College of Continuing Education News

New facility management track is a one-of-a-kind in the Midwest

The College of Continuing Education's Construction Management Program unveiled its newest degree track this summer: Facility Management (FM).

"The degree will encompass the complete building lifecycle," says Construction Management faculty member and FM project spearhead Peter Hilger. "It's a cradle-to-grave program; meaning that instead of just looking at the planning of a building (architecture), or the construction of it, students in the FM program will look at everything from the purchasing of real estate to the building's inception/design; from construction and maintenance/recommissioning, all the way to demolition."

The degree is the only one of its kind in the Upper Midwest, and fills a demand for management and leadership training from one of the fastest growing career fields today. Says Hilger, "Building technology is changing rapidly and organizations need to update/replace their outdated infrastructure in a cost-efficient way. There's a big movement toward sustainable and energy-efficient structures. And of course, there's the ever-present issue of maintaining existing facilities. And when you pair that with the statistic that an estimated 50 percent of the existing facility managers will be retiring in the next two decades or so...you have a huge job market that is waiting for educated people who can fill in that knowledge gap."

Quick updates about College programming, staff, alumni, and friends

In this issue: CCE receives prestigious DHS grant; BASc programming changes; and the College celebrates 100 years.

Have something you think is newsy or noteworthy? Send us an e-mail.

Nyoka Giles balances record-setting athletic career with academic excellence

If you asked Trinidad native Nyoka Giles 15 years ago where she saw herself in the future, she might have guessed correctly the part about her running collegiately and pursuing a degree that would allow her to help others. The part about doing both in Minnesota--a place that is the (literal) polar opposite of her homeland, though... that wouldn't likely have been her first thought.

"I had never been to Minnesota before. I didn't even know much about it," Giles (BASc, Manufacturing Technology, 2012) says with a smile. "Coach [Bingle] was visiting Trinidad, saw me at practice, and we got to talking...and that was it."

Despite being recruited by other Division I schools in (decidedly warmer) states like Florida and California, Giles came to Minnesota sight unseen. "The U has some of the top academic programs [in the areas] I was interested in studying, which of course played a role. And Coach and I had such a good connection, so here I am."

U professor melds comic books and quantum physics to teach real-world science principles

Mild-mannered Ph.D. James Kakalios was your normal, everyday physics professor, happily puttering about with normal, everyday physics investigations concerning things like amorphous semiconductors, segregation phenomena in granular media, and fluctuation phenomena in neurological systems.

Or at least he was, until One Fateful Day when a lab accident gone awry transformed him into an adored superhero of untold magnitude: Captain Reachesboredfreshmen! (Insert suitable triumphant fanfare music here)

Okay, not really.

There was never any "puttering about," no fateful lab accidents have occurred, and the good professor does not go cavorting about in tights, a mask, and a cape saving hapless individuals from boring academic treatises. (The bit about the amorphous semiconductors is true, though. Kakalios' research focuses on experimental condensed matter physics.)

U professor and LearningLife instructor strives to give lost and lonely English words a home

"When I die," says Anatoly Liberman, "I would like to have a picture of a heifer inscribed upon my tombstone."

A somewhat peculiar utterance for anyone, but an even stranger one for someone who isn't a farmer, rancher, veterinarian, or in some other way associated with agrarian or bovine-related pursuits.

Liberman is, in fact, a linguist. More specifically (and correctly), he is a philologist--one who studies language in written historical sources; a pursuit that combines literary studies, history, and linguistics. He is also a professor of German, Scandinavian, and Dutch at the University of Minnesota (where he has worked since he emigrated from his native Russia in 1975). And, one day, almost 25 years ago, because of a cow (albeit indirectly), he launched himself headfirst into the massive task of creating an etymological dictionary for the English language, and a bibliography to accompany it.

"It was a chance occasion--I was reading a German book, and there was the word hette (goat). This word, it looked a bit like the word Heiðrún [ed. note: ð is as in th in English this], which is the name of a goat in Scandinavian mythology. It's also a common name in German (spelled Heidrun)--but not in English. At any rate, the origin of the name is not well known. And Heiðrún, the word itself, the origin is not well known.

College of Continuing Education launches new Integrated Behavioral Health Graduate Degree Program

This fall, the College will admit its first cohort in the new 60-credit Master of Professional Studies in Integrated Behavioral Health (MPS-IBH) program. The degree prepares students to hold dual licenses as addictions counselors (LADC) and as mental health counselors (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor/LPCC).

The MPS-IBH will build on the existing Addiction Studies Certificate, with some of the required course work being drawn from the certificate's curriculum. The professional degree is a rigorous, comprehensive pre-service education and clinical application program and includes an 880-hour internship as a requirement for completion.

Says program director Julie Rohovit, "Right now, counselors are typically trained in either mental health or substance abuse disorders. There are very few graduate training programs in the country that address co-occurring disorders in any significant or sustained manner. Some folks may add sequential training to fill in the gaps in their education, but rarely are they getting any sort of integrated education."

Multidisciplinary Studies student Keith Pederson brings a fresh face to public health education

"Just an old lady trying to make a change," is the mantra of a one Mrs. Margie Pederson--a.k.a. Mama P., Mrs. Pederson, and Margie.

The blonde afro bedecked, '70s-era schoolmarmish be-togged alter ego of Multidisciplinary Studies student Keith Pederson, Mrs. Pederson is one of the driving forces behind Keith's degree plan, which focuses on new media and GLBT history and studies.

"I work in the field of public health education, specifically on HIV education. Mrs. Pederson came about back when I was working with the Minnesota AIDS Project doing outreach for younger men. It was volunteer night, and all of these guys were over to make safer sex kits, and we fed them this horrible frozen pizza.

"I realized that we really should be valuing these volunteers more, so the next time, I took the afternoon to make up a huge pile of tater-tot hot dish, and served it up...and lo and behold, Margie was born."

KUOM celebrates 100 years of putting the r-a-d in radio

From farm reports and football games broadcast in Morse code to education for homebound kids during the polio epidemic; from Garrison Keillor's radio roots to being one of the reasons Rolling Stone magazine thinks the U of M rocks... Radio K (KUOM), the award-winning student-run radio station of the University of Minnesota has covered a lot of (widely varied) ground in its 100-year history.

Radio broadcasting at the University of Minnesota began as an experiment in 1912 (and although transmissions were officially suspended during WWI, football games were broadcast in Morse code in 1915). By 1920, programming had resumed, and on January 13, 1922, the U received the first official radio broadcasting license issued for the state of Minnesota (AM 770, call sign WLB; changed to KUOM in 1945). As of today, the station is the 10th oldest still on the air, beating out WHA at the University of Wisconsin Madison by a few hours, and makes Radio K the oldest licensed non-commercial broadcast station in the country.

New professional master's degree helps the best and the brightest build the skills necessary to be leaders in the arts

The brainchild of Sherry Wagner-Henry (director of graduate programs in the College of Continuing Education), the Master of Professional Studies in Arts and Cultural Leadership (ACL) degree is a unique opportunity for working professionals in the Twin Cities to learn, exchange, and develop working solutions that can be applied immediately in the community, through the arts and culture sector.

The program grew out of the College's interdisciplinary Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) degree in response to the demand for more professional master's degree programs, as well as the need for a degree specifically designed for those wanting to lead and manage in arts-related industries (the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs offers a general nonprofit management certificate program, but not one that deals specifically with the arts).

"The Twin Cities is a cultural mecca. We're in an area of the country that prides itself on its strong, supportive arts community, yet we didn't have any type of program that could educate people to become leaders and managers to benefit that community," says Wagner-Henry.

She continues, "Through feasibility study research, I discovered that many of our emerging leaders were headed off to other parts of the country to get graduate-level training. If you're lucky, they come back. But often, they left for good, making a home and an impact in their new community. It makes sense for us to target these people for our graduate program--otherwise we're losing some top talent that could be making their creative community impact here."

Information Technology Infrastructure graduate balances business skills with tech know-how

At the age of eight years old, Josh Dyba fell in love. Or at least in intense fascination. When a friend of his got an Apple II computer, Dyba was instantly intrigued with the new technology and worked diligently to convince his parents he needed one as well.

"After I convinced them to buy one, I did everything I could to self-educate myself on the use--and eventually the programming--of that machine," he says.

And a decade later, when it came time to decide what to do after high school? "Based solely on my fond memories from all the plinking away on that Apple IIe. I decided to join the Navy and go into the Advanced Electronic Computer Field program."

His path led him to "develop a serious professional interest in computers and information security," and after finishing his time in the Navy, Dyba knew it was an ideal time to return to school and complete his college education with a degree in a related field.