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ST. MARY'S	SOUTHEAST TECH	WINONA STATE

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Coombs: At WSU until job is done

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 24, 2005 -- The chief academic officer at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who has applied for the presidency of Winona State University, said she would stay in the job until retirement if selected. Ginny Coombs was not shy about saying she is 58. To a student gathering during campus interviews, Coombs acknowleged that retirement is in her future but that she wouldn't have applied if she didn't plan on staying with the position. Some other of the five finalists for the Winona State top job are within a year or two of traditional age 65 retirement. MORE Student Sen. Mick Reis, elected from the College of Business, asked Coombs when she thought her job would be done. Her answer: When she's accomplished the goals she would set. Coombs said that she applied because she liked Winona State's New University plan for rethinking how to serve students. "I really liked what I saw by researching online and having material sent to me," said Coombs. Coombs said that she received a26-page New University concept paper. Also, she said, she loves the area: "You have to like where you are working." MORE Coombs told the students that her philosophy is to be out interacting with the students: "I can't do the job if I don't know the students." She said that she needs to be visible on campus and can't sit in her office all the time. "I'm the number one rooter in the stands," said Coombs. She said that she attends a lot of sporting events, plays and concerts. "I think it's important to encourage faculty to go to student events too," said Coombs. She said students know when faculty is in the stand supporting what they do. MORE The university is here for the students, she said: "That's why it's here." Coombs said that just the other week she was invited by a fraternity at UW-River Falls to go have dinner at the frat house. She said such activities keep her in touch with students since, as academic vice president, she doesn't do a lot of classroom teaching anymore. MORE Coombs said that financial burdens can't always fall on students' backs. She said she realizes that is what is happening with the New University plan. "It may have to start that way," said Coombs. She said it is important to realize that it will happen in stages and it can't happen all at once. There needs to be student input on decisions, said Coombs. "This is something that can be done to students," she said. Coombs said students need to be involved or it isn't fair.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? GINNY COOMBS UW-River Falls vice president

FRIDAY, FEB. 25, AT WSU
Iraq vets to be recognized

Coombs: Unrestricted gifts a focus

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 24, 2005 -- Fundraising that focuses on unrestricted gifts is essential for Winona State at this point in the university's history, said Ginny Coombs, a candidate for the university's presidency. Donations for scholarships, the easiest to to raise, are appreciated, but it's crucial, she said, to find money that is not specified for a specific project. Coombs said, "There needs to be a sufficient fund for undesignated donated money." Her comments came during a week olf student voting in a referendum triggered by a proposed tuition surcharge of $1,000 for high-cost parts of Winona State's New University initatives. MORE Coombs said she is no stranger to fundraising, saying she has written a lot of grant proposals to fund projects at other universities. At Iowa, she said, she wrote grants to send faculty to the Third World and to come back and "internationalize the curriculum." Coombs said that she also started a program to find donors who have vfallen awau. "In the first month we raised $30,000," said Coombs. The program also allowed alumni to give to specific programs from which they graduated, she said. "It is important to cultivate donors and make friends." We need to get the people excited about what we are doing and get them interested, said Coombs. MORE Coombs said fundraising takes patience. People have different speeds when it comes to giving money, said Coombs: "Some people give right away and other people take years to give." Asked specifically what needed to be done at Winona State for fundraising, Coombs said it was hard to say":"Everything is important and all aspects need to be on the list." Coombs said scholarships are always important. The university has to have money to fund programs so tuition doesn't have to go up, said Coombs. She said it is also important to talk to the Legislature about the need to fund higher education. .

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? GINNY COOMBS UW-River Falls vice president

Resources for students called key

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 24, 2005 -- The No. 1 priority of a university should be to provide students with the resources they need to succeed, said Virginia Coombs, a candidate for president at Winona State University. In part this means getting students involved in their community as an essential learning tool that will set them up for success after they graduate, Coombs said. "Students' education has to happen outside the classroom as well as in," she told group of about 25 faculty and students dcring three days of campus interviews. MORE Coombs cited campus diversity as another tool for success. She said she believes that any kind of diversity, not just racial diversity, is beneficial to students. She spoke of experiences she had with non-traditional students in her classrooms and how others responded to them. She often found that her more traditional students could "value someone with a little more life experience." MORE Just as important is what she referred to as the "rural and urban divide," the mix of students who come from small towns and big-city suburbs. Their high school experiences are often different, she said, which allows the students to learn from each other. MORE Coombs, whose academic background is German linguistics, was adamant that international exposure for both students and faculty is important. She commended the New University, a program being developed by Winona State faculty and staff to increase student services and enrich the learning, for promoting expanded study abroad program. The university should consider study abroad programs for faculty as well, she said.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? GINNY COOMBS UW-River Falls vice president

Cooms: NewU initatives prompted application

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 24, 2005 -- A Winona State University presidential candidate, Ginnuy Coombs, told a gatherng of 26 faculty, staff and students that her primary reason for applying was her interest in the New University project to intensify learning. Coombs said she is intrigued by the concept of a community of learners that is not just focused on students but the faculty as well. "The broad-brush concept of the New U is the project's most defining characteristic," Coombs said. Competing with Coombs as she spoke in a Maxwell conference room was the dropping of weights upstairs in a fitness gym. MORE In a brief interview moments prior to the open session, Coombs, who introduced herself as Ginny, said that it was unfortunate that states are cutting back on higher-ed spending. To achieve the goal of the New University, tuition would have to increase, she said. MORE In this same conversation, Coombs confirmed that she had not been briefed on the university's master paln for expansion. All she knew, she said, was a campus news report that said a closely guarded administration plan had been uncovered by student journalists and that the plan showed long-term plans to extend the campus south to Lake Park. "I saw a map in the campus newspaper, but it has not been mentioned to me in any of the briefings," Coombs said. She said a two-hour campus tour on his first morning on canmpus did not include a visit to the upscale Lake Street neighborhood that is identified in a new master plan map as in the path of campus expansion. MORE Asked about fundraising during the open session, Coombs said: "It is the role of the president to be out there selling the university. If you have a good story to tell, selling the university and captivating the imaginations of the patrons should be easy." In her position as academic vice president at the University of Wisconsin River-Falls, Coombs said she is part of a fundraising effort that targets lapsed donors and asks them to donate to a specific department instead of the university as a whole. "In six months we were able to raise $30,000," Coombs said. MORE Coombs said she wasn't even looking for another job when the announcement came out that Winona State was seeking a new president. Some colleagues, she said, thought she would be the right person for the job. After researching the New University and the other programs WSU has to offer, Coombs decided to apply and is content with her decision and proud that she is one of the final candidates.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? GINNY COOMBS UW-River Falls vice president

COMING AT WSU

Apple movie contest: You can vote

Schulz to pre-pharm presidency

"Keys' memory lapse seems convenient"

FARGO, N.D.,Feb. 24, 2005 -- Journalist Jon Pike, who researched the First Amendment issue in the 2001 shutdown of the Governors State University student newspaper, found it hard to believe the statements of Provost Paul Keys that he couldn't recall details of what happened. "I read the latest article with Keys' comments. It has a certain 'dog ate my homework' quality,'" said Pike. Keys had been a defendent in a $1.1 million federal lawsuit filed by the editors in a campus First Amendment case that drew national attention. In an interview Wednesday with Winona State student journalist Amanda Knowles, Keys said his recollections were vague on what happened in 2000 ands 2001 with the Governors State student newspaper, the Innovator. MORE In recent days Pike has been following the candidacy of Keys as a candidate for president on Winona State University. Pike, a Winona State grad, is now on the journalism faculty at North Dakota State. He reported on the Governors State issue when he was a graduate student at Southern Illinois-Carbondale. MORE In the Knowles interview, Keys registered no enthuisiasm for the Innovator.He did, however, praise the new student paper, the Phoenix, which replaced the Innovator. Pike said there was more to tell. Going back to his interviews with the censored editors, Margaret Hosty and Jeni Porche, Pike said: "I remember Hosty and Porche telling me that the new pub was entirely orchestrated by the admin, so Keys' comments don't hold much with me." He said he had read the Phoenix: "It was all about how wonderful and beautiful the place was."

JON PIKE Researched censorship case PAUL KEYS Doesn't recall censorship case details

Kopp: WSU's next stage -- fundraising

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Winona State is late to the game when it comes to fundraising, said Stephen Kopp, a candidate for the university's presidency. For many years, he said, fundraising wasn't a university priority. In campus interviews, Kopp stressed his background as a fundraiser, saying it's something he loves and a challenge he enjoys. At Central Michigan University he said he raised $10 million for a new building. Later at Ohio University, Kopp said he raised $7 million in less than two years. MORE Kopp said that Winona State's fundraising needs to be revamped: "We need to be building toward the future." It is important to build an endowment that doesn't rely on tuition, he said: "Every time funding is cut from the state, tuition can't go up." In a question-answer session with students, Kopp said he enjoys meeting with alumni and friends as part of a money-raising strategy. What needs to be done at Winona State? "I don't know where they are at exactly so it's hard to say." Kopp said he had talked with the people who work with university fundraising earlier in the day but hadn't evaluated their program in detail. MORE As president, he said, the first thing he would need to do is evaluate the total assets and go from there. "It is really important to have the proper research done to build a strong foundation," said Kopp. He said there need to be advocates within the university who have strong ties outside. "If there was an alumnae out there who knew the president of a new corporation, that could be the way in," said Kopp. He said it is important to always be looking for connections. MORE Kopp said he has experience working with the government at both the state and Washington levels. He said that it is difficult to find new governemnt money these says. "I'm not sure if Minnesota has term limits, but if they do it is the death to higher education." With term limits, he said, legislators don't have time to learn the system in order to make proper decisions. MORE As to why he had left his position as provost at Ohio University to return to the biology faculty, Kopp said that a new president had been brought in and wanted to build his own administrative team. "Provosts are much like bath water," he said. "When a new president comes in the water needs to be change. The new president told me that he wanted to hire one of his own guys." As provost from 2002 to 2004, Kopp was Ohio University's chief academic officer and No. 2 to the university president.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? STEVE KOPP From Ohio University

Kopp: Ideas are key to leadership

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- A Winona State University presidential candidate, Steve. Kopp, described his leadership philosophy as one that leads through ideas. Addressing 40 faculty members, Kopp said he is a leader who likes to bring all the issues of the institution together in a cohesive way. Leadership, he said, means bringing ideas to be table along with hearing different perspectives and points of views before making a decision. When people invest in ideas, they see themselves as part of the idea that is brought forth, he said. MORE Asked about the New University plan being developed at Winona State to reorient programs with more hands-on learning experience, Kopp expressed excitement and said he would like to see it happen. "This is one of the most audacious and boldest plans I have ever seen," said Kopp. If the New University plan goes through, Winona State could become "one of the most modeled institutions in the nation," he said. Kopp described Winona State is a powerful institution that has the ability to move forward -- something he said many other institutions can't do. The biggest challenge regarding the New University will be funding, he said. MORE Kopp is a special assistant to the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and is a tenured faculty member in biology at Ohio University. Asked about why he wants to leave Ohio, Kopp, who been the Ohio Universioty provost, said he and the new president at the university, Rod McDavis, didn't share the same vision. "I am a huge advocate for improving undergraduate education and have made it a priority," said Kopp. Kopp said McDavis' emphasis is on research grants and issues that don't deal with undergraduate education as the highest priority. Kopp said he isn't opposed to research but that there are more important things that have to be looked at first. MORE Kopp also said that McDavis wanted to bring in his own provost. "Provosts are like bathwater," said Kopp. "When a university changes the president, it's time to change the bathwater." MORE For his Winona State interviews, Kopp was dressed presidential -- black suit, white shirt, maroon tie. He made good eye contact with the faculty members who asked him specific questions. Eye contact with other faculty wasn't as strong. He presented himself with confidence, his deep voice carrying well through a Maxwell meting room. MORE About his career aspirations, Kopp said: "Life is too short to get involved with institutions that don't know what their future is." Winona State, he said, has a great vision of its future and is ready for a quantum leap: "I would love to be the person that leads Winona State into the future."

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? STEVE KOPP From Ohio University

KATIE CARLSON SARAH HOVEY ADAM KRAHN KASEY KOLBERG DUSTIN SADNICK BEN GRICE TOMORROW'S GREATEST BYLINES TODAY

Kopp applauds NewU as visionary

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- A presidential candidate fro Winona State Univerity, Steve Kopp, told a group of 18 students that he applied because of the "compelling" vision of the New University project to reinvent the instritution for the futire. Winona State is ready to take on a challenge of changing higher education, Kopp saod. Although the acknowledged student objections to a $1,000 tuition surcharge to fund the prohect, Kopp said he found Winona State people in general were passionate abouty the New University vision: "It is a vision that is very thoughtful and thorough." MORE Asked why he applied Kopp answered that he had nominated by the search committee. Noting his career goal is move beyond his Ohio Univerity biology professorshop, he said that he has been selective in applying for president positions around the country. "The vision here is something that I have not seen before at either a public or private university," said Kopp. It is important for students to be prepared to enter the workforce, he said. Students at Winona State will be better prepared than students from other universities, he said: "The world that you will enter after you graduate is very different from the world I entered after college." The workforce, he saidm now demands intellectual jobs rather than labor-focused jobs. An experiential learning environment allows students to apply what they have learned and creates a deeper foundation that makes them more competitive in the market place, said Kopp. MORE Koppp said that he had not seen the budget plan for the New University, but wonders why students aren't behind it. "Does it have to do with the education part of it or the money," asked Kopp. He said when making decisions he wants to hear what the students have to say and why they feel that way. He said that he does not have a plan in mind for the university, but supports the New University vision. "If I came in with a plan it would fall flat on its face," said Kopp. He said that the plan resides with the dreams, passions and visions of the people on campus. "I don't know the university on that level," said Kopp. He said that he needs to learn what is important to the people here and synthesize those ideas to move toward the future.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? STEVE KOPP From Ohio University

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Two Governors State University student editors Margaret Hosty and Jeni Porche painted a horrendous picture of administrative harrassment during their editorship of the student newspaper -- an issue suddenly germane in the Winona State search for a new president because the Governors State provost, Paul Keys, is among applicants. Late in 2003, when the issue of Governor State censorship was in federal court, Winona State journalism grad Jon Pike interviewed the two editors, Jeni Porche and Margarget Hosty, for the St. Louis Confluence. Pike now is a journalism prof at North Dakota State University. Here is Pike's account from Confluence. MORE Governors State University students Margaret Hosty and Jeni Porche are fighting for the right to have an independent student press. They are suing the administration of their suburban-Chicago university for attempting to block publication of the Oct. 31, 2001, issue of the Innovator, a student newspaper that included an article taking issue with administrative action against their adviser. MORE One of the essential cases being reviewed in reference to this case, Hazelwood V. Kuhlmeier, originated in St. Louis and gave high school administrators broad powers to censor student publications. MORE Governors State University officials did not return phone calls and e-mails requesting comment. However, Margaret Hosty and Jeni Porche agreed to an interview. MORE How did you end up suing the university? Jeni Porche: Simply put, they were breaking the law. We first recognized there was a problem when the printer contacted us and said, "Something doesn't seem to be right here and we've just talked to a Dean of yours and something is off." Margaret followed it up and asked for a letter from the printer saying exactly what had transpired and from there we set up the process of trying to get answers from the University. MORE What did you attempt to do with the University before you got to this point? Jeni Porche: We completely followed the chain-of-command as outlined in university procedures. First we went to our publishing body, the Student Communication and Media Board, and we eventually followed right up to the president's body and finally to the board of directors at the University. MORE

JON PIKE WSU j-grad Winner of 1999 Bremer Prize for outstanding reporting on the CyberIndee Now on journalism faculty at North Dakota State University MARGARET HOSTY Giovernors State student editor "We were living in an unbelievably hostile environment around here. It felt like wartime around here. Have you ever been on a campus and had armed guards posted at doors to keep you out of places? They were not being subtle about their animosity towards us." PAUL KEYS Candidate for WSU presidency Governors State provost 2001-present

City seeks to block campus expansion

About censorship, Keys' memory vague

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Details about a $1.1 million federal lawsuit over censorship of the student press at Governors State Univerity are vague in his memory, said Paul Keys, one of Winona State University’s presidential candidates. In the 2001 lawsuit, which attracted national attention for its First Amendment implications, student editors sought an injunction against 14 Governors State executives and other personnel, including Keys. Eventually Keys was excused as a defendant. Asked in a telephone interview about his role in the censorship issue, Keys said he couldn't remember most of the details. He was provost and academic vice president at the time and still holds the position. MORE Keys was linked to the lawsuit in a Winona news report on Tuesday, after he had wound up three days of intervieiwng at Winona State as one of five finalists for the university presidency. In a interview Wednesday from his Governors State office, Keys said that the claims in the lawsuit were only allegations and that the suit has yet to be settled. He said too that most of the situation involving the student newspaper, the Innovator, had already been going on before he arrived at Governor State in October 2000. "I didn't have much to do with the issue. My name was included in the lawsuit but only because the entire administration had to be named," he said. Keys and other defendants were excused as defendants by a federal judge -- except for Dean of Students Patricia Carter. Only Carter, who has been absent from Governors State for two years, is still linked with the case, Keys said. MORE Asked if he sided with the student right for freedom of speech or with the administration during this time, Keys only said: "I can't speak about the lawsuit, and can't remember much details. This has been the first time in almost two years I've even heard much about it." At this point the state attorney of Illinois is handling the lawsuit, and the university has no part in it anymore, Keys said. MORE Keys said he firmly supports student freedom of speech and supports the campus press fully. About his relations with the student newspaper at Governors State now, he said: "I'm very close with the editor of the newspaper and have been supporting it for the last three or four years." The newspaper, now called the Phoenix, has a completely new look and feel to it," Key said: "The students changed the name of the newspaper to the Phoenix because it was rising up out of the ashes and turning into something new and they wanted to express that." Keys said he helped rebuild the newspaper and meets routinely with the editor and staff. MORE As for the Innovator’s demise, Keys said that the Student Senate won't even talk about the 2000 and 2001 situation that so disrupted the university. "As far as Governors State goes, the incident was completely settled within our university two years ago and hasn't been talked about since," he said.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? PAUL KEYS Dismissed as plaintiff in federal lawsuit

Binging: Colleges can't fight it alone

Wanat: Never saw new master plan

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Winona State University presidential candidate John Wanat had "no idea" about a top secret campus expansion plan in consideration for both the near and distant future. "I was not aware of the plan," said Wanat during the last leg of campus briefings and interviews -- which coincided with news reports that the university has long-term plans to double the size of the campus. Throughout Wanat's tour of the campus on Monday, neither administration nor faculty members mentioned nor asked Wanat about his thoughts on the multi-million dollar expansion plan, he said. MORE The campus master plan update had been sent in December to Allan Johnson, the associate vice chancellor for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities by Winona State President Darrell Krueger. The existence of the plan had been closely guarded until a student journalist happened upon the document. Said Wanat: "I have had no conversation with WSU about the expansion plan during the search process." He did acknowledge receiving an e-mail containing some material about expansion plans the same day he was leaving for his Winona visit and but had not had a chance to read through the material. It is unlikely the e-mail contained the new master plan, which at 78 pages in PDF form won't fit into most e-mail in-boxes. MORE When Wanat visited the campus on Monday, he told students and faculty he is a strong advocate of community involvement with the college. Many crucial details of the new master plan apparently were developed in a vacuum without consultation with city or community leaders. Additionally, Wanat had not even been informed about the Belleview expansion, an initial smaller expansion that is now part of the master plan. Information on the Belleview expansion has been public information since April, although it too, it seems, was not shared with presidential candidates. MORE During Wanat's meeting with Winona State students, he said "the university's explicit focus on giving back to the community" was appealing to him. If the expansion plans materialize, demolishment of more than 30 square blocks of houses, including high-end mansions and historical landmarks, would make room for a student-geared district of businesses and a continuation of the campus. Questioned by a reporter about not being briefed on the expansion plan, Wanat said: "Conversations need to take place." It is important that the university gets feedback from the community before finalizing the expansion plans, he said. Wanat said he needs to know more about the plan before he could comment further. Reporter: Lauren Elizondo Background: Stress on town and gown New plan: "To the Lake" City Council member never told Kopp: WSU a model Finalists for WSU presidency

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? JOHN WANAT They never showed me EXPANSION MAP Doubling the campus WHO HAS MASTER PLAN? Not clear, although acknowledges these people for their participation: Darrell Krueger President Steve Richardson Jim Schmidt Val Winbush Joe Whetstone Vice presidents Ken Gorman Troy Paino Tim Gaspar Nancy Jannik Deans John Feden Larry Holstad Dennis Martin Directors Dick Lande Manager Steve Rokowski Coordinator Space Utilization Committee members

Kopp sees WSU as higher-ed model

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- A hopeful for the presidency of Winona State University, Steve Kopp of Ohio University, told news reporters that Winona State is a potential national leader in public higher-ed. Kopp said that after touring the campus he was convinced of the university's tremendous assets of people and facilities. "The facilities here are spectacular and well-planned and thought through," said Kopp. MORE Asked how long he would stay at Winona if he selcted for the job, Kopp said as long as he's wanted: "I would love to stay indefinitely." Kopp said he would plan on staying as long as he feels what he is doing adds value to the university and the university continues to move forward. "I am not a leaper from job to job," said Kopp. MORE Kopp has spent a lot of his life in the Midwest. He is currently the special assistant to the chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. He was provost at Ohio University from 2002 to 2004. He holds degrees from Notre Dame and the University of Illinois at Chicago and did post-doctoral work at St. Louis University. Asked why he enjoys the Midwest, Kopp said it'd the climate and the people: "I really like the work ethic and values of the Midwesterner. It's just a good place to live." MORE Kopp was escorted to the news conference by Mary Kesler, the co-chair of the search, which is bringing five candidates to campus. Kopp appeared comfortable and shook hands with every reporter and made small talk about college basketball before questions started. Staffing the news conference were the Winona Radio; La Crosse, Wis., television station WKBT; the Hiawatha cable system; and one student reporter. Neither the Daily News nor the Post were present. University publicist Tom Grier took pictures at the 13-minute meeting.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? STEVE KOPP From Ohio University

Salyards: What southward expansion?

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Winona State University's recently unveiled long-term expansion map, doubling the campus all the way to Lake Park, caught City Council member Deb Salyards by surprise. She predicted "a fight" if the univerity tries to move into historic areas. MORE Salyards said Council members had been briefed on relatively modest expansion plans at a meeting attended by state college facilities Vice Chancellor Allan Johnson and State Rep. Gene Pelowski, D-Winona. From that, Salyards concluded that long-term plan was to extend the campus along Belleview and Mark as far as Shorty's. "We have never discussed the university expanding across Main Street," said Salyards. Plans to double the campus, shown in a long-range acquisition map in the new Winona State master plan, which would take out the high-rent Lake Street neighborhood, came as a shock. MORE

LEISURELY WALKS Rings are at five-minute intervals from the center of the WSU campus. This map is from the new university long-range plan. Southward expansion: Enlarged map

Prof sees Thompson as conflicted

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- Journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide over the weekend, was a complicated man, said Winona State University masscom prof Drake Hokanson. Thompson was a deeply conflicted man who did not hold back much, Hokanson said: "He could have possibly even had some psychiatric problems." Hokanson prefers to remember Thompson for unleashing the concept of Gonzo Journalism, in which he peppered his reporting with his own experiences, including writing habits that seemed to depend on alcohol and drugs. MORE Thompson made a dramatic leap with the Gonzo concept, Hokanson said, but after while, he added, people realized that Thompson had stepped outside journalism with this concept: "It was too much about him and his inner dialogues." Journalism, said Hokanson, should be about the outside world. Even so, according to Hokanson, Thompson's Gonzo Journalism made way for more solid writing with the creation of "literary journalism," the term that colleges prefer to "gonzo." MORE The Gonzo concept was developed after the New Journalism movement in the 1960s, Hokanson said. Among Thompson's notable works he listed "The Great Shark Hunt," a collection of essays from the Watergate era; "Generation of Swine," an expression of grief for the youth of the 1980s; and "Better Than Sex," an account of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential victory. Thompson was known known for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which Hokanson said set a new standard for "meta-journalism" that goes beyond the borders in writing.

HUNTER S. THOMPSON 1937-2005 DRAKE HOKANSON Masscom prof

House ups Senate for campus buildings

Plan wipes out more on-street parking

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 23, 2005 -- The long-range map drawn by Winona State University campus planners, which envisions a campus extending all the way to Lake Park, suggests closing of more on-campus streets and eliminating more parking. The Winona Street access from the north is marked "vehicular traffic and on-street parking not required." The Johnson Street access to Somsen is labeled the same. The two blocks that planners see as expendable have several dozen parking places. MORE The plan, by the Paulien campus design firm of Denver, was developed in consultation over several months with Winona State executives. It lists the closing of Johnson Street to the Somsen-Memorial turn-around as a short-range goal. A margin note on one page in the 72-page Paulien report says: "Close existing street allowing emergency and delivery access only." The Memorial Hall parking lot would be unaffected until it would be built over by the proposed $12 million workout gym. MORE About the Winona Street block, between the Quad dorms and the new science lab building, the report also says: "Close existing street allowing emergency and delivery access only." There is no mention of handicapped parking spaces that would be lost. MORE The plan shows more perimeter parking that would be built. The ramp at Main and Mark streets, planned as part of a new 400-bed dorm across the street, shows on the master plan. Long-range plans include a second ramp after the Quad dorms are torn out at Sanborn and Huff. A surface parking lot is shown at Sanborn and Johnson, across from Somsen Hall.

TRAFFIC ISSUES Railroad: Hazardous pedestrian traffic at Johnson and Winona streets. Both crossing would be replaced with pedestrian tunnels. Huff Street: This is "the central transportation spine" for campus access. Needed are changes to "provide a window to the University and sense of arrival with appropriate architectural elements." Sarnia Street: Unlike the Huff Street access to campus across the Lake Winona causeway, Sarnia needs "streetscape and directional signage to create a sense of arrival," the report says: "Area currently lacks organization and visual consistency." Improvements are listed as short-range. Enlarged map

R.I.P.: Beverely J. (Beasaw) Fort

Arizona students face huge tuition hikes

As portrayed in Winona State University promotional materials

WINONA CAMPUS LIFE

WSU "improving world" motto was lure

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 22, 2005 -- A candidate for the presidency of Winona State, Judith Ramaley, said the university's motto, "A Community of Learners Improving Our World," inspired her to apply. The slogan, truncated from the university's mission statement, is both inspiring and practical and makes every effort to bring those two words together, Ramaley told a news conference during a three-day campus visit. "How to achieve the slogan and what it takes to change education and provide students with the knowledge they need is what attracts me," she said. "Winona State University can be a place that the world can look to." MORE Ramaley said she feels her national experience on higher-ed issues prepared her well. She has served on the Subcommittee on College Drinking of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Advisory Council for School-to-Work Opportunities, and the Kellogg Commission for the Future of the State and Land-Grant Universities. "From serving on these committees, I realized the problems we face locally are also a problem on a national level," she said. "Through these experiences it connects education with the realities of a work place,” she said. MORE Ramaley, who has a background in the medical field, said she felt strongly about the Winona State nursing program. Noting that nursing has changed dramatically in the last few years, she said she was pleased that Winona State offered a program that's critical in the real world. MORE About the New University, Ramaley said she went through a similar situation at Portland State in Oregon, where she served as president. "To go for something at this big of a scale, the whole university has to change to go along with it and that's a challenge," she said. MORE Ramaley said she would feel good about bringing her experience to Winona State but also that change would also be in the future if she became president: "I'd keep my past with me, but that’s kind of like a football coach using a playbook from another team. Everything would be fresh and new if I came to Winona State University." MORE Ramaley, the third of five presidential candidate to visit Winona State, holds a presidential professorship in biomedical sciences at the University of Maine and has also served as president at both University of Vermont and Portland State. At the news conference were reporters from the Daily News, Winona Radio, Hiawatha Broadband, the Winonan campus newspaper, and journalism students.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? JUDITH RAMALEY Senior scientist at the National Science Foundation

Racial issues beset Ramaley at Vermont

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 22, 2005 -- A candidate for the presidency of Winona State University, Judith Ramaley, acknowledged racial problems when she was presdient of the Univerity of Vermont from 1997 to 2001. In answer to a question at an open campus interview, Ramaley said she was caught in the middle of a hostile racial atmosphere when a student organization, ALANA,. had a hazing incident that was considered racist. She said she established a presidential commission on racial equality but still the student group ALANA still boycotted her policies. Ramaley blamed teh situation on builtpup stuff in the community that was hard to reesolve. She did her ebst, she said. "Some of the argument and assumptions made in Vermont as acts of discrimination against sexual harassment and orientation were very hard to deal," she said.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? JUDITH RAMALEY Senior scientist at the National Science Foundation

Ramaley notes her research on learning

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 22, 2005 -- Presidential candidate Judith Ramaley told Winona State University students that she was attracted to the university because she saw a community of learners putting their knowledge to use. Ramaley talked with 23 students on topics concerning the students and what her previous experience has been in higher education. She said she spent four years in Washington researching what students need in undergrad programs and what skills students need to aquire to become successful after graduation. MORE Prior to the meeting Ramaley casually spoke with students, mainly small talk and then began the session by asking students why they chose Winona State. The atmosphere of ther session was informal. Ramaley roamed into the aisles between students witha cup of coffee for the entire meeting. Ramaley said that even as president she enjoys engaging with the students: "To live is to learn and I learn a lot from students. I really enjoy getting to know students in leadership positions because it is good to have a relationship with clubs on campus." MORE Ramaley acknowledged that Winona State had never had a woman president. "There has never been a woman president in the MnSCu system, and it doesn't bother me," said Ramaley. She said she is used to being the first in many of her positions, such as Vermont. Ramaley says pursuing the new frontier is a challenge but she always seems to pull through and anticipates the same if she is named Winona State's president.

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? JUDITH RAMALEY Senior scientist at the National Science Foundation

WSU prof to geoscience workshop

Ramaley sees NewU as animating

WINONA, Minn., Feb. 22, 2005 -- While Judith Ramaley circulated at a Tau Center reception as part of her visit as a finalist for the presidency of Winona State University, people were sharing concerns about the transition ahead with the retirement of Darrell Kruegr after 16 years. "I have met three of the five presidential candidates and found positive characteristics in each of them," said Dan Schumacher, the university's athletic fundraiser. "I am an alumnae of WSU and have known President Krueger for 15 years so this change will be difficult," Schmacher said. "The campus has changed drastically, and I will miss Krueger's constant drive." MORE As Ramaley took turns introducing herself and discussing her impressions, she said: "This is a vital community and animated by committed to a bold issue, the New University." MORE Mike Swanson, another university fundraiser, noted that as Student Senate president he had worked closely with Krueger: "I am looking for a candidate who is doing this because they believe in higher education and wants to serve, not driven by career advancement." Swanson said he found Krueger accessible and worked well with the community. "I think we need to find another candidate with those characteristics," he said. MORE Steve Richardson, academic vice president, said the candidate search is going well. The process has been a successful one, he said. Among those at the Ramaley reception were City Council member Deb Salyards, who represents the Third Ward, and City Manager Eric Sorensen. MORE About Ramaley's experience, Schuamcher said: "There are always fears with change, as a change such as this transition in presidents, but I have heard of her experience with change at Portland State and she had similar initiatives, so I think she is a good candidate."

DARRELL KRUEGER Who will successor be? JUDITH RAMALEY Senior scientist at the National Science Foundation