Under azure skies and gentle breezes, Kenton Frohrip sits enthralled in the third row at the June 25 Lemonade Concert.

In his lap is an autographed score of "Fanfare for a Celebration," an orchestral work commissioned to honor the emeritus music professor's 75th birthday and his enduring contributions to campus and community music.

On the east steps of Atwood Memorial Center is the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra Frohrip helped found in 1975.

The maze of Beaver Islands adjacent to St. Cloud State University offers a glimpse of the Mississippi River of yesteryear.

“The Beaver Islands are jewels in the university’s crown,” said Loren Boone, assistant vice president for marketing and communications. “They’re a wonderful natural resource for Minnesotans to enjoy.”

The “Springtime in the Beaver Islands” slide shows display 48 photos about birds and blossoms, moonseed and sunsets, skateboarders and disc golfers, rodents and reptiles, kayakers and canoeists.

The dean of the College of Education is stepping down effective July 3.

Kate Steffens has resigned to become dean of the Riley College of Education and Leadership at Walden University, a Minneapolis-based, for-profit, online college.

Steffens came to St. Cloud State in 1998 as associate dean of the College of Education. She subsequently served as assessment director, interim associate vice president for academic affairs, Special Education faculty member and dean.

KARE 11 television meteorologist Sven Sundgaard is the latest star in the St. Cloud State University billboard campaign.

Sundgaard's smiling portrait graces a billboard viewable from I-94 in Minneapolis. The north-facing 14-by-48 foot billboard at Glenwood Avenue is part of a "St. Cloud PROUD" campaign that highlights successful students and alumni.

A 2003 meteorology graduate, Sundgaard is the weekend weathercaster for Minnesota's leading NBC affiliate.

St. Cloud State University President Earl H. Potter III has announced the appointment of Craig Wruck, Minneapolis, to the position of vice president for university advancement, effective July 1.

Wruck brings to his new position 33 years of experience in fundraising and engaging alumni in service, friendship and giving.

Most recently he served as senior vice president of development and alumni relations for the Hazelden Foundation in Minneapolis, leading a nationwide development program and achieving a record 30 percent increase in philanthropic revenue in 2007. 

Nursing student Heather Miller returned to Minnesota with two more All-American honors and a string of personal bests.

The Sun Prairie, Wis., junior finished second in the triple jump and fifth in the heptathlon at the May 21-22 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in San Angelo, Texas.

Miller set the school record with a jump of 40-07.75, eclipsing the 39-11.75 mark she set at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships in early May.

In March she finished fifth in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump at NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, earning two All-American honors.

As a nursing student, Heather Miller knows the human body and its limitations.

As a track and field heptathlete, she will test those limits May 21-22 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in San Angelo, Texas.

After four events Thursday, Miller was in eighth place. She took sixth in the 100-meter hurdles, ninth in the high jump, eighth in shot put and sixth in the 200 meters. Friday she completes the heptathlon with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.

Devinder M. Malhotra has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Cloud State University.

Malhotra, whose main field of study is economics, will start July 1, replacing retiring Michael Spitzer, who has been provost since 2002.

Malhotra was born in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, in northern India. One of seven children of a lawyer and a homemaker, he was educated at a Catholic boarding school in Dalhousie and the Modern School in Delhi. His father and older brother were members of the Congress Party and served in Parliament.

Yacoub Aljaffery's non-fiction narrative of a brutal childhood in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Nichole Held's slice-of-life story about a family breakup.

Steve Klepetar's playful poem "How to Make Love in a Foreign Language."

These and other literary works -- plus five powerful photos -- form Kaleidoscope 2009, the magazine of the Write Place, St. Cloud State University's writing center.

English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students take heart -- certified teachers are on the way.

As many as 50 of St. Cloud State’s 200 Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) students could receive their degrees this year, helping close the gap between the national student-to-teacher ratio of 19-to-1 and the Minnesota ratio of 49-to-1.

ESL is one of three areas in which demand for teachers is up, the others being special education, math and sciences, according to TESL Director Jim Robinson.