December 13, 2013
Carroll Has Star Power
Carroll College was selected as a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institution for 2012-13.
Carroll tallied a sterling 92 on a scale of 100 for this year on the NAIA’s Champion of Character Scorecard. This score places them in the top 5% of schools and they are the top-scoring school for both Montana and the Frontier Conference. This year NAIA-member institutions averaged a 67.48 score.
The Champions of Character Scorecard measures each institution's commitment to the NAIA Champions of Character program. Points are earned in five key areas: character training, conduct in competition, character recognition, academic focus and character promotion.
This is the ninth year that Carroll has earned the Champions of Character Institution Award.
“This designation is well-deserved and both a reminder and outward affirmation of the great character and values our student-athletes display year round. We are fortunate to have such great representatives of our institution across many sports,” Carroll College President Dr. Thomas Evans said.
The Champions of Character Five-Star Institution includes athletes from Carroll College in the following sports: basketball, cross-country, golf, football, soccer, track and field and volleyball.
Guatemala Bound
In the ten days leading up to Christmas, eight Carroll Engineers Without Borders students along with their faculty advisor, and a professional engineer mentor, will be visiting the Diocese of Helena mission in Guatemala to work on their seismic retrofit project.
This trip is part of a continuing project to reinforce the La Asuncion school buildings that are served by the Diocese of Helena mission in Santo Tomas la Union. During this trip, the team will work with school and mission personnel to install two more reinforcing walls in the school’s library building.
To learn more about EWB program and their work in Guatemala as well as Mexico, visit the Carroll EWB webpage. In addition, you can read further about the Guatemala project in the Fall 2012 issue of the Carroll Magazine.
Guatemala team members include: Carroll EWB students - Dillon Armstrong, Steven Cornish, Kegan Cunniff, Jacob Johnson, MaKenzie Johnson, Jonathon Kujawa, Brilee Madison, Patrick Majerus, plus Willis Weight (faculty advisor) and Michael Brennan (professional engineer mentor, Morrison-Maierle, Helena).
Carroll Pup in the Paper
Photo by Eliza Wiley, Helena IR
To provide stress relief for exam-crazed students, dog trainers in the Anthrozoology program made their pups available for a "fuzz fix" during finals week. On several different occasions throughout the week, students could take a break from studying and pet, snuggle and "love-up" on the dogs.
Professor of Psychology, Dr. Anne Perkins, who developed Carroll’s Anthrozoology program, said studies have show an actual scientific brain change brought on by fuzz fixes.
“You can just see them melt and release as they get to play with these puppies,” Perkins said. “Scientific studies have shown reduced cortisol (a primary stress hormone) and reduced blood pressure with this."
The adorable Chance, shown at left, even made the front page of the Helena IR. Read the full article here.
To learn more about the program, visit the Anthrozoology page on the Carroll website.
Faculty/Staff News
High Five for Coach Van Diest
Carroll Head Football Coach, Mike Van Diest, was recently named the 2013 NAIA Region Five Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
This is the fifth time Van Diest has been selected for this award including a consecutive four year run from 2007-2010. This fall Van Diest, in his 15th season with Carroll, led the Fighting Saints to a 12-2 record, a Frontier Conference Championship and an NAIA semifinal appearance.
During Van Diest’s tenure at Carroll, his teams have won 13 Frontier Conference Championships, 6 NAIA National titles and compiled a 176-28 record, with a .863 winning percentage.
“It’s humbling to be recognized by your peers in the coaching progression, but it’s more of a tribute to our coaching staff as a whole,” Van Diest said. “I have a fantastic staff, and it’s a great honor for them to be recognized through my name. Head coaches get way too much credit.”
The AFCA recognizes five regional winners in each of the five divisions (FBS, FCS, DII, DIII and NAIA). Winners were selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
Read more about Van Diest’s selection in the Helena IR: Van Diest Wins Regional AFCA Award.
One Heck of a Fellow
Dr. Brian Matz has been awarded the Patricia H. Imbesi Fellowship at Villanova University for the Spring 2015 semester. The fellowship is intended to support research on Augustine in the history of Christianity. Dr. Matz’s project will be the reception of Augustine in the Carolingian Era (i.e., the ninth century). His research is titled “The Carolingian Augustine and ‘Patristic Studies’ in Mid-Ninth Century Gaul.”
The Patricia H. Imbesi Fellowship of Villanova University is offered each spring semester to an outstanding scholar whose work has a contribution to make to the study of Augustine or of the Augustinian tradition.
Dr. Matz is an Associate Professor of the History of Christianity and the Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen Professor of Peace and Justice.
Alumni News
Agostinelli Coming Up Roses
Mike Agostinelli with students at CR Anderson Middle School
Mike Agostinelli, ’00, was a recent recipient of a $2,500 Farmer’s Insurance “Thank Montana Teachers Grant.” Agostinelli is a teacher at CR Anderson Middle School in Helena and he was awarded the grant for a program titled “Recognizing Greatness Everyday.”
The program was developed to foster a positive school community and find ways to recognize “student greatness” throughout the school. Using a combination of multimedia tools, 12 middle school students will be profiled each week on a digital display showcasing their achievements. The grant will help the program realize their vision.
More than170 Montana teachers applied for the chance to win one of ten $2,500 grants. As a bonus, because Agostinelli received the most votes of any teacher across the state, not only does he receive a $2,500 grant but he was also invited by Farmer’s Insurance to be their guest at this year’s Rose Bowl. Look for him on the Farmers float in this year’s Tournament of Roses parade.
Lance Hoovestal, ‘94, recently published a book titled, “Globalization Contained: The Economic and Strategic Consequences of the Container” published by Palgrave Macmillan Publishers. "Globalization Contained" examines the consequences of the freight container as an economic and strategic agent of change. It examines the delicate balance between economic and security interests with particular emphasis on the perspectives of the main drivers of globalization, the U.S. and China. Lance has lived in Australia since 2005. He has a M.A. in International Relations from The University of New South Wales in Sydney and a Ph.D. in International Relations from The University of Melbourne. He has also been the Director of Business Development--Australia & Asia for Greenway Enterprises Inc., owned by his father, Gary Hoovestal.
Helena author Lenore McKelvey Puhek, '90, has a new book out in her series on pioneer women in Montana history titled “No Time for Tears.” The story details the lives of five women that McKelvey celebrates as "unsung heroes of the West." Puhek has a Bachelor of Arts in English/Writing from Carroll, is a member of the Western Writers of America, the Montana Historical Society, the State of Montana Cowboy and Western Heritage Center and other writing groups. Puhek's other books include "The River's Edge," Annie: From Slavery to a Montana Homestead," and "Forever Friends."
IN MEMORIAM
Vicki Lynn Tracy, (’86), died on Tues., Dec. 10, 2013. She grew up in Glendale, Calif., graduating from Holy Family High School. While there, she met Jude Anthony Duvernay. After time spent in Alaska, the family moved to Helena in 1983, where, backed by the credo of “shared responsibility,” Vicki earned her degree in religious education from Carroll. When she walked across the stage at the PE Center in May 1986, husband Tony and daughter Laura were with her — each of them in a black gown with a gold and purple tassel. Read more.
Student News
Academically Accomplished Athletes
The NAIA annually recognizes college programs that not only excel in athletics but also in the classroom. The Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete Awards are one such way the NAIA acknowledges the academic accomplishments of its athletes.
Fourteen Carroll student-athletes have been recognized this fall as 2013 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
In order to be nominated for this honor, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved a junior academic status.
Carroll scholar-athletes receiving this award this fall include:
Cross-Country: Lyle Pocha, Senior, Chemistry; Troy Solly, Senior, Engineering; Regan Bold, Junior, Health Sciences
Soccer: McKinley Dennis, Senior, Nursing; Kailey Edgar, Senior, Health Sciences; Haley Jensen, Senior, Health Sciences; Tess Neameyer, Junior, Nursing; Paige Williams, Senior, Biology/Chemistry
Volleyball: Elli Graff, Senior, Health Sciences; Karla Hellegaard, Senior, Elementary Education; Kathleen Mulligan, Junior, Health Sciences; Calli Prestwood, Junior, Health Sciences; Emma Priddy, Junior, Nursing; Sarah Roshak, Junior, Mathematics
The 2013 list of football scholar-athletes has not yet been released.
Upcoming Events
Winter Break, Dec. 14 - Jan. 10
Carroll College will be on Winter break from Friday, Dec. 13 through Friday, Jan. 10. Classes will resume Mon., Jan. 13. Administrative offices will be closed Dec. 24 – Jan. 1. Happy Holidays!
Native American Round Dance, Jan. 18, 7 p.m., Lower Cube, Campus Center, Carroll College
Sponsored by the Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice, the Helena Indian Alliance, the All Nations Youth Council, and the Montana Tobacco Youth Prevention Program. The event is free and all are welcome.
Stay up-to-date on all that's happening at Carroll.
Find a complete list of campus activities and events online.
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