Borofsky Chosen as Dakota State University President

Just came from the meeting where the SD BOR announced that they were finished searching for a new president for DSU:  

MADISON, S.D. – David B. Borofsky, interim president at Dakota State University since February, has been chosen by the South Dakota Board of Regents to become the 22nd president of the university. The board took action on the permanent appointment at a special meeting today on the Madison campus.

He succeeds Douglas Knowlton, who left the South Dakota public university system earlier this year for a higher education position in Minnesota. “President Borofsky has done an outstanding job at Dakota State during this interim,” said Regents President Kathryn Johnson. “We crafted a series of expectations for him as interim president and he has far exceeded those. He has excelled at building relationships between the campus and the Madison community and at raising private funds for the university,” Johnson said.

“President Borofsky has been building a positive momentum for Dakota State University, and no one wanted to break that momentum,” she said. “I am excited to be named permanent president of Dakota State University,” Borofsky said. “I am impressed with the university faculty and staff and their commitment to quality education and superior service for our students, as well as to the success of Madison,” he said. “The Madison community has extended a warm and inclusive welcome and has been open to new ideas and change. I look forward to serving DSU and Madison for years to come.”

While the Board of Regents initially said Borofsky would not be a candidate for the permanent president’s position, Johnson said the board reconsidered and “responded to a groundswell of support from the campus and community.” She noted that Borofsky had been chosen for the interim position after a competitive interim search process that involved multiple candidates and applicant interviews.

Borofsky previously served as provost and chief academic officer of Westwood College, a for-profit college with 18 physical locations in six states. His resume also includes time as president of Bates Technical College (Wash.) and as a vice president and dean at Colorado Mountain College. He has served communities as a member and president of the local Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, as well as working with the United Way and a variety of economic development organizations.

His passion is working with local communities to help spur economic development and interest and growth in the arts and culture. Since coming to Madison, Borofsky has become a member of the Madison Rotary Club, is a board member of the Lake Area Improvement Corp., and has been an active member of the Madison Community Center. He also serves on the Mundt Foundation’s board of directors. Borofsky holds a doctorate degree in educational administration and supervision from Rutgers University (N.J.) and a master of education degree and B.S. degree in psychology, both from Springfield College (Mass.). His family includes his wife, Mady, and a daughter, Alexis, who lives in Portland, Ore.

So,  congratulations to Dr. Borofsky, and we hope for a great relationship with him as we move forward at DSU.  

George McGovern Gets Peace

George McGovern and me in Mitchell, June 2008, at the Obama Rally.

George McGovern was my introduction to politics when he was running for President of the United States in 1972 and I was a high school student.  I knew little about government or politics but became engaged about some of the issues as our native son became the Democratic candidate for President.  He stood then, as he always was, as the candidate for peace.  His passion and commitment to that cause was always tempered by kindness and compassion, and he lived with a dedication to peace all of his life.  I take great pleasure in having crossed paths with him; his brand of leadership is something we can all aspire to and hope for in our elected officials. 

DSU Announcement Monday

Friday afternoon is not a friendly time for getting information out to employees, so it's an odd time for South Dakota Board of Regents head to send out the following message to the DSU campus:

Dear Dakota State University Community, The South Dakota Board of Regents will meet Monday, October 22, 2012, at 10 a.m. (Central Daylight Time) in the Straatmeyer Auditorium of the Tunheim Classroom Building (TCB 203) on the campus of Dakota State University for an announcement regarding the presidential search at DSU. Immediately following the regents’ meeting, at this same location, a campus-community forum will be held.

More contact information, but no additional hints, are provided on the Board of Regents website here:  http://sdbor.edu/documents/101912Advisory.pdf. 

Looking back through previous news releases, I see the meeting is in keeping with the timeline set for the search when Dr. Doug Knowlton stepped down as DSU head and Dr. David Borofsky was appointed interim president.  Announced in December of last year, the press release states, "The search process will launch officially in October 2012, once the new academic year is under way."  So the meeting may be simply to reveal the job description and indicate the rest of the search timeline.

Meanwhile, the search for a president for SD School of Mines is under way, with committee members chosen. 

Stephen Colbert's Investigative Reporting Uncovers Corn Palace Nightmare

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My friend TQ informed me of this amaizing story.

We Live in a Strange World

Today Felix Baumgartner rode a capsule into the sky, buoyed by a helium-filled balloon, up 25 miles into the very thin atmosphere, and then he stepped out and began the long, four-minute fall to earth, when he unfurled his parachute and stepped back onto solid ground.  He was falling, for a time, at over 800 miles per hour in his little space suit, looking like someone out of "2001 A Space Odyssey."  I'm not sure what we learn from such feats, even thinking of a man moving faster than the speed of sound, any more than people a century ago trying to figure out how to survive a leap over Niagara Falls. But learn we do, and we keep moving on, discovering new territory.
Others have tried such feats of altitude.  A note came in today from the alumni people at St. Mary of the Plains College, where I used to teach, that an alumnus there, Nick Piantanida, made his own attempt in 1966, which ended in his death four months later.  He had made other attempts, from early in life to this final dive, to challenge the gravitational field--not bad for a truck driver.  You can read more about that 1966 attempt in the article linked above.
The real tragic stories, though, are the failure not of an individual, but of a people.  I can't help shake the sense that it's just wrong to put a person to death for crimes they have committed.  About 24 hours from now, the State of South Dakota will put Eric Roberts to death.  I almost wrote "will kill Eric Roberts."  Same thing?  Sounds worse, doesn't it?  Roberts is a convicted murder and rapist.  He'll come to earth too, in his own way.  His death will bring some closure to the families of his victims, perhaps.  I hope so, because all South Dakotans share in the responsibility for what will now happen to Roberts.
Too bad these events are oddly linked in my thoughts; the triumph of Mr. Baumgartner is remarkable and inspiring, and his success is to be celebrated.  Congratulations, Felix.

Putting On The Hat and Animation

Interesting recording of the singer John Reuben confronting his animators about a change he has in mind for an animated video they've been working on for several months.  Having taken to wearing hats, Reuben suggests that the cartoon character of him wear a hat.  "It's just semantics," he says, thinking that putting a hat on the thousands of frames of him is as simple as putting on and taking off his hat, which he demonstrates for the animators.  Hat on, hat off.  Easy.  So, here's the interview as the video is in progress (which I can't help thinking is a bit of a setup), and then the music video "Word of Mouth."  Hat? No hat?  See for yourself. The confrontation: The resulting video:

Craigslist Warning Light

Who looks at a bike like this and says, "I want it!" ??

I've got a friend who's convinced that I need to buy another motorcycle and fix it up.  I'm not sure he remembers that the last couple have not panned out.  But he seems to be having as much fun searching for me as I sometimes do myself, looking for two-hundred-dollar bikes that need my lovin'.  But I just sold an old 1982 Kawasaki Spectre 750 (see pic) for half what I paid for it after I had worked on it and tried to get it to go.  And a little Vespa moped is sitting in the garage waiting for my magic touch.
So, I told him my Craigslist warning light was on.  Blinking.  Alarms will sound.  I'm not buying another motorcycle after I've put the storm windows on.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Not Running

My daughter, her man, and her daughter live only a few blocks from Mile 14 on the Twin Cities Marathon course, where the flag marking that milestone is right across the street from an aromatic coffee and doughnut shop.  Because of my injured foot, I decided, late on Saturday evening, that there would be no marathon for me--no run, no medal, no finisher t-shirt.  And no regrets. 

Christopher Kipyego wins the TCM--from Star Tribune

It was fun to watch the runners come by; I'd never seen the front runners on the course before, and they were clicking along like clockwork, finishing in 2:14 for the men, 2:32 for the women.
I've been reading Haruki Murakami's book on running.  He's the author of several works of fiction, and although I have enjoyed them, this one seemed self-indulgent and meandering in a way that I didn't care for, but it kept my interest well enough to finish.  He deals with his own injuries in the book. 
On the drive back from dropping off the pooch for care while we were gone, we had a surprise when a coyote dashed out of the ditch and got clipped by the front of our car (knocked out the fog light!).  He wasn't to be seen afterwards, so his injury was not fatal, at least not instantly.  But his running certainly would be hampered.  I hadn't seen a coyote for a long time. 
It's been tough to deal with the injury to my foot; I didn't think too much of it the day it happened, out on a last long run two weeks before the marathon.  But as my foot rolled, something popped, and it had me instantly worried, but it didn't seem too bad.  And there were no real lingering effects.  But then another run and some time on my feet out in the garage seemed to bring it back a week later.  It's been hurting since, but getting better. 
Still, a short jog along Lake Hiawatha and the after-effects of that seemed to say, "don't run."  So I didn't.
But the trip was a good one, and we got to see the growing little granddaughter, a real peach.  The weather was good, and we enjoyed some good company and a little fun shopping.  Then, as usual, we made a stop at the cool apple place on highway 169 and picked up some tasty root beer. 

Two good root beers.  My Dang! was better.

So, when we talk, we can talk about all that, and not so much the not running. 

A Cold Slap in the Back Yard

We've been enjoying beautiful fall weather here in Madison, South Dakota, but today took a change for the colder, bringing wind and a temperature that will stay in the 40's or 50's today, thirty or more degrees below the highs over the past few days.

The wind has convinced many of the leaves that have been decorating our aerial views to now move on to more earthy things.

Twin Cities Marathon Prep (and Electronic Tracker Service!)

This fall I'm in the ring again for the annual Twin Cities Marathon, hoping to survive the race again.  It's not looking great this year due, once again, to a mishap shortly before the race.  On my last good Sunday run, on September 30, I twisted my left foot and heard a pop as I navigated the gravel road just south of our house.  I gingerly kept moving, noting the degree of pain there, and decided it wasn't bad, so I kept going for about a ten-miler, out to Johnson's Point on Lake Madison and back.  For several days I could tell there was something there in my foot, but it didn't really hurt.  The following Thursday I took a good run out at Lake Herman, feeling good and fast, no pain.  Then Thursday night as I was in the garage, it started to ache, so I came in and got off of it, but it's hurt since, but getting gradually better.  So, we'll see.

In the meantime, I've been checking out the web site for the marathon, and it seems they've put in place a tracking and notification system for runner fans to get updates on their runner(s).  The system will not only send a text when the runner passes a tracking point; it will also predict when the runner will get to the next spot.  So,  IF I manage to heal up sufficiently to toe the starting line, I can look forward to broadcasting my progress as I go along.  See the video above for an overview of the service.

Where We're Headed

I'm preparing students for an essay on popular culture, and I ran into this cool vision of the future of electronic gadgetry meets dating.

Heartstrings

I liked this little stop-motion love story.

Harvest Time

It's that time of the year when gardens are bursting with produce, especially tomatoes at our house, and the wife has been bravely facing the perils of harvesting into the darkening hours.  Just last night she made a haul that filled several cake pans, bowls, and soup pots.  Take a gander at that tomato harvest!  Peppers large and small are coming in, and the one big tomatio plant is threatening to take over the yard, with its long reach adorned with its fruit on the make.   

Raspberries galore

Peppers small and large

Tomato invasion

We were also able to score quite a haul of raspberries from a friend's garden while she was away (with permission, of course).  So now the wife has set herself a task of preserving this haul, using a borrowed juicer, our dandy stove, a kitchen, her pots and pans, and her many wily ways. 

All this while we're also into the first weeks of classes AND cleaning up a mess that our deadbeat renters made before they skipped out. 

Those raspberries, though, should put new life into both of us. 

This is Ground Control to Neil Armstrong

To a twelve-year old space nut, Neil Armstrong's setting foot onto the moon was a giant leap.  He made us all believe we were going there. I was one of those with a new smart line, "What do you think I am, an astronaut?"  We all talked about astronauts, from adolescent girls to old men, we saw the moon differently and were lifted by the possibility of our walking there, bouncing from one place to another like giant wingless birds.  The moon was our new back yard, a place where we would soon be setting up camps, driving dune buggies in our space suits.

Like many kids, I hung posters of the astronauts on my bedroom wall, watched all I could of the launches, landings, space-walks, maneuvers, returns to earth.  I built a Mercury rocket, then an Apollo, I built the moon lander, gluing the tiny little struts to the feet, painting the rocket cone, and sliding the decals to the right locations on my finished product.  I had relatives that worked at Cape Canaveral, later to become Cape Kennedy, and I pestered them for any kind of space memorabilia they might be able to get their hands on.

But that moment faded, and before long I was turning my attention to less grand hopes, a speedy motorcycle or a cool car.  From time to time that dream of space flight might be inspired again by a song like "Rocket Man," or "Space Oddity," even if the songs did seem to reflect a sad end for their subjects.

Still, hearing that Neil Armstrong has died, it takes me back to that moment where, even for a short time, we all felt like we were walking on the moon.  Thank you, Mr. Armstrong.

Driving on the Other Side

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Some of our travels on the Green Isle.  The map won't let me add another destination, but there were more.  

A Bad Case of Writer's Camp

Having never been to camp as a kid, I didn't know what it might do to a person, but as I described my symptoms to the wife, who spent several summers learning camp songs and tying knots, she said that's what camp does to you--bonding, escape, reverie, general yearning to go back after the end of it all.

That's my case after having returned from Shadowcliff Lodge, in Grand Lake, Colorado, just south of Rocky  Mountain National Park, where the air is fine and the sky is clear, and where the Lighthouse Writers Workshop holds its annual Writers Retreat.  I'd never been on a writer's retreat, either, so it was all new and wonderful and I dived in and felt like a duck IN water.

For six days, from July 15 to July 20, I had an infusion of what writers in South Dakota don't seem to have found the formula for, a few days of learning, sharing, and writing that would lift the top of your skull, make you cry laugh and cry at the same time, and help you realize once again that writing is what people do, and it may seem like magic, but it's work, and craft, and imagination, all stewing in a mental pot.

My circle of friends has grown, and my circle of writer friends has exploded.  Thank you, Lighthouse people.  You rock.

Here's a happy little tidbit from the "top-secret" Lighthouse Blog:

This year the quality of the work was incredible. Each reader wowed and moved the audience. Each piece deserves to be published.

I do not exaggerate here.

Our emcee for the readings is J. Diego Frey, who should go on his own comedy tour. Or maybe fill in for David Letterman next time he’s on vacation. He’s witty and strange and odd and hilarious. (Last year he wore inflatable moose antlers. This year he was costumeless.) The copious humor was needed, as several of the readers—Laurie Sleeper, Martha Scherzer, Meg Nix, John Holley, Jo Harkins, John Nelson, and Laura Bond in particular—left us wrung out. The weeping was prodigious and unrepentant. (Pass the Kleenex people!) Yet each was a story that needs to be told, and we were given a gift in hearing them.

That’s the power of literature and writing, isn’t it? To bring us joy, to bring us to our knees, to bring us together.

I'm happy to be mentioned in such fine company.

Not Done Yet

It's not politics, nor cultural events, nor the weather or appearances of friends and family that lies behind the postings on this blog, kept in play since I began in 2005.  I'm not typically prompted to write as a result of seeing a movie (tonight:  "Kick-Ass," a nice surprise), or people having come here or on their way (DW and son just gone and daughter and family just arriving), or wonderful car trips across the country (hello Boston, meet my BMW).  I don't jump up to make entries at the turn of the weather or an event in the sky.  Or at landmark events like the Supreme Court's ruling on a national health care plan (yay!).

I'm most typically moved by some recognition of a truth or some odd observation, some surprise, some lucky lucky thing that happens across my path, big or small.  Or big and small at the same time, like having someone offer me a big stuffed marlin with its tail in need of repair.  How lucky is that?  Not that I want it, but the idea that I could GIVE it to someone.  Here's that marlin I promised you!  Here's your marlin!  Where shall I put it?

DSU Runners Shine at Nationals

Nick Huntimer, DSU sports information guru, sends an update on the successes of DSU runners at the NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championship.  He notes the success of Nic Penning, Matt Fideler, and Andy Coy, all distance specialists:

MARION, Ind. – Three Dakota State University men's distance runners were in action Saturday at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship at IWU Outdoor Track Complex. The national meet was hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. Two Trojan runners earned their name on the list in the DSU record book.

The Trojans began the day Saturday morning with the men's marathon. In the 54-runner field, Nic Penning (junior – Hulett, Wyo.) recorded a 13th-place finish with a time of two hours, 39 minutes and 22.60 seconds. His time is the fourth fastest time in the DSU record book, only behind former NAIA All-American Chris Heezen in three different occasions. During the race, Penning came from behind, catching 23 runners over the last 15 miles.

Matt Fideler (senior – Volga, S.D.) finished 14th in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase final. He clocked a time of 9:49.45. Fideler concluded his stellar collegiate career as he earned NAIA All-American honors in four different events from indoor and outdoor track. In addition, he was a two-time outdoor track All-Conference runner and had been listed in numerous records in DSU school record book.

In the men's 1500-meter finals, Andy Coy (junior - Hill City, S.D. broke a new DSU school record time of 3:47.66 for a fourth-place finish (previous old mark was set by Tyler Van Peursem in 2009 with a time of 3:50.70). His time was the second fastest 1500-meter run by an athlete at any South Dakotacollege, second only to Jake Schneller from South Dakota State who ran 3:47.33 this year. Coy's time was also less than five seconds off the 2012 Olympic Trails 'B' Standard of 3:43.00 As a result, Coy earned NAIA Outdoor Track & Field All-American honor (his fifth overall NAIA All-American honor in his career at DSU).

The NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship concludes Trojan outdoor track and field season.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Spoorts Information Director

Congratulations Nic, Matt, and Andy on your great seasons and a great finish!

DSU Runners in National Finals

As a runner, I always love to hear about the successes of others, and we've got some young people running like the wind here at DSU.  Here's an update from our sports information guy, Nick Huntimer:

Here's an update with three DSU men's distance runners competing at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field national meet in Marion, Ind.  Congratulations to Andy Coy and Matt Fideler as they ran in the prelims on the first day of the national meet Thursday and advanced to the finals on Saturday.

Coy (junior - Hill City, S.D.) advanced to the men's 1500-meter run finals with a time of 3:59.52.  He placed sixth overall out of 32 runners.  The 1500-meter run finals take place on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)/2:10 p.m. (Central Standard Time).

Fideler (senior - Volga, S.D.) earned a spot in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase finals by recording a fourth-place finish overall in the 23-runner field.  He ran a time of 9:32.10.  The steeplechase finals is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. (EST)/1:20 p.m. (CST).

Nic Penning (junior - Hulett, Wyo.) will be running in the men's marathon on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. (EST)/5 a.m. (CST).

An individual that placed in the finals' top eight will receive NAIA All-American honor.

Fans can follow the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships on live scoring on http://www.cfpitiming.com/2012_Outdoor_Season/NAIA_outdoor_champs_2012/NAIA_championship_2012.htm?DB_OEM_ID=27900.

In addition, Indiana Wesleyan had set up a headquarter website for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships on http://www.iwuwildcats.com/article/2725.php.

Good luck to those three DSU runners on Saturday as they prepare for national meet's finals.

Critiquing Work With a Multimedia Tool

I'm intrigued by the possibilities evident in a tool that I just discovered called CritiqueIt.  It seems to be a useful and intuitive tool for collaborative work, allowing for providing input on documents like word documents or images, maybe even videos, without leaving your browser.  I'm embedding the introductory video here, but if you're interested, you'll have to let me know how it goes.  I may have to try this with my students in the fall.