The Riverland Community College Athletic Booster Club has scheduled its 26^th annual golf tournament on Monday, June 3 at the Austin Country Club. The golf fundraiser starts at 12:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:00 p.m. There will be a silent auction throughout the day. This event is a critical fundraiser for the Athletic Booster Club to help support all athletic programs at Riverland. The college does not offer scholarships for its student-athletes. The Foundation Blue Devils Athletic Booster Club is a supportive organization and annually raises more than $10,000 to help support all six programs including men’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball.

More than 85 healthcare educators/clinicians from the five-state region are scheduled to attend Friday’s Minnesota Simulation Conference hosted by Riverland Community College with conference partners HealthForce Minnesota and Laerdal Medical. The conference features experts from the healthcare simulation industry, provide professional development/learning opportunities for attendees and facilitate networking and building/enhancing a simulation community.

The Riverland Athletic Golf Fundraiser scheduled for June 3 has been postponed until June 24. The large amount of rainfall we have received over the past few weeks has caused the Austin Country Club to restrict the use of golf carts on the course.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities presented the Academic and Student Affairs awards and Diversity awards at its annual joint meeting of chief academic and student affairs officers - college and university deans held May 30-31 at Normandale Community College. Diversity awards recognize programs and individuals for fostering a diverse faculty, staff and student body and providing quality services and support.

Bonnie Rietz of The Hormel Foundation awarded Cycles for Success scholarships as part of Austin High’s 2013 Scholarship Ceremony at Austin High School’s Christgau Hall May 23. The Hormel Foundation is dedicated to help Austin students attend Riverland Community College. More than $540,000 in “Cycles for Success” scholarships have been awarded in the past three years to graduates of Austin High School and Pacelli Catholic Schools. Scholarship amounts range from $1,000 to 6,000 based on the student’s financial need.

The popular musical I Do! I Do! will open Summerset Theatre’s 46^th season on June 11. This touching story, set to a tuneful, charming score, follows one couple as they navigate the perils of married life together. From their wedding day vows to their 50th anniversary, the story of Michael and Agnes has been called “amusing, astonishingly touching and truly endearing.” The book and lyrics are by Tom Jones and music is by Harvey Schmidt, the composer/lyricist team behind The Fantasticks.  I Do! I Do! is based on the play The Fourposter by Jan De Hartog.

Justin Carlson (Austin), a Riverland Community College collision repair student, has won a gold medal in the Minnesota SkillsUSA contest in the collision repair competition. Carlson advances to the SkillsUSA Championship in Kansas City, Mo., June 25-27, as part of the SkillsUSA 49th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC), a showcase of career and technical education students. During the national competition, Carlson and other students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations like electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. Top student winners receive gold, silver and bronze medallions. Many also receive prizes such as tools of their trade and/or scholarships to further their careers and education.

The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) today approved an operating budget for fiscal 2014 that freezes undergraduate tuition at fiscal 2013 levels. This is the first of a two-year tuition freeze made possible by a $78 million appropriation by the state legislature during the 2013 session.

Summerset Theatre continues its 46^th season on July 9 with the funny and moving play Steel Magnolias. The quintessential story of family and friendship in a unique Southern sisterhood, Steel Magnolias is a skillfully crafted portrayal of eccentricity, loyalty and love set in a small-town beauty parlor in Louisiana. This humorously revealing play will take you on an emotional journey filled with laughter and tears.

Riverland Community College offers campers from our region the opportunity to attend the Dream It Do It VEX Robotics Camp July 15-19 at the Albert Lea Campus. The camp is from 9 .a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and designed for students entering grades 7-12 who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Each day will consist of a different challenge with robotics. Participants design and build a robot using basic and intermediate VEX mechanisms, learn autonomous programming and learn how to program robots using sensor inputs and quadrature encoders. The camp concludes Friday with a mini?challenge the participants’ family members are invited to attend.

Prior to starting as president of Riverland Community College July 1, I met with more than 30 current Riverland employees and community members to gather information about Riverland’s history, its current path and future needs. As we prepare for the new academic year starting in August, I must acknowledge the good work of my immediate predecessors, Dr. Terrence Leas and more recently, interim president, Dr. Kent Hanson.

Many have asked for my vision. A shared vision is better than a unilateral vision. Therefore, I prefer that we go through a process that would lead Riverland to a destination most will embrace as best for the College. It is my responsibility and intention to guide this process in a timely manner. Riverland will always remember that we serve students, employers and our communities at large.

Monty Python’s Spamalot will open on August 1 as the final show in Summerset Theatre’s 46^th season. The Tony Award-winning Broadway hit finally makes its Spamtown, USA debut! Monty Python’s Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and features beautiful show girls, flying cows, killer rabbits, French people…and, of course, plenty of everyone’s favorite canned ham.

“Wegner Then and Now," a retrospective of selected works spanning Artist James Wegner’s entire career opens Monday at the James Wegner Art Gallery at Riverland’s EastBuilding on the Austin Campus. The show includes dramatic sculptures created during the early 1960s, two-dimensional work from every decade since and the artist’s most recent efforts. The exhibit illustrates the influence of several historical artistic styles, all adapted to Wegner’s personal interests and inspirations.

In November 2012, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Chancellor Rosenstone asked MnSCU students, faculty, staff, presidents and trustees to participate on three workgroups to advise the long-term strategic directions needed to ensure access to an extraordinary education for all Minnesotans; to meet Minnesota’s workforce and community needs; and to deliver the most cost-effective, highest value education. For several months, each workgroup met regularly to assess the questions posed.

The resulting report, “Charting the Future” presented is preliminary and released with hope for broader consultation and dialogue among all constituencies before the final report is delivered to the chancellor Oct. 23.

Riverland Community College has named Gary Schindler as the new dean of students. Schindler has a master’s degree from the University of North Dakota in Counseling and a bachelor’s degree in social studies. Schindler previously held the position as dean of students at Riverland from 1998 to 2009. Prior to his return to Riverland in August, Schindler worked at Spoon River College in Illinois and for Anoka Technical College as the dean of student affairs at both colleges. In addition to his work as a college administrator he worked as a trained peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission in college accreditation.

In a ceremonial gesture today, Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun accepted the keys from The Hormel Foundation to the newly renovated community Early Childhood Education Center. The facility valued at more than $3 million was recently completed at Riverland’s Austin campus.

Riverland Community College Theatre Director Lindsey Duoos Williams announced the Theatre Department’s 2013-2014 season today. This season brings a fresh set of plays and musicals that haven’t previously been seen at Riverland Theatre.

Starting today, the cast of the recent Summerset production of Monty Python’s Spamalot will be searching for the grail at the Minnesota State Fair through Sunday. Summerset was the only out-state group selected to be part of the Minnesota State Fair’s inaugural “Arts A’Fair” performances. Monty Python’s Spamalot will be in the Education Building and roaming the fairgrounds, performing and providing information about Summerset and Riverland’s theatre and music programs.