Vos, Margaret

Biographical Information: Margaret Skudlarek Vos is a 1972 (BS) and 1982 (MS) graduate of St. Cloud State University. One of eight children, Margaret grew up in Holdingford in Stearns County, Minnesota. After high school graduation, Margaret attended Bemidji State University but transferred to St. Cloud State in 1970. Upon completing her degree in 1972, she was hired as a teacher in Foley, Minnesota. Margaret returned to St. Cloud State in 1980 as a graduate student when took a leave of absence from teaching. While at St. Cloud State as a graduate student, she held an assistantship in Atwood Memorial Center at the University Program Board (UPB). She stayed another year to serve as interim UPB director for the 1981/82 academic year. Margaret returned to Foley to teach but was then hired as at the permanent UPB director in 1986. Margaret then served in that role until 1995 when she was made Atwood interim director, then hired as the permanent director in 1997. She served there until retirement in 2013. Margaret had other roles at St. Cloud State between 1997 and 2013. In January 2006, she was appointed as interim Vice President for Student Life and Development and served through June 2006. Then between 2006 and 2008, Margaret served as interim Associate Vice President for International Studies (2006-2008). Shortly after retirement from Atwood in 2013, Margaret was coaxed back by St. Cloud State and was again appointed as interim Associate Vice President for International Studies. She retired for good in 2014. Margaret and her husband, Leo, have one son, Jacob.

Transcript Summary: Margaret began by discussing her roles at SCSU before moving on to her childhood, growing up in Stearns County and her family’s background. She initially enrolled at Bemidji State before transferring to St. Cloud State. In 1972, she graduated with a BS degree in Speech Communication with an emphasis on Mass Comm and Theater. Margaret described her experiences at St. Cloud State, particularly how the environment was during the Vietnam War as well as her time spent in the Performing Arts Center.

After graduation, Margaret was hired to teach in Foley, Minnesota in 1973. She taught at Foley until 1986 with a two year break. During that two year break between 1980 and 1982, Margaret returned to St. Cloud State where she earned a masters’s degree, had a graduate assistantship at the University Program Board (UPB) and stayed another year to serve as interim director at UPB. She worked and the UPB team worked hard to plan and execute events for students to be informed and exposed to other viewpoints.

Margaret returned to St. Cloud State in 1986 as the permanent director of UPB. In that position they held series debates about hot topics, such as abortion. Experts were invited to campus to debate these topics. Margaret described a 1992 visit from Hollywood director Spike Lee. The appearance sold out Halenbeck Hall and the talk was simulcast at Ritsche Auditorium.

Margaret detailed her roles as the interim and permanent director of Atwood Memorial Center, interim Vice President for Student Life and Development as well as two stints as interim Associate Vice President for International Studies, including a stint after she retired from Atwood in 2013. During her final stint in International Studies, Margaret discovered that she had a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She described how she survived cancer as the treatments were successful.