The University of Minnesota Crookston hosted members of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents on April 30 as part of the systemwide onboarding process for new regents. The group included new regents Joel Bergstrom, Sam Heins, Ellen Luger, and Kowsar Mohamed, along with current regents James Farnsworth and Mary Turner.
Campus visits are a regular part of Regent orientation to help board members learn about each university location’s unique programs and priorities. During their visit, the regents met with students over lunch and took an interactive tour that showcased academic offerings, student life, and campus initiatives.
The tour included stops at key locations such as the Center for Rural Education in Science and Technology Mobile Lab, Early Childhood Development Center, University Teaching and Outreach Center (which serves as the main facility for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department according to the official website), residential halls, athletic facilities, and the Red River Valley Natural History Area. Faculty, staff, and students discussed their work at each stop. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Department is part of UMN Crookston according to its official website, where it promotes social well-being through hands-on experiences designed to positively influence agriculture and natural resources according to its official website. The department also focuses on safeguarding food supplies while promoting environmental health by integrating sustainable practices with technology according to its official website.
A ceremonial tree planting near the Early Childhood Development Center was held as part of a summer sustainability initiative that will add about 800 trees and shrubs across campus. This project is supported by funding from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in partnership with Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa.
Regents attended an informal reception in the Prairie Room where they spoke with faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors—and learned more about activities like Agriculture and Natural Resources Activities Day which reaches area high school students according to its official website. They also heard about specialized programs such as Equine Science’s Horse Donation Program according to its official website.
The day concluded with dinner hosted by Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause alongside her cabinet members for further discussion between regents and campus leadership.
