NORTHERN TODAY 7 SPRING 2015 NORTHERN NEWS Gypsy Days turns 100 NSU campus community preparing for celebration of the century THE NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY community is busy preparing for the university’s 100th anniversary celebration of Gypsy Days. NSU will celebrate Gypsy Days Sept. 21-26, with many special events planned for the week on and off campus. The week’s homecoming events culminate in the annual Gypsy Day Parade, the largest parade in South Dakota, on Saturday, Sept. 26. This year’s parade theme will be “Cruising through the Decades.” Participants will select a decade from the past 100 years to represent on their float, incorporating the number “100” on their float in some way. Work is ongoing on an online Gypsy Days history project, which will be ready by fall. This project is a digital exhibit of Beulah Williams Library items pertaining to Gypsy Days, including photographs, yearbooks and historic copies of the Exponent student newspaper. Also in the works is an oral history project called Northern Memories. The goal of this project, a collaborative effort between the library and the NSU history department, is to preserve and share memories of the university, including memories of Gypsy Days. Recorded interviews of alumni and former faculty, staff and other members of the NSU community will be made available online at http://nsudigital.org/Northern_Memories/. On social media, NSU will use the hashtag #GypsyDays100 for all Gypsy Days coverage. For more information on Gypsy Days, visit www.northern.edu/gypsydays. The schedule of events for Gypsy Days at NSU includes: MONDAY, SEPT. 21: NSU Faculty Concert, 7:30 p.m., Krikac Auditorium THURSDAY, SEPT. 24: Community Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., NSU Student Center Coronation, 7 p.m., Krikac Auditorium FRIDAY, SEPT. 25: 50 Year Club Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., NSU Student Center Northern Bound Day and All Campus Open House, 2-4 p.m., campus-wide Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame Banquet, 5 p.m., Dakota Event Center Volleyball vs. Duluth, 7 p.m., NSU Barnett Center’s Wachs Arena All Decades Men’s Basketball Reunion, 7 p.m., DEC Alumni and Friends Jazz Swing Dance and Welcome Back Gathering, TBA, DEC SATURDAY, SEPT. 26: Gypsy Day Parade, 9 a.m., Main Street Alumni and Friends Tailgate, noon, Clark Swisher Activities Complex Gypsy Day football game vs. USF, 2:30 p.m., Clark Swisher Activities Complex THE STATE-OF-THE-ART facility, which will enhance research and teaching capabilities at the university, is expected to be completed by Aug. 15. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 30 at the location of the planned greenhouse, on the southeast corner of NSU’s MewaldtJensen Building. The greenhouse will be connected to Mewaldt-Jensen through a classroom, which will be remodeled to house the greenhouse manager and the mechanical room. The approximately 1,030-squarefoot greenhouse will allow for handson, field-based work for NSU biology and biotechnology students. The greenhouse will also benefit students of all ages throughout the Aberdeen community, as elementary school tours and high school classes could all take advantage of its capabilities. The $750,000 facility will boast new technology that will also make a good recruitment tool for the environmental science and biotechnology programs – especially for a university Northern’s size. Huff Construction is constructing the facility, which was designed by JLG Architects. GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY HELD FOR NSU GREENHOUSE A new greenhouse will be opening soon on the campus of NSU. DR. ALAN LAFAVE IS NEW NSU PROVOST LAFAVE’S APPOINTMENT concludes a national search that narrowed an extensive list of candidates to five finalists. LaFave, who has served as dean of the NSU School of Fine Arts since 2000, took office in June. “Dr. LaFave has had a tremendous career here at NSU,” said Northern State President Dr. James Smith. “His dedication to excellence in the fine arts area and ability to bring that excellence to life has been the envy of his peers throughout the region. I know Al will now bring that focused dedication to the work done as provost, and I look forward to working with him in his new capacity.” The search for a new provost began in December 2014 when Dr. Thomas Hawley announced his retirement from the university. LaFave received his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in clarinet performance, both from Arizona State University. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree in instrumental/vocal music from Northern State College. A native of Onida and graduate of Sully Buttes High School, LaFave joined Northern in 1991. In 1997 he moved into the role of associate dean for the School of Fine Arts and was appointed dean in 2000. Dr. Alan LaFave has been named the new provost and vice president of academic affairs of Northern State University. C E L E BRA T E
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