birkelo_hall_1-web.jpgRenovation and exciting plans are underway for the Birkelo Hall residence hall at Mayville State University. The new and improved facility will re-open in the fall of 2017 as a living and learning community that will encourage high-achieving first-year students to become a part of the Mayville State family. These are students who have a focus on excellence both in and out of the classroom. Rent for students accepted into the new living and learning community will be half-price.

To be considered for the “Study-Learn-Grow-Birkelo” program, a prospective student must:

  • Be a full-time, on-campus first-year student;
  • Have an ACT score of 22 or higher (or SAT equivalent);
  • Have a grade point average of 3.25 or higher.birkelo_hall_2-web.jpg

The students must commit to excellence in the classroom; attending, planning, and working at on-campus activities, as well as participate in other opportunities for involvement, in a residential space intended to foster scholarship, active discussion, and friendships.

Applicants will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis, as space is available. Transfer students and upperclassmen may be considered at the discretion of the Director of Student Life and/or Vice President for Student Affairs.

Students who are selected for the Birkelo Living and Learning program will be eligible for incentives, which include an on-campus housing credit valued at 50% of a double-occupancy rate, or about $1,100. This award will be annually renewable if the student maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and is actively involved on campus. The individual must remain a residential, on-campus student in good standing with the University.

Not much has changed at Birkelo Hall since the facility opened in the 1960s. It’s time to make some much-needed improvements. Campus personnel are sprucing up the rooms at Birkelo Hall. The walls are being treated to create a more home-like feel. Fresh paint and window treatments are a part of the plan. New desks and beds are being purchased, and when all is said and done, the building will provide a lovely new place where the best and brightest can live and learn.

Were you a resident at Birkelo Hall at some time? Perhaps you’d be interested in sponsoring a room or study area in the new and improved facility. There are opportunities to sponsor a room and have your name remembered forever at Birkelo Hall. For more information, contact John Klocke at 701-788-4787 or john.j.klocke@mayvillestate.edu, or go to www.mayvillestate.edu/birkeloreborn.

The renovation of Birkelo Hall is another important piece in the transformation of the Mayville State University campus. Over the last several years, nearly every inch of the campus has been updated or expanded in some way. Alumni and friends are invited to visit the campus during Alumni Day festivities on Friday, June 23. A campus tour will begin from the front of Old Main at 2 p.m. In addition, there will be an open house at Birkelo Hall from 2 to 3 p.m. This will be a great time to see the project in process.

Additional Alumni Day activities will include an ice cream social on the grounds south of the Larson Alumni and Leadership Center from 2 to 3 p.m. Music will be provided by the First & Farmers Filharmonic. Those who attend are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs for a place to sit.

From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. there will be a social to recognize this year’s Alumni Association honorees, Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Richard Balstad and Don Cavalier, and Distinguished Service Award recipients Mike Bakken and Jeff Braaten (posthumous recipient). These folks will receive their awards at the Alumni Association Awards Dinner, which will take place in the Campus Center Luckasen Room, beginning at 6 p.m. June 23. Tickets sell for $20 each and must be purchased in advance at www.mayvillestate.edu/alumniday or by contacting the MSU Foundation at alumni.mail@mayvillestate.edu or 701-788-4865.

An all-alumni social and reunion of the Mayville State class of 1977 and their friends will round out the day’s activities. Festivities begin at 8 p.m. at the Mayville Golf Club. Everyone is invited to attend.

For more information about Alumni Day 2017, go to www.mayvillestate.edu/alumniday.

For more information on the Birkelo Hall living and learning project, call 701-788-4842 or email askus@mayvillestate.edu.

Photo Captions: 

Top: New beds and desks will be a part of the newly renovated rooms in Birkelo Hall.

Bottom: Mayville State staff are working to create a more home-like atmosphere in the rooms at Birkelo Hall.