The University of Minnesota, Crookston's online degree in business management has been ranked among The Best Colleges list of "Top 10 Online Bachelor of Business Administration Degree Programs of 2011."

The bachelor of science degree in business management was ranked at number five.

The U of M, Crookston offers its bachelor's degree in business management on campus as well as online.  As of fall semester 2011, the campus will offer ten of its nearly thirty degrees online.

Read more.

Approximately 40 students in grades five through eight from the White Earth Reservation who are taking part in the White Earth Academy of Math and Science spent the day at the University of Minnesota, Crookston on Monday, June 27.  In different sessions the students learned about natural resources, financial planning, health careers, and experienced a demonstration of the Informatics and Immersive Visualization Lab.  Now in its thirteenth year, the White Earth Academy of Math and Science is a summer program offered by University of Minnesota Extenion that helps students improve math and science performance, reduce dropout rates, and prepare for careers--while honoring traditional practices and values.

Each summer Crookston Parks and Recreation hosts "Camp Kid" for children in grades 2 through 5. They enjoy a wide range of activities and their adventures engage them in some exciting learning opportunities, like their recent visit to the Natural History Area. It also encourages students to be active. More than 80 kids are expected to participate in the camp this summer.

Upcoming events, made possible by a collaboration with the Center for Adult Learning, include an athletic camp and a Spanish camp.

Photo courtesy of the Crookston Daily Times.

Support University of Minnesota, Crookston student-athletes while practicing your golf swing this summer at the 10th annual Mark Olsonawski Scholarship Golf Tournament held on Thursday, June 23, 2011, at the Two River Golf Club in Hallock, Minn.

The 18 hole, four person scramble will begin with registration at 9 a.m. and tee off at 10 a.m. There will be a $40 entry fee per person and will be limited to the first 90 golfers. Please join us in this scholarship fund-raising event and enjoy the company of UMC alumni, friends, staff, and others from Hallock and the surrounding area.

Contact Bill Tyrrell, director of athletic fundraising for more information.

The Office of the Registrar at the U of M, Crookston recently announced the official list of spring 2011 graduates. Commencement exercises were held on Saturday, May 7, in Lysaker Gymnasium. More than 190 students, including more than 10 international students and some 20 online students, participated in the largest commencement exercises in campus history.

To view the entire list of graduates, read the news story.

If you want to see more photographs of commencement, visit the graduation photo gallery.

Three U of M, Crookston students worked this week to plant the "M" garden at the entrance to the campus. Sophomore Rowenna Fillmore, an animal science major from Lake Nebagamon, Wis., plants flowers alongside her co-workers, Freshman Seth Ricord, Crookston, Minn., and Senior Beth Thomsen, an equine science (pre-vet) major from Mahtowa, Minn.

The garden, featuring the "Block M" of the University of Minnesota for the third consecutive year, will bloom all summer in proud celebration of its U of M roots.

Stop out to visit and see this special garden at the entrance along with all the other beautiful gardens blooming all over campus.

In the photos (l to r): Planting the flowers; adding the maroon mulch; and Rowenna Fillmore, Seth Ricord, and Beth Thomsen in front of the completed U of M, Crookston entrance flowers.

The UMC Teambackers Club is pleased to announce Kari Torkelson, O.D., as the 2011 Teambacker of the Year. Bill Tyrrell, director of athletic fundraising on the Crookston campus presented Dr. Torkelson with her award during Teambacker Fun Nite held in late April.

Torkelson, a member of the Teambackers board, attended the U of M, Crookston from 1989 to 1991 while the campus was still a two-year technical college. She transferred to North Dakota State University, Fargo, and from there transferred to Indiana University, Bloomington, where she completed her bachelor's degree. She went on to complete her doctorate of optometry at Indiana University as well.

Dr. Torkelson is currently an optometrist at Lifetime Vision Center in Grand Forks, N.D.

The Teambackers Club is an athletic promotion and fundraising organization for the U of M, Crookston. It operates in conjunction with the development office, athletic department, and the University of Minnesota Foundation. To learn more about UMC Teambackers, contact Tyrrell at 218-281-8436  or visit www.goldeneaglesports.com/teambackers.

Photo (l to r): Dr. Kari Torkelson and Bill Tyrell

UMC Professors Brian Dingmann and Katy Smith were engaged in research on Wednesday, June 1, with high school students in the River Watch program at the Climax High School. Eleven students are involved in the program, and they spent the day preparing lettuce seeds and earthworms in sediment from the Sand Hill River.

From weighing the sediment samples, taken much earlier, to re-hydrating the sediment for use in the research, the students were actively engaged in this project designed to determine the effects of a nearby dump ground on the river water quality. In the weeks ahead, they will record the germination of the seeds and how the earthworms fare living in the river sediment. The River Watch students are advised by their high school science teacher, Karen Thoreson.

Photos (l to r): Karen Thoreson, Katy Smith with students, sand is prepared, student weighs sediment samples, and Brian Dingmann