Danny Briere to speak at the UMC on Sept. 19

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Global business professional and entrepreneur Danny Briere will be a featured guest speaker on Tuesday, September 19, at noon in the Peterson Classroom, Heritage Hall, at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The event is free and open to the public. Parking in Lot G near the Kiehle Building is encouraged and no parking permits are required.

Briere, a serial entrepreneur, started his own firms and has been involved in advising over 200 organizations in the telecommunications and Internet space. His focus is on leading edge technologies and trends, with a special interest in alternative energy, social networking, social enterprise, education, and kids.

He has also been involved in helping drive entrepreneurship across universities, towns, regions, and states. Briere is CEO of the STEMIE Coalition, a national umbrella organization over dozens of invention and entrepreneurship education programs, and chairman of the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo Organizing Committee. These celebrate youth inventor and entrepreneurs across the U.S. and push invention and entrepreneurship programs into more K-12 schools in America.

Briere has lived and worked globally in more than three dozen countries, including long range stints in Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. he worked with Steve Case (Founder, AOL) and Scott Case (Founder, Priceline) under Obama’s Startup America Partnership to lead job growth and startup initiatives in Connecticut as the head of Startup Connecticut, and worked with the State of Connecticut and University of Connecticut on entrepreneurship and innovation programming, working with a number of non-profits, and helping advise and launch new companies in the mobile, social networking, and education spaces.

Miss America 2006 Tara Conner to Speak at UMC

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Tara Conner was crowned Miss America in April 2006 and began traveling the country and the world. By December of that same year, Connor was sent to Caron Treatment Center when she tested positive for cocaine. Her struggle and how she achieved sobriety will be the topic of a presentation on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Conner will speak at 7 p.m. in Kiehle Auditorium and highlights National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week on the Crookston campus. The event is free and open to the public; no parking permits required.

After Conner’s very public struggle with addiction, she became a public advocacy consultant for the Caron Treatment Centers. She has shared her experience with audiences all over the United States in order to raise awareness that addiction is a disease, and that many people who have struggled with this disease can go on to lead healthy, productive lives in recovery. For more on Conner, visit http://taraconner.net.

Conner’s visit to the U of M Crookston is sponsored by RiverView Health Recovery Center, Crookston Police Auxiliary Association, and several groups on the Crookston campus including the Chancellor’s Office; Residential Life; Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD); Student Programming and Activities for Campus Entertainment (SPACE); the Honors Program; and Career and Counseling Services.

UMC Commencement on Saturday, May 9, 2015

CROOKSTON, Minn. – Entrepreneur David G. Ekman will address the University of Minnesota Crookston Class of 2015 during commencement exercises on Saturday, May 9, 2015. Graduates will take part in the ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. in Lysaker Gymnasium. All are welcome to attend.

Ekman, a 1981 graduate of the U of M Crookston, grew up in Argyle, Minn., and has more than 30 years of business experience. During his time at the U of M Crookston, he played college basketball, served as student senate president, and earned his associates degree in agricultural business management. While attending North Dakota State University and majoring in agricultural economics, Ekman started in the computer business by purchasing a ComputerLand franchise at the age of 20. This began a series of business ventures including a technology company, an internet service provider, a travel agency, hotel development and investment, a self-storage business, and various real estate projects.

He recently retired as the CIO of Multiband Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed field services company with more than 3,000 employees which he helped start.  He serves on various boards and committees, including the Campus Advisory and Advancement Board for the Crookston campus, and stays active in his many business dealings. Ekman and his wife, Paula, reside in Fargo, N.D., with their three teenage children.

A reception in the Northern Lights Lounge, Sargeant Student Center, precedes the commencement ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The public is welcome to attend both events; no tickets are required. Additionally, a special reception for online graduates will be held at 10 a.m. in the Prairie Room, Sargent Student Center, and a reception for international student graduates will be held following commencement exercises at 4 p.m. in Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center.

On Saturday at 2 p.m., the formal procession of faculty, candidates for degrees, and platform guests will begin from the Sargeant Student Center to the gymnasium led by Mace Bearer William Peterson, professor in the Math, Science, and Technology Department. The procession also includes Faculty Marshal W. Daniel Svedarsky, professor and director of the Center for Sustainability on the Crookston campus.

Bringing greetings from the University of Minnesota Board of Regents is the Honorable Peggy Lucas, from Minneapolis, Minn., who will also assist with the conferring of the degrees. 

University of Minnesota, Crookston Alumni Association (UMCAA) Board President Lauralee (Nicholas) Tupa '05 will bring greetings from the UMCAA and welcome the new graduates to the alumni association. The U of M Crookston Community Band under the direction of TJ Chapman, lecturer in the Math, Science, and Technology Department, will perform along with selections during the ceremony by the campus choir under the direction of Associate Professor George French.

Graduating senior Justin Goodroad, a horticulture major from Lindstrom, Minn., Crookston Student Association (CSA) president, will speak on behalf of the Class of 2015 and pass the torch of education, a Crookston campus tradition, to the incoming CSA president Tareyn Stomberg, a junior double majoring in animal science and agricultural business from Menahga, Minn.

The 2015 commencement exercises mark the 107th graduating class to be recognized on the Crookston campus. A live audio stream of the commencement exercises will be available at www.umcrookston.edu/people/services/mediaservices. 

For more information, visit the commencement website at www.umcrookston.edu/commencement.