Shows
So, what's next?CSB/SJU Joint President Brian Bruess - Complex, purposeful leadership and defining the future. What is next?If you have followed recent news from Collegeville and St. Joe, you’ll know that St. Ben’s and St. John’s are changing. At the end of 2021, we talked with transitional presidents Jim Mullen and Laurie Hamen about what the future of strong integration for CSB and SJU will entail.
Now, as the 2022 academic year starts for students, a leadership framework in which CSB and SJU now operate under two boards made up of common members, and the first joint President of the institutions, Brian Bruess, is in office.
This podcast has always looked toward...
2022-09-1235 minSo, what's next?Fr. Columba Stewart - A sense of purpose, a sense of adventure, and a mission to make a meaningful impact through preservation.If you were to contribute a ‘drop in the bucket’ to address political, religious, or humanitarian challenges, how would you do it? It’s a hard challenge to address, no doubt. While many of us listening to this podcast are still formulating ways that we can use our time, talent, and treasure to address societal challenges that are dear to us, today’s guest has found a profound avenue of work that piques both a sense of adventure and impact.
Fr. Columba Stewart, today’s guest on the podcast, has traveled to the far reaches of the earth on l...
2022-08-0243 min
So, what's next?Angela Guentzel - How is our agriculture changing? The future of our food and farming.Food is, without a doubt, an essential cornerstone of the Minnesota economy that sustains lives both here and around the world. Many of the companies Minnesotan natives grew up with in their backyards - Cargill, General Mills, CHS, Post Consumer Brands - play a key role in providing the essential pieces of our global agricultural and food ecosystem. What is more, the thousands of farmers - both here, across the midwest, and around the world - are sustaining our increasingly stressed food supply chain from which these companies bring our most loved items to shelves, cabinets, and refrigerators around...
2022-06-2339 minSo, what's next?Judy Zimmer - Finding joy, purpose, and growth in our work. Tools that you can use for the rest of your career that help you to identify where joy resides.According to a recent survey by Willis Towers Watson, the “Great Resignation” currently occurring across our workforce has roughly 44% of the American workforce listing themselves as employees that are “job seeking”. This term, or the sentiment around the shuffling of America’s workforce, should not be unfamiliar at this point as the pandemic caused many of us to think about the value of our work, both as employees and as human beings with a multitude of things going on in our lives at any giving point. The newfound demand for jobs, and the drastic shift in the way we accomplish...
2022-05-2346 minSo, what's next?Navigating a chaotic housing market - how to approach buying (or renting) a home rationally.*Episode Disclaimer: The views and opinions on the housing market from this episode are held by the guests. If you are making active decisions involving navigating the current housing market, please seek the most recent counsel and advice from professionals in this field, such as those hosted in the episode of this show.
Whether you’re 29 and looking for your first home, 45 and looking for rental properties to add to your rental portfolio, or 65 and looking to move into a new location for retirement, there are good odds you are feeling the stress of a housing market tha...
2022-04-191h 08So, what's next?Dr. Ken Jones - Paying attention to history: why understanding the past can inform how we view our present and prepare for our future.To study history is to study change. History provides tools to analyze and explain problems in the past, it positions us to see patterns that might otherwise be invisible in the present. History can help us feel a connection to the past - after all, the more time you spend learning about history, I’d argue that it is more likely to see that your human experience in the present is not all that different from those in the past.
Although now may feel like a timely moment to talk about history’s importance due to current even...
2022-03-221h 03So, what's next?Dr. Jessica Najarian-Bell - Building a career, a family, and passions - preparing for family life, maintaining your job, and sticking to the fun stuffCareer or family - must it be a binary choice? And what about your passions, friends, frivolous things you used to enjoy? Do we just say goodbye to those altogether when it’s time to raise kids and progress in a career? Those questions were already tough prior to the pandemic, now we’ve spent the past 2 years rethinking the balance between family, career, and passions altogether again.
We’ve all seen the headlines and heard the stories - parents of young kids are out of steam and worn out due to childcare challenges. Remote work has added...
2022-02-1139 minSo, what's next?Chris Farrell and Pr. Louis Johnston - What really is normal, anyway? 2021 economy In review, insights and predictions into 2022.A wide-lens review of the year 2021 based on the reflections on the economy, with foresight into 2022. U.S. economic activity resurged in 2021 after a year marked by lockdowns, stay-in-place orders, and general uncertainty about the future. Economically, this rebound was fueled by a combination of monetary and fiscal stimulus, as well as firm consumer spending. However, it wouldn’t be the “Covid” era without lingering uncertainty and constraints. against The second half of this year especially has seen an economy grappling with constraints across supply chains and rising price pressures. Lingering virus concerns, with the rise of different variants like t...
2022-01-141h 05
MinnCentral CurrentsRebroadcast 4: Episode 12 Working 9 to 5In January of 2020, for only the second time in the history of American labor statistics, women outnumbered men in the American workforce - a headline-making milestone. At the same time, however, another rare but significant story was developing - one that would ultimately lead to the worst job-losses among women in the history of our country.
The pandemic hit female-dominated industries the hardest: Hospitality, education, health care, and retail. By April of 2020, the pandemic had caused 4.2 million women to exit the labor force.
And even as there was a slight rebound in early summer of 2020, losses continued t...
2021-12-1532 minSo, what's next?President’s Hamen and Mullen - On integration, on the future. Where are St. Ben’s and St. John’s headed? What does it mean to be Bennies and Johnnies in 2021? The importance of our communities, our sOver the decades in Collegeville and St. Joe, I’d imagine that thousands of people have stood on various stages or in front of crowds varying in size, trying to explain what makes St. Ben’s and St. John’s so special to many of the people that are lucky enough to experience them.
St. John’s and St. Ben’s bring different feelings and create different experiences for everyone. People often tell students, graduates and young alums to wait a few years to understand the sentiment. For many, all it takes is the drive down...
2021-12-0652 minSo, what's next?Pr. Kari-Shane Davis Zimmerman - Our relationships and our mental health - deeply tied and so important. How have they changed, and what can we do to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and others?Our relationships and our mental health are deeply connected. In many ways, they are the single most connected element to whether or not we consider ourselves happy and fulfilled, or detached and unsatisfied. We’re wired to connect to others from the time we’re babies. Social connectedness is what drives every part of our lives - family, friends, significant others, colleagues, classmates - nearly every setting we are put in is dependent on our connectedness to those around us. It explains why the discomfort of moving away, whether for college, a new job or a fresh start, can be s...
2021-10-131h 03So, what's next?Pr. Matt Lindstrom - Climate Change and sustainability - the impact our policies, business decisions, and individual choices have on our world’s rapidly changing climateThis month’s topic focuses on climate change - undoubtedly a big topic today that will only increase in prominence through our lifetimes. Climate change is a notoriously complex issue, and it’s been that way for far longer than many of us likely realize. In fact, this topic alone could take entire years worth of this podcast series. For that reason, we are in your headphones today to cover climate change from a broad perspective, and more importantly, to cover our relationship with the earth’s changing climate as governments, businesses, communities, and individuals. And, most important of all, w...
2021-09-2056 minSo, what's next?Jon McGee - Is the cost of a college degree still worth it? How the value of a higher education has changed in recent years, where its going and why value is derived beyond just quantitative elementsOdds are - whether you are approaching your 50th reunion, climbing the ladder of corporate America while balancing a family, mortgage, and seemingly endless other tasks, fresh out of college and finding your way, or in the thick of your studies, you’ve wondered if that degree received upon graduating is worth it. The constant questioning does not come without merit - according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, outstanding student debt at the end of the third quarter of 2019 stood at a staggering $1.5 trillion dollars. In 1982, before financial aid, the cost of tuition plus room & board an...
2021-08-1356 minSo, what's next?Jona Van Deun - Navigating the world of politics and business - how to adapt and influence change in a constantly evolving, often tenuous, and perpetually demanding environment.The dynamic relationship of American politics and business have vastly changed since 1990. The prominence of women in leadership roles, and the impact they have, has also changed drastically. Historically, entire fields – such as public relations, for instance – have been largely controlled by white male business leaders. While this has changed, the call for inclusion of women in the business environment is growing now more than ever. Although women creating a positive impact across the globe has been trending in the right direction for years, since March of 2020, a number of female leaders have emerged as a benchmark for what comp...
2021-07-1246 minMinnCentral CurrentsEpisode 12: Working 9 to 5In January of 2020, for only the second time in the history of American labor statistics, women outnumbered men in the American workforce - a headline-making milestone. At the same time, however, another rare but significant story was developing - one that would ultimately lead to the worst job-losses among women in the history of our country.
The pandemic hit female-dominated industries the hardest: Hospitality, education, health care, and retail. By April of 2020, the pandemic had caused 4.2 million women to exit the labor force.
And even as there was a slight rebound in early summer of 2020, losses continued t...
2021-06-1631 min
So, what's next?Scott Kranz - Writing your own story. Pursuing your passions with courage and persistence, and finding your fitFinding your 'true North' is covered in hyperbole and cliches. How many times have you been told to “follow your passion?” It’s a message that appears in everything from graduation speeches to job ads. We even say it ourselves. Finding your real passions is hard enough. Learning how to work with your real passions every day - that much harder. Many argue that the biggest purpose of attending college is to find and pursue your passions, but how can a 4-year stretch piled with papers, tests, extracurriculars, and ‘new’ everything really give the proper time to reflect and pursue what...
2021-06-0745 minSo, what's next?Sr. Michaela Hedican, OSB & Fr. Nick Kleespie, OSB - The intersection of faith and personal development. Our search for meaning in faith, work, and life“The mission of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University is to provide the very best residential liberal arts education in the Catholic university tradition. They foster integrated learning, exceptional leadership for change, and wisdom for a lifetime.” - The first sentences of the joint mission of CSB/SJU. While attending college, whether at St.Ben’s and St. John’s or many other religiously affiliated institutions, spirituality is often at the focal point of the academic mission, and a focus of the preparation students receive before entering the professional world and the rest of their lives. Catholic...
2021-05-0357 minSo, what's next?Margaret Murphy - Harnessing creativity, navigating uncertainty, and fostering growth - the importance of authentic, empowering leadership and building communityBuilding community, fostering growth, and navigating uncertainty must have a genesis, right? These keys to success aren’t present from the beginning, something or someone has to initiate, empower and inspire that growth and community. Oftentimes, building community and harnessing growth takes selfless, all-encompassing leadership from an individual or group of individuals that understand how to drive progress. What fosters creativity? How do we build connections authentically and humanly? How does the importance of community shape our world of work, and how does that change as society does?
Joining us on this episode is Margaret Murphy. She ha...
2021-04-1243 minSo, what's next?Pr. Boz Bostrom & Pr. Ben Trnka - Managing personal finance and creating wealth, and how to navigate through uncertain timesIt’s tough to know just what to do with your money, and how to know whether what you are doing is a safe and wealth-creating bet. Even though personal finance is widely considered one of the most important aspects of successfully navigating through life, many people never become sufficiently educated on its many different components. Understanding and successfully executing personal finance is hard enough without unforeseen and difficult circumstances, and COVID-19 has made what is already difficult for many, that much harder.
We are joined by CSB/SJU accounting and finance professors Boz Bo...
2021-03-0832 minSo, what's next?Dr. Kurt Schwieters & Dr. Mary Schwieters - The COVID-19 Pandemic: how has it affected us as individuals and communities?It has been nearly one year since COVID-19 brought life as we know it to a screeching halt. In some areas of the world, it has already been well over a year. Any way you slice it, this global pandemic has altered nearly every facet of our lives, creating an entirely "new" normal and leaving us with many unanswered questions.
Joining us to answer some of these questions is Dr. Kurt Schwieters (SJU '88) and Dr. Mary Schwieters (CSB '88), both physicians in central Minnesota. Together, we will discuss the constant (worldwide) elephant in the room - t...
2021-02-0938 minSo, what's next?Dr. Louis Johnston - Anything but static. 2020 in review, and where we go from here.COVID-19, and the adverse effects of this past year, has impacted our entire community in profound ways. In many cases, our livelihoods have turned upside down as we have searched for ways to reestablish meaning and purpose through communication, work, persistence, and copious amounts of banana bread and Netflix.
Dr. Louis Johnston, Professor of Economics at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, helps us understand the economic impacts through the ups and downs of 2020, what that means for CSB/SJU alums, and where we see things headed for the year ahead.
2021-01-1045 min
This Moved Me105: Jared Sherlock - On Amazing Your AudienceJared Sherlock - magician, entrepreneur, producer, actor - opened up a magic kit at age 8 and decided that he wanted to be a magician. He went on to study theater and boldly took his magic to the world at a young age. I got to see him in action a year ago at the CSB/SJU RedTalks where he gave an astounding 5-minute talk that AMAZED me. It was full of illusions and "trickery" - and yet, it felt authentic and honest. I wanted to talk about that wonderful paradox, and Man! - Jared lives it. I loved this...
2016-05-1850 min