December 18, 2015 QuickNotes: Merry Christmas

December 18, 2015

Merry Christmas

We wish you and your families a very blessed and joyful Christmas season.

Please take a few minutes to enjoy this Christmas video featuring our amazing and inspiring students who brighten our world and give us hope that no matter the challenges that lie ahead, our world will be a better place as they make their way through it.

Classroom Gifts

Carroll is proud of our reputation for academic excellence. With this distinction comes a responsibility to provide an educational environment that is conducive to optimal learning and delivers state of the art spaces that better reflect the way students interact and learn today. 

In commitment to fulfilling this promise, three businesses, Dowling Studio Architects, Opportunity Bank of Montana and the Treacy Foundation, have stepped forward with generous support to help renovate classrooms in O’Connell Hall.

“Dowling Studio Architects is proud to be a part of Carroll’s continuing history. It’s an honor for us to be able to give back to the students through the renovation of a classroom in O’Connell Hall. Architecturally, quality classrooms are integral to academic excellence and we are excited to be able to observe a class in the updated space,” said Mike and Sherri Dowling whose company generously donated $30,000 to renovate O’Connell 102.

Configurable furniture, cosmetic improvements, and greatly expanded technological capabilities are some of the improvements that will have an immeasurable influence on the students utilizing these classrooms. 

“Opportunity Bank of Montana is excited to support Carroll College and the renovation of the auditorium in O’Connell Hall. Our bank appreciates Carroll’s tradition of academic excellence and all that the college provides the broader Helena community through public lectures and forums. This updated auditorium will be an asset to students and faculty at Carroll as well as the entire Helena community,” said Pete Johnson, President and CEO. Opportunity Bank’s notable gift of $75,000 will help bring the technological advancements that are needed in today's classrooms. 

With the addition of a $75,000 gift from the Treacy Foundation, combined with previous charitable giving including an earlier contribution from the foundation, Carroll has now been able to update all of the classrooms in O’Connell Hall.

"The Treacy Foundation is excited to support the renovation of classrooms in O'Connell Hall, a building that continues to be an example of the philanthropic legacy of the O'Connell family," said Kimmy Skiftun, Executive Director of the Treacy Foundation.

Thank you so very much to these generous donors who help provide the resources to make Carroll the exceptional institution that it is.

Why Hello There

The new IT Help Desk area in St. Charles not only has a beautiful view of Carroll's winter wonderland but also provides a close-up view for those on the outside.

Watching the magic happen!

Photo courtesy of Joeana Gouveia, IT Help Desk Technician

People's Choice

With over 150 people casting their votes, the competition was close, but the winner of the People’s Choice Award in the Fall Photo Contest is Lyle Pocha. 

Lyle entered the photo “Carroll At Night” in the Campus Beauty category and was the weekly winner in week 4 of our contest.  Congratulations Lyle and thanks for sharing this beautiful photo with us!You can view all the weekly winners at www.carroll.edu/photocontest.

Mark your calendars: Season 2 of Carroll’s Photo Contest will begin February, 2016.

Student News

The Pay Off

Spending long hours and late nights in the lab has paid off for junior Victoria Kong, a chemistry major with a combined fine arts minor from Lake Oswego, Oregon, as a paper she co-authored was recently published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Victoria spent the summer working in Dr. Robert Walker’s lab at Montana State University working closely with his graduate student tracking how coumarin 152, a fluorescent molecule, moved through a lipid membrane as you increase or decrease temperatures. Victoria explained that the practical application of the research is that because cells are made up of the same phospholipids that they used in their experiments, it gave them insight into how different biomolecules may affect our own cellular structures. 

During Victoria’s freshman and sophomore years, she did research at Carroll in a slightly different field, concerning more photoelectrochemistry concepts, whereas the MSU research has a more biochemical application. 

“Though these two fields are very different, I was still forced to apply my critical thinking and problem-solving skills in order to produce any meaningful results,” said Victoria. “In particular, what I really enjoyed is that during my research with the SHArK program here at Carroll with Dr. Rowley, I got to use a laser pen during my experiments to generate data. And then, during my time at the Walker Lab in Bozeman, I got to use an even more powerful laser to analyze my samples. This laser I used was powerful enough to burn through paper and singe my hair if I wasn’t paying attention!” 

Congratulations on being published Victoria!

This past year, Victoria earned ARES awards from the Montana Space Grant Consortium. ARES awards provide funding to pay undergraduate researchers for their work. In recognition of her award, she was KTVH’s Class Act of the Week.In March 2015, Victoria presented her research results done in conjunction with Professor Rowley at the National American Chemical Society Conference in Denver, CO. The research involved her work with Professor Rowley investigating the fundamental chemical mechanisms behind the harvesting of renewable solar energy.

Faculty/Staff News

Upcoming Sabbaticals

Dr. Lynn Peterson

Please join us in congratulating the following faculty members whose sabbatical applications have been approved for the 2016-2017 academic year: 

Dr. Leslie Angel, assistant professor in psychology, will continue her research on canine self-control, and she will continue to work on course development in the area of human sexuality. 

Dr. Barry Ferst, professor in philosophy, will complete an extensive research project on Roman and paleo-Christian sarcophagi.

Dr. Alan Hansen, associate professor of communications studies, will continue his work in the field of Membership Categorization.

Dr. Lynn Petersen, professor of music and the Fr. William F. Greytak Professor of History and Humanities, will continue her study of jazz piano and her development as a jazz pianist. 

Dr. Erik Pratt, professor of international relations, will complete a manuscript on the political history of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. 

Congratulations and best of luck to our faculty on their varied and important projects!

Recently Published

Dr. Lauri Travis, adjunct professor of archaeology and anthropology, leads the Carroll archaeological field school each summer as was featured in the Summer 2015 Carroll Magazine.

A recent article written by Dr. Travis in the December 2015 issue of The Holocene includes data from the last three years of field work, including the last three field schools.

View the abstract of the article here:

Late Holocene climate change in the Big Belt Mountains, central Montana, USA. 25(12);1944-1956. 

Dr.Travis (right) shares her findings with Dr. Patricia Heiser at the 2015 Archaeology Field School

Dr. Rowley works with a student in the E.L.Wiegand Integrated Research and Learning Lab

Dr. John Rowley, assistant professor of chemistry, has been involved in the SHArK project (Solar Hydrogen Research Activity Kit) since his time as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wyoming prior to arriving at Carroll.

At Carroll he has remained involved in the project and has included students in his research, such as chemistry major Victoria Kong, who developed the silk screen printing technique and published a tutorial video.

Dr. Rowley recently published an article in SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, under the Solar & Alternative Energy category, titled:

News from the Solar Hydrogen Activity Research Kit project

Alumni News

Saints in the News

Peggy Newman ‘77 was recently featured in the Hungry Horse News for receiving a Chamber of Commerce Community Pride Award for her 30 years of dedication to the Night of Lights celebration.

Read about her life in Columbia Falls here:

Newman recognized for years of service

Photo courtesy of the Hungry Horse News

Kevin Woodin ‘87, Montana State Billings women’s head basketball coach, was recently featured in the Billings Gazette discussing how he has become the winningest women’s basketball coach in MSUB history.

Doing the math: MSUB coach Woodin has winning's numberPhoto courtesy of Bob Zellar, Billings Gazette

Gettin' Hitched

Marissa Merzlak '15 – read announcement here.

Upcoming Events

Winter Break, Dec. 16 - Jan. 18

Carroll College will be on Winter break from Wednesday, December 16 through Monday, January 18. Classes will resume Tuesday, January 19. Administrative offices will be closed December 25 – January 1. QuickNotes will resume on January 8. Happy Holidays! 

Mark your Calendars – Upcoming Alumni Events:

Carroll in Bozeman, Dec. 21

Join us in Bozeman to support the Lady Saints basketball team as they tip off against MSU on December 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door.

 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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