The new Mustang Card will make its debut in August. And as The Centers Director Paul Lamantia says, “Don’t leave home without it!”

The new identification card for Southwest Minnesota State University students and employees is called the Mustang Card, and will offer a number of benefits to users.

“It’s a new ID card, but beyond that, it’s a way for the students and employees to gain access to services and facilities on campus,” said Lamantia.

The card will serve a number of financial functions, said Lamantia. It can be used as a declining balance debit card across campus. Money deposited into the account is known as Mustang Money, and can be spent across campus for such things as books, clothing, copies and vending machines. Washers and dryers will be brought on board next year, too, said Lamantia, as will building access.

Southwest Minnesota State University’s Web site has won five top awards from a leading educational design Web site, eduStyle.

SMSU redesigned its Web site a year ago and submitted it for consideration for eduStyle awards. SMSU was nominated in five categories: Best Prospective Student or Admissions Site, Best Visual Design, Best Overall Website, Best Homepage and Best Redesign.

The Web site www.edustyle.net is a web design gallery dedicated to higher education websites. It is powered by higher education web design professionals.

Voting was split into two categories: Judged and People’s Choice awards. A panel of Web experts evaluated the Judged category entrants. The People’s Choice winners were judged by all eduStyle website visitors who voted.

First-year students at Southwest Minnesota State University will take part in Mustang Gold Rush Days Aug. 19-22 on the campus of SMSU.

Gold Rush Days are an opportunity for class of 2014 members to acclimate themselves to the university and meet their new classmates through a series of events to help make the transition from high school to college life easier.

“Gold Rush Days is an extremely important and exciting time for our first-year students and our campus community. It marks the beginning of a relationship that over the next few years will help those students achieve their goals and realize the opportunities that SMSU will present them,” said Matt Suby, Assistant Director of Admissions and Gold Rush Days coordinator.

The traditional Move-in Day is Thursday, Aug. 19 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. SMSU faculty, staff, administration and athletic teams will be joined by community members to help new students move their belongings into the residence halls.