Gordon Hansmeier was recently appointed as chair of the Seventh District Bar Association’s Ethics Committee by the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Seventh District includes Stearns, Benton, Clay, Becker, Ottertail, Wadena, Douglas, Todd, Morrison and Mille Lacs counties. Hansmeier replaces Timothy Churchwell, who has been appointed to serve on the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. District Ethics Committees are established in each of the 21 district bar associations to investigate complaints of unethical conduct against Minnesota lawyers for the state Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board.
District Ethics Committee members are volunteer attorneys and public members. Complaints about a Minnesota lawyer’s professional conduct must be filed directly with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, 1500 Landmark Towers, 345 St. Peter St., St. Paul, Minn. 55102 or online at lprb.mncourts.gov. These complaints are then referred to the appropriate District Ethics Committee for investigation and recommendation.
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Two Sartell students are studying abroad during the spring semester 2015 through the Office for Education Abroad at the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, and St. John’s University, Collegeville. BrandiBollig, daughter of John Bollig, is studying in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Bollig is a junior biology major at CSB. AndrewKuhl, son of Kathy and Mark Kuhl is studying in Segovia, Spain. Kuhl is a junior accounting major at SJU.
Port Elizabeth, situated on the Indian Ocean near the southern tip of the African continent, has a population of more than one million and is South Africa’s fifth largest city. Students study in classrooms at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, sharing library, computer lab, recreation and sports facilities with South African students. Students are housed in apartments near the university. Faculty from NMMU teach courses in political science, literature, peace studies, music and marine biology. Service learning is a major component of the South Africa study abroad experience. Students volunteer throughout the semester at either Pendla Primary School, AIDS Haven-House of Resurrection or Missonvale Care Center. Jim Schnepf, professor of computer science at CSB and SJU, is the director of the program for spring 2015.
Segovia serves as the site for this Spain study abroad program. In Segovia, students immerse themselves in Spanish culture, art, history, politics and language. The program is directed toward students seeking to deepen their training in Spanish language and culture. Courses are all taught in Spanish. The cities, castles, churches and museums of Spain are used as “classrooms” by the program professors. Each student lives with a Spanish family for the duration of the program. Vilma Walter, professor of Hispanic studies at CSB and SJU, is the director of the program for spring 2015.
CSB and SJU are ranked in two different categories in Open Doors 2014, the annual report on international education published by the Institute of International Education (IIE). CSB and SJU are ranked No. 3 among baccalaureate schools, with 563 students who studied abroad during the 2012-13 school year (the latest year measured by IIE). CSB and SJU have been ranked among the top six schools nationally in this category for the past 10 years. CSB and SJU are also ranked No. 4 nationally among baccalaureate institutions, with 362 students studying abroad in mid-length (semester-long) study abroad programs during 2012-13.
Before graduating, 62 percent of CSB students and 46 percent of SJU students will participate in a study abroad program. Annually, CSB and SJU administer study abroad programs in more than 20 countries; offering students 19 semester-long programs, 15 of which are faculty-led, and more than 20 short-term programs.