David Dickes, C'76

Director of Alumni Relations

Roncalli Center 106

Office: 605.668.4020|Cell: 605.366.2232
david.dickes@mtmc.edu

www.mtmc.edu

Interim President Dr.Tom Lorang announced that Mount Marty College has seen an increase in enrollment this fall among members of the freshman class and incoming transfer students. The ten percent increase in incoming freshman this year to one hundred six students and an eight percent increase in transfer students is great news for the school because the numbers were above the college's recruitment goals. The new students that make up the class of 2018 come from two countries and ten different states.

Vice President of Admissions and Marketing, Paula Tacke, was proud of the results. "Any time you see an increase it is a win, but to have a double digit increase - that is something to be proud of. The fact that we are bringing in students from farther away proves that we have something very valuable to offer." She added that excellent academics, dedicated faculty, and their Catholic Benedictine values are the keys in this success.

Dr. Lorang says more great news for MMC came recently as the school has been identified by Washington Monthly as number sixty nationally among baccalaureate colleges for "Best Bang for the Buck", based on the economic value students receive per dollar spent on their education. Mount Marty College is the only South Dakota institution of higher education in its' category and the second year in a row to receive the honor. 

Alumni News
 
Mary Pistulka, C'75
Mary (Korger) Pistulka, RN for Yankton's Avera at Home, has been named one of the top 10 finalists in the running for the National Association for Home Care (NAHC) and Hospice Nurse of the Year for 2014. She is the only South Dakota nominee this year.

Though Mary Pistulka has worked at Avera at Home as a hospice nurse for 26 years, she believes she is still a student. "The patients always teach me more than I teach them," she said. " What I learned the most from them is to appreciate my life and my health and to recognize that family, faith and friends are what matter." At Avera, Pistulka has been a lead nurse for the hospice program by meeting with physicians and people in nursing homes so they really understand what hospice is all about.

The public is invited to visit NAHC's website to vote for this year's winner. To vote for Mary Pistulka, go to www.nahc.org and find the 2014 Nurses of the year link under the consumers tab or go to:

www.nahc.org/consumer-information/2014-nurse-of-the-year-nominees.

(for more on this story, click yankton.net)

 
Paul Ebmeier, C'87
Paul Ebmeier, previous regional president and CEO of Avera St. Mary's Hospital in Pierre, SD, has accepted a leadership position with Avera Medical Group in Sioux Falls as the Vice President of Strategy.  Ebmeier has held

previous leadership positions in Omaha and Denver as well. 
  

Sioux Falls Diocese's 125th Anniversary Starts at MMC 
Bishop Paul Swain just returned last Thursday afternoon from a pilgrimage to Abbott Martin Marty's monastery and other sites in Switzerland as well attending Pope Francis' weekly Mass at the Vatican and showed no signs of jet lag as he celebrated Mass on Friday morning on the Mount Marty College campus.

The Mass kicked off the year long celebration of the 125th anniversary for the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls and commemoration of the death of the first Bishop of South Dakota, Bishop Martin Marty. An estimated 750 people attended the 90-minute Mass at Cimpl Arena.

Bishop Marty displayed courage in his evangelization work and striking out against injustice, Swain said. Bishop Marty worked extensively with the Benedictines, both the monks and the sisters. The Benedictine Sisters have played a major role not only in Yankton, but throughout the diocese. The

Sisters have touched many lives through education and healthcare, Bishop Swain said.

The 125th anniversary offers valuable lessons, he added. "We are reflecting on the past to avoid the errors of yesterday, to keep perspective today and to build a better tomorrow."

The Mass was followed by a program featuring Christian speaker/entertainer Chris Padgett, originally from Chamberlain, and an outdoor picnic lunch as well as exhibit booths and special historic tours. The year-long 125th anniversary celebration will continue, including Masses and other events around the diocese and will conclude next August with a three day celebration in Sioux Falls.

(for more on this story, click yankton.net)

(for more information on 125th anniversary,click here)

Alum Spotlight
 
Deb Fischer-Clemens, C'77
Coming from Parkston, SD and growing up on a farm, Deb wanted to be close to home and at a small college. She had attended Catholic grade school and so the influence of the sisters was still significant.  She knew she wanted to be a nurse and Mount Marty College had a well demonstrated reputation with the program.

Deb did not know it then, but quickly learned, that basic anatomy and physiology was the key to all future learning in the nursing program. Sr. Maureen Diggins and Dr. Jim Rasmussen were inspiring for their enthusiasm for teaching anatomy and biology. They inspired Deb to question and learn as much as possible which carried over into her professional as well as personal life. She graduated from Mount Marty College in 1977 with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. She also holds a Master's Degree in Health Services Administration from the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.

In looking back at her time at MMC, Deb's most memorable experiences are the lifelong friendships that she developed. As she states, "we studied hard, but played hard as well. Not only did we students develop strong friendships, but our parents maintained friendships with each other. We continue those relationships today, across states, through marriages, deaths, births, children's graduations and marriages. It was truly a time to establish lasting friends."

(for more on this story, click here)

Everything about Really Happy, Jim Reese's just published third full-length collection of poetry, is ordinary - focused on life all around us. But out of this ordinary, the humanity of each of his characters comes to life, each craftily spun by Reese in perfect Midwestern tone and tenor, making these saints and sinners feel like family members. This familiarity, this elevation that Reese creates, making the ordinary extraordinary, will leave the reader feeling right at home, and Really Happy.

(read more)

Upcoming Alumni Events

The Mount Marty College and Benedictine Communities are saddened by the deaths of a former Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Peter Maldonado and Sr. Marie Kranz OSB.

Peter Maldonado, 79, died at the Urbandale Health Care Center on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. Burial will be at Prince of Peace Cemetery, Pine Grove, Wisconsin at a later date. For nearly seventy years, Peter devoted his life to either going to school or working toward and earning several degrees: B.S., M.S., PhD, MBA and CPA. For fourteen years he was an associate professor of chemistry at MMC and for twenty-two years, he was an associate professor of business at the University of South Dakota and the University of Findlay, Findlay, OH.

(for more on his obituary, click here)

Sr. Marie Kranz OSB, 94, died in the Sacred Heart Monastery Care Center on Monday, September 15, 2014. Sr. Marie spent her life teaching in Hartington, NE, O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, Mount Marty High School, and Mount Marty College. While at Mount Marty College, she was appointed Director of the Learning Center. Here she was especially attentive to Native American students and those from foreign countries.  Even after retiring from MMC, she tutored international students as she was able.

(for more on her obituary, click here)

Alumni Job Postings

From: Estelle Johnson, MMC Career Planning and Placement

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) Physics Department invites applications for a post-doctoral research scientist position  with its underground experimental underground physics group, working as part of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (Super CDMS), AARM, and LZ collaborations. Also, SDSM&T invites applications for a Research Scientist IV-Chemistry and Applied Biological Sciences.

Qualifications: both jobs on website

Website:

  http://www.sdsmt.edu/employment

Questions can be directed to:

  Nancy L. Feiler

  HR Generalist, Human Resources

  Phone: (605) 394-1203

  E-mail: nancy.feiler@sdsmt.edu