Former Ranier resident awarded doctorate at U of M
Former Ranier and Falls resident Rajean Moone was recently awarded a doctorate from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.
At the U of M, he studied social policy and aging and his doctoral dissertation focused on the Older Americans Act, a national policy that funds programs such as Meals on Wheels and legal services.
During his doctoral studies, Moone was awarded a national John A. Hartford Doctoral Fellowship from the Gerontological Society of America, the Shelley Joseph-Kordell scholarship from the U of M’s Center on Aging and a Gerald Bloedow scholarship from the Minnesota Gerontological Society.
Moone attended St. Thomas Aquinas while in the Falls and graduated from Park High School, Cottage Grove, Minn., in 1996. He received his bachelor of arts in psychology in 2000 from The College of St. Scholastica, where he was a McNair Scholar. He received a master of science in gerontology in 2004 from St. Cloud State University, graduating summa cum laude. In 2005 Moone received his nursing home administrator’s license.
Moone is the son of Rick and Rhoda Moone, formerly of Ranier.

BSU to hold psychology open house
The counseling psychology program at Bemidji State University is expected to hold an open house from 5-7 p.m. Jan. 31 at the American Indian Resource Center on the BSU campus.
BSU’s master’s degree program in counseling psychology began its third year of existence in the fall of 2007 and from now until March, BSU will be accepting applications for the fall 2008 semester.
While other schools might offer degree programs in either counseling or psychology, the program at Bemidji State provides an unusual combination program which helps prepare students for doctorate-level study, according to school officials.
The open house is intended for students interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in counseling psychology, practitioners looking to build relationships with students and faculty in the program and for any member of the public interested in mental health in rural Minnesota.
Louise Jackson, professor of psychology at BSU, is expected to present “The Crisis of Rural Mental Health and What We Are Doing About It” at the open house.