneur!
You wake up one morning with no
money and a great idea for a business.
Next day you're living in Silicon Valley or
Hong Kong with a fat bank account.
Right?
Wrong, says Eric Rego '06, junior
biology major and E-Scholar. "I know
how tough it can be. Success or failure
is all up to you when you start your
own business. I may be working a lot
of IS-hour days, and I don't expect
to get rich quick.
"But the possible rewards are
worth it, to me. I want to
control my own sitUation,
even if it means stress and
long hours. I do want to
make good money, too,
but money isn't my sole
motivator."
Rego is one of twelve
stUdents selected through a
competitive application
process to participate in the E-Scholar
program sponsored by the
McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship.
As far as he's concerned, it is a marriage
made in heaven.
"This is the most rewarding program
I've been a part of in college. It is so
hands-on. We're doing exactly what we're
studying. We're actUally designing a real
venture," he says, as if he still can't
believe a college class can be so relevant
to his ambitions.
EricRego'06
13
The class is "Creating World Class
Ventures," in which teams ofE-Scholars
design and prepare feasibility stUdies for
new ventures. Rego and teammates have
designed Collegeville Carpet, a company
that would offer custom-fit dorm
carpeting to students for the same or
lower prices than they pay for standard-ized
carpeting now. Along with other E-Scholar
ventures, it got the go-ahead at a
presentation to management faculty and
may be implemented later in the
program.
On his own, Rego has been analyzing
another possibility, which draws on his
interest in both biology and business:
private mosquito control. "I've learned
that entrepreneurs are good trend-spotters.
They see changes coming before
others do. This could be one of those
things. Most people don't realize it yet,
but it's possible to have a private com-pany
spray your property for mosquitoes.
"I have a product that I know works,
because I've done test spraying at my
house. It is safe and effective. But there are
lots of other factors to consider, like
insurance and legal fees. Terri Barreiro,
director of the McNeely Center, has been
reallygreat- helpingme to plan, to
understand the steps I need to take. Once
I do a feasibility stUdy,I'll have a better
idea of whether or not to go ahead with it.
"I may not be able to start my own
company anytime soon, but I know that
I will do it. It's definitely in my future."
_JOO-K5-
--- -- - - - -----
THESTORYBEHINDTHESTORIES:
The Making of The Saint John'sBible
By Margaret Patridge
"What does it mean?" is a question
often heard from someone viewing a
work of art.
In the case of The Saint John's Bible,
there are many interpretations.
A team of artists and theologians from
Saint John's, known as the Committee on
Illumination and Text (CIT), guided
artistic director Donald Jackson in the
selection and interpretation of Bible
passages for illumination. Plus, they
asked for input from religious leaders
from a diverse range of traditions. .
"I hope some of the emotion that we
have collectively managed to put into the
Bible will touch the hearts and emotions
of those people who look at what we put
onto the pages," said
Donald Jackson,
calligrapher and
illuminator of The Saint
John's Bible.
Now, in conjunction
with the national
touring exhibition
debut at The Minne-apolis
Institute of Arts
(April 10 - July 3, 2005), Donald
Jackson and Saint John's Abbey and
University introduce new ways to bring
this work of art into everyday life for
your own interpretation. Gospelsand Acts
(a reproduction of one of the seven
volumes of The Saint John's Bible), prints
of individual illuminations and of the
handwritten pages, and a book on the
making of the Bible entitled Illuminating
the Word are all now available.
Illuminating the Word' The Making of
The Saint John's Bible reveals the working
process behind this tremendous under-taking
and vividly brings to life the
challenges and triumphs, and the stories
and symbols behind many of the
-- -
illuminations.
Author Christopher Calderhead, a
graphic designer, and visual artist with a
master's degree in Divinity, describes the
tools and materials and explores the
chal.lenge of.creating new images for
ancient stones.
The illuminations incorporate
symbols as diverse as Navajo basket-weaving
patterns, microscopic views of
today's viruses, even cosmological images
inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope
(see sidebar). The imagery captivates
those who see it.
"If you take time to look carefully at
these illuminations, it will bring to you a
deeper interpretation of the text.
Sometimes people
detect visual
metaphors that
make the artist
smile: things he
hadn't consciously
intended but make
Forinformationontheexhibition,goto www.artsmia.org
14
complete sense,"
said Tim Ternes,
director of educa-
tion at Hill Museum & Manuscript
Library at Saint John's University, home
of The Saint John's Bible.
The Hill Museum & Manuscript
Library collection is focused on creative
works that demonstrate how humans
expressthe sacred, "from one of the
world's largest collections of manuscript
copies, to rare books, to prints by Picasso
and Chagall on religious subjects, to
abstract works meant to inspire spiritUal
reflection, and this: the creation of a new
illuminated Bible for the modern era,"
said HMML director Columba Stewart
OSB.
The Bible will be used in litUrgy as
well as be available for viewing by
visitors. Group tours can be scheduled
by calling (320) 363-3351. Drop in
visitors are always welcome. For more
information go to:
www.saintjohnsbible.org.
The Saint John's Bible and Illuminat-ing
the Word were commissioned by
Saint John's Abbey and University as
an expression of the Benedictine
monks' daily focus on scripture and
commitment to books, art and religious
culture. The Saint John's Bible will be
published in seven volumes including
Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom
Literature, Psalms, Prophets, Gospels
and Acts and Letters and Revelation.
To order books, call 1-800-858-5450
or visit www.litpress.org
To order prints of illuminations, call
1-800-654-0467
15
BOOKS
The New York Times Book Review called Jon Hassler '55 "a writer good enough to restore your faith in fiction." The
SJU Regent's professor emeritus is the author of 1.1novels, two short story collections and two non-fiction books, and,
last November, returned to the fictional town of Staggerford in The Staggerftrd Murders. The book's two novellas revisit the
beloved fictional town of Staggerford, featured in Staggerftrd, Dear James, GreenJourney and Staggerftrd Flood The Staggerftrd
.Murders resolves an old murder and disappearance mystery, while The Lift and Death of Nancy Clancy'sNephew is a birtersweet
tale about earthly redemption.
To celebrate the publication of Hassler's new book as well as his legacy at CSB/SJU, the Clemens and Alcuin Libraries will
exhibit a collection of the author's papers and some of his water color paintings, March 24 through April 18. As part of the
festivities, he will be honored at the English senior dinner, with readings by faculty and stUdents.
Two long-time friends and colleagues also have wrirten about Hassler for these pages - the first, by Lee Hanley; remembers
Hassler's connectionS"with Saint John's, and the second, a letter from a Staggerford character, Agatha McGee, written by
English professor Charles Thornbury.
JON HASSLER: How He Came; How He Stayed; How He Left
By Lee Hanley '58
It seemed a flurry of success by alumni
writers. I was editor of the Saint John's
magazine late in the 70s when, in a
period of about two weeks, I received
notices from three publishers that novels
by three alumni were about to be
released. It struck me as possibly an
interesting feature for the magazine and I
asked Bob Spaeth '59, then Saint John's
Academic Dean, if he would consider
writing it. (Bob had a reputation for
finding it very difficult- perhaps
impossible - to tUrn down any invitation
to put pen to paper!)
He agreed, of course, and a few days
later invited me to join him to drive to
Brainerd for a luncheon interview with
Jon Hassler '55, one of the three novel-ists.
Jon was a faculty member at
Brainerd State College. It was the
beginning of a lifelong friendship for the
three of us.
A few months later word came to Saint
John's that Hassler had been awarded a
prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship to
pursue a year of writing with a reduced
academic load. Almost immediately Dean
Spaeth received a telephone call from
another alumnus, John Brandl, then a
professor at the Hubert Humphrey
Institute in Minneapolis. Brandl urged
Spaeth to invite Jon to spend his
Guggenheim year at Saint John's. The
invitation was extended, accepted and Jon
arrived on campus in the fall of 1979 for a
one-year stay in which he was to combine
teaching and writing.
Late one afternoon during the
following spring Dean Spaeth strode
stocking-footed into my office, shut the
door, sat down and pushed his glasses to
the top of his head. He was clearly
distressed. "Hanley," he began, "I just
came out of a meeting I scheduled with
Hassler to review his year on campus." It
seemed to me that was little cause for the
expression on the Dean's face. There was
no question it had been a good year for
Jon and Saint John's. "We're in deep
#%&%*," he continued, shaking his
head. "He says he's not going to leave. I
don't know what the hell I'm going to do.
There's no opening in the English
Department and we certainly don't have
any money to pay him."
Fortunately the Dean found a way to
16
shape a writer-in-residence position and
Jon Hassler remained for 18 years
teaching a variety of popular courses in
the English Department, including an
always-sold-out course on Minnesota
writers. In addition, he continued his
prolific writing career with a series of
successful novels, novellas, short stories
and plays.
In January, 1997, I was counting down
the days to my retirement when I met
Jon in the hallway one day. "I hear you've
decided to retire," he began. "Yes," I
replied, "I'm out of here in June." Then,
standing at an intersection in the
Quadrangle, he began to ask me a series
of questions about, for example, how I
arrived at my decision; how I thought I
could combine Social Security and the
Saint John's pension package to remain
financially solvent; and how the health
plan functioned for retirees. After I
answered his questions, as best I could in
such a casual conversation, Jon paused
for a moment, staring at the floor.
Suddenly he looked up and said, "I'm
going to do it too." And he did. We
retired together a few months later.
130 KS
DearJon,
I've never written a "Dear John" letter. Maybe I considered
one to Fr. James and came very close to sending a "Dear Jane"
missive (or was it a missile?) to Imogene Kite. But this letter is
not aboUt parting; it's about some of myoId-fashion ideas of
what's most important.
I've suffered a little slippage of late (it was 14 below last night
and my joints are offended), and so I have asked my friend
Charles Thornbury to take down my New Year'sletter to you.
You'verecorded so many of my foibles and quirks that I thought
I'd give someone else a go at recording my judgment of you.
My judgment is usually clear, but my heart sometimes looks
through a glass darkly. That's as is should be, I guess, or, is it the
way it is? The heart is cunning, slows us down when we need it
and speeds us up whether we want it to or not. You and I agree
on so many things that I sometimes don't know who thought of
what first. I'll put it this way, I may be old, but I am currently
holding the present attitude. As I told you in 1977, "Old
attitudes are not necessarily bad attitudes."
There are good people in the world, and there are bad people.
But there are mostly in-between people (a good thing in a way,
but I wish they wouldn't sit on the fence). You were one of the
lucky ones. You once wrote that you "looked out and saw the
world from the secUtity of that all-important cocoon of goodness,
my parents' love." The goodness took; we're all glad for that in
knowing you and in living in your novels.
So here's myoId attitude about you and your work. I don't
know that I could do better than mention the titles of your
novels. I've always been proud that you pUt our little town of
Staggerford on the map in your first novel. Like Plainview and
Rookery, it's a good little town when the Goths and Visigoths
aren't at the gates. You're mostly right aboUt the town: there is
the night - "lovely, dark, and deep" Frost says of the woods on a
winter evening - whether it is Simon's in Rookery or Beverly's
in Staggerford; there are green journeys and love hunters and
I've known both. You seem to wander between a little north of
hope and a little south of a grand opening. You "make good
people interesting" one reviewer said. InsightfUl I think. As for
the man who wrote the novels, I can only say little wonder, little
wonder.
I have fewer than 100 words of space left for this letter, and I
want to ask you a question. Is it true that when you were a
student at Saint John's you recited Chaucer's Prologue to The
Canterbury Ttzlesto Fr. Alfred Deutsch in the men's room as you
two were standing side by side, well, relieving yourselves? I am
told that Fr. Alfred told the class that they could recite the
Prologue at any time. I appreciate that there's something
Chaucerian about the moment you chose to recite, bUt that
would never happen in my class.
We all have our lapses. I've learned more than once to
forgive. You're a good man, and I'm proud to call you my
friend.
Yours with admiration and affection,
Agatha McGee
17
J
.ttE.WSOF CSB/SJU
Inauguration ofMaryAnn Baenninger,
14thPresident oftheCollegeofSaintBenedict
The inauguration of a new president is a significant mile-stone
in the history of a college. It marks the beginning of a
new era, drawing meaning from the past while also setting the
path for the future, important both to the institution and to
the new leader.
The installation ceremony for Dr. MaryAnn Baenninger,
14th president of the College of Saint Benedict, will take place
on Friday, April 22, 2005, at 4:30 p.m. It is the formal
beginning of the new presidency and a celebration of the
intellectual mission of the college. It is also the culmination of
a weeklong celebration that includes lectures, performances,
panel discussions and other celebratory events, with opportu-nities
for the CSB/S]U campuses, the wider community,
alumnae and colleagues in higher education to participate.
The theme Baenninger has chosen for the inauguration is
inspired by a song written by Pete Seeger and movingly
performed by the late blues singer Eva Cassidy. "Oh, Had I a
Golden Thread" is a simple song that deals in profound
themes - peace, brotherhood, love, transcendence and
redemption.
"And above all, it is about the important thread that
connects us on an individual level," Baenninger says. "I believe
that the connections we forge with each other are the source of
our personal development and learning, the root of our
happiness, and our best hope for peace."
Global themes are central to the inaugural celebration,
Baenninger says. "Because it is only by relating to those who
are different from us, whether living next door or half the
world away, that we can expand our hearts and minds to develop fully
and realize our greatest potential. This principle has deep, lifetime
importance to me and-is central to the mission of the college and its
historic Benedictine roots."
For more information about Inauguration Week events, please visit
www.csbsju.edu/csbinauguration.
18
MarkConwayReceives
Gerald Cable Book Award
for Poetry Collection
Mark Conway '74, director of the
Literary Arts Institute at CSB and Project
Logos:The Center for Creative Writing
at SJU, has been awarded the Gerald
Cable Book Award for his book, Any
Holy City. This prize is awarded annually
to a manuscript of original poetry by an
author who has not yet published a full-length
collection. The Gerald Cable
Book Award is sponsored by Silverfish
Review Press. Any Holy City will be
published in March 2005.
Conway's poems have appeared in
The ParisReview, Ploughshares,Harvard
Review and numerous other publications.
He recently was the recipient of a
McKnight Foundation Artists' Fellow-ship
for Writers
and was the
winner in the
Aldrich Poetry
Competition
and the Grolier
Poetry Prize
competItIon.
He is a 1974
graduate of
Saint John's
University and received his master of fine
arts from Bennington College.
The Gerald Cable Book Award was
established in 1983. Past winners of the
competition include Ann Townsend,
James Hoch and Jessica Greenbaum.
l\