Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Bighorn Sheep
No full textSpring into the wild world of the bighorn sheep with this middle-grade title from the Spotlight on Nature series. Perfect for wildlife lovers eager to uncover more about their favorite animal’s life cycle, the book weaves an enchanting narrative about a single bighorn family, reminiscent of classic nature shows, into the informational text. It includes captivating photographs, infographics, a timeline of developmental milestones, and features such as a glossary, index, and resources for further learning. To underscore conservation, it also includes a listing of where to see the mountain mammals in captivity and the wild.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/university-archives-msu-authors/1492/thumbnail.jp
The Art of Movement
No full textI wanted to do this project for my Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone to showcase some of my skills and to articulate what I want to do with my degree. I want to go into Medical Illustration, and I want to make science easier for people to learn. To do this I want to take complicated subjects and remake them into simpler terms. For my capstone, I decided to take anatomy of the arm, leg, and abdominal organs and draw them on professional women athletes. I thought that expressing this anatomy in less of a clinical way is one strategy to make it easier for people to learn. To make these art pieces I first brainstormed athletes I wanted to include in the pieces and settled on Ilona Maher, Caitlin Clark, and Tara Davis-Woodhall. I decided after that to do the leg muscles on Maher, arm muscles on Clark, and the abdominal organs on Davis-Woodhall. I chose to use a variety of different mediums including charcoal, graphite, colored pencils, watercolor, and acrylic paint. Once everything was illustrated, I took out a handful of muscles I wanted to highlight, so I made little labels for the muscle or organ shown
Art Therapy in Social Work Practice
No full textArt therapy is an emerging practice among mental health professionals looking for new ways to engage with their clients and encourage nonverbal communication. Creativity is a means of processing memories, improving relationships, and strengthening the mind-body connection across a variety of age groups and practice settings. The efficacy of art therapy has led to its integration into social work practice, benefitting a diverse range of client populations within the field. While a lack of macro-level research studies has prevented the implementation of standardized art therapy techniques in social work, clinical research trials have examined art therapy across several areas of practice to address common issues that clients are facing like trauma, relationship problems, mental illness, and the marginalization of LGBTQIA+ youth
Interview with Dr. Nnedi Okorafor on Death of the Author
No full textJJ Pionke interviews Nnedi Okorafor about her books Death of the Author, Space Cat, and LaGuardia. They talk about the challenges of explaining disability, the lack of age diversity in books, the magic of the creative process, and cats
Estimation of Energy Use Intensity by Space Usage at Minnesota State University, Mankato
No full textThis thesis creates a model that serves as an evaluation tool for testing decarbonization strategies on energy-related projects at Minnesota State University, Mankato, by estimating Energy Use Intensity for different types of spaces across campus. These EUIs can be used to predict future energy consumption when space usage changes and also serve as a baseline for dynamic energy modeling. The methodology used was a regression-based spreadsheet model proposed by Dr. Shreshth N. and originally applied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. EUIs were estimated across five different scenarios, and for electricity, steam, and chilled water. Three criteria were used to evaluate scenarios: model performance, validation of regression assumptions, and agreement with campus-level data. Scenario 1 produces the best estimates, but the results were incomplete; therefore, the next best options selected were scenario 3 for electricity and chilled water, and scenario “1 on 2” for steam. This model showed a better fit when evaluated at the building level compared to the campus level. At the building level, the maximum percentage error between measured and observed energy use was 3%. At the campus level, the errors for electricity and steam were higher but still below 15%, which falls within the recommended threshold. In contrast, the error for chilled water was 53%. These errors mainly resulted from the small dataset size and inconsistent metering. To improve this, future work should focus on improving residual normalization and testing non-linear regression to explore more complex energy consumption behaviors
March 2025 Government Documents Holocaust Display
Full text linkBibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/lib-services-govdoc-display-ethnic/1022/thumbnail.jp
Five-Day Rustic Nature Retreat with Guided Visual Imagery Enhances Cognitive Flexibility and Well-Being in College Faculty and Staff
No full textThere exists a wealth of empirical evidence suggesting that immersive experiences in Nature can promote health and healing. Kaufman argued that there exists a continuum of intervention bolstered by Nature along with meditative practices that can facilitate improved human functioning. Lenartz’s model of Nature connection further provides actionable guidance regarding how one might intentionally leverage the benefits of such a perspective through engaging in a range of simple to immersive activities in a non-clinical ecotherapeutic manner. Informed by the extant research and guided by theory, we sought to explore the potential of a rustic Nature-based intervention to promote cognitive and emotional functioning among a sample of community college faculty and staff interested in pursuing professional development opportunities. The results were statistically robust across all measures and contextually supported by the responses to a brief set of open-ended questions. Specifically, we found that the field experience of guided visual imagery within Nature resulted in (a) improved thinking, (b) more positive mood, (c) less negative mood, (d) greater flourishing, and (e) deepened connection with Nature. We provide a set of recommendations for future research to deepen our understanding of the relevant factors and broaden the generalizability of future findings
MSU Archives Hotdish: A Research Apprentice Program in the Archives
Full text linkThis session focuses on the ingredients used by the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato to make a successful Research Apprentice Program Hotdish. In 2024, the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato participated in the Undergraduate Research Center’s Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP). The RAP provides students new to research with opportunities to collaborate with faculty and staff on mentored research, scholarly, and creative projects. Daardi Mixon, University Archivist will discuss the development and implementation of the RAP program within the archives and how library and university strategic plans were incorporated into the outcomes with a focus on high-impact learning practices and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals. Heidi Southworth, Digital Initiatives Librarian will discuss the Minnesota Digital Library Wikimedia project and how it was used as a foundation for the RAP. Jamison Vierstraete, junior undergraduate student will share his experiences in the RAP and how it helped advance his research and collaboration skills. A good recipe is one you want to make again. The presenters will also share how they’ve adjusted the RAP recipe and implemented it again this year
Meals that Matter: Funding Minnesota\u27s Senior Nutrition Programs to Promote Wellbeing as We Age
Full text linkSenior nutrition programs meet the essential needs of adults aged 60 and over, especially those who are low-income, live in rural areas, have limited English proficiency and are at risk of requiring higher levels of care without these services. In many greater Minnesota counties, over 25% of the population is aged 65 or older. Rural communities are aging more rapidly and face higher rates of food insecurity compared to urban and suburban areas.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Surgeon General issued a 2023 advisory report highlighting the critical issue of social isolation and loneliness. Senior nutrition programs play a dual role: they provide essential nutrition and address the emotional and social needs of program recipients. Additionally, these programs benefit volunteers by reducing loneliness, offering a sense of purpose and fostering community connections.
Barriers to food security for rural older adults include physical limitations, transportation challenges, financial constraints, social isolation and sociocultural factors. Addressing these barriers is crucial for the wellbeing and independence of our aging population. Robust support and expansion of senior nutrition programs will enable older adults to age in place, maintain social connections, and combat food insecurity, thereby benefiting the entire community
Meri Abateneh Honors Portfolio
Full text linkMeri Abateneh\u27s Honors Portfolio captured in May 2025