Reflections

Reflection and New Beginnings

Every year about this time I go through a period of very serious reflection on what the past academic year has brought to Dakota State University. When students arrived last fall we were still in the last stages of some major construction projects – the finishing touches to the renovations of Higbee and Richardson Halls. While there were many adjustments and last minute “fixes” that needed to be made this improvement was certainly a positive addition to the campus. The new Myxers coffee place and convenience store was not quite ready but shortly after the beginning of fall semester it became a part of the campus experience. Other renovation projects included the new mailbox room in the Trojan Center and the refurbishing and renovating of the conference rooms in the TC. Beadle Hall also received a “face lift” with all new windows and window blinds etc. The admissions office in Heston Hall had a major up-grade with a new “high tech” look to reflect “who we are” when students first visit here.

Students had other adjustments to be made including our conversion to the D2L course management system and the use of a new tablet computer “the Fujitsu” in place of many of our Gateways.

While there is no way to capture all the highlights of this past year let me explore just a few.

· DSU was awarded a 2 million dollar grant to establish the National Center for the Protection of the Financial Infrastructure. Over the next few years this center will bring faculty/researchers that will work with graduate students and others on campus to advance our research agenda in the area of banking and finance information security.
· For the third year in a row, US News announced that DSU was the highest ranked public baccalaureate college in the Midwest region
· The Board of Regents approved a new Master’s degree in Health Informatics and approved the establishment of a Center for the Advancement of Health Information Technology here at Dakota State
· One of our students, Justin Kulm, was named the first student from DSU to be the student commander of the AFROTC unit based at SDSU
· We set a record enrollment number of 2780 head count
· Admitted our first students to the Computer Game Design major
· Launched a new look to our web site
· President launched his highly successful and stimulating “Coffee with the President” on Thursday mornings
· We welcomed a new Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students – Jesse Wise
· Hired a new Vice President for Advancement – Judy Payne


It is always gratifying and amazing to think about all that happens here over the course of the year at a university that is as dynamic as Dakota State.

At this time, I also enjoy thinking about the changes that will take place this next year and new parts of the DSU experience that will wait for students who will be returning in the fall

· DSU will complete the renovation projects for our residence halls with Emry and Zimmerman receiving the same type of improvements that Higbee and Richardson received last year.
· We will begin a year - long total renovation of the Science Center. This will refurbish almost every area in the building and will bring a very technology rich experience to our science and math classes.
· There will likely be more Fujitsu computers on campus.
· A new audio production studio will be located in the TCB and will support the Digital Arts and Design curriculum
· We will unveil a new athletic logo with new banners hanging on the campus
· We will have new head coaches in Football, Volleyball and Men’s Basketball.

In the next couple of weeks we will also experience a couple of “Firsts” at the university. At our Spring 09 Commencement we will award our first ever doctoral degree. This is a hall mark event for this university and will make all of us reflect on how far DSU has come.

On the more celebratory and fun side of the next couple of weeks, I will host the first annual evening before commencement picnic for all our graduates at the new president’s residence. All the graduating student will be invited to attend a brief outdoor picnic following the commencement rehearsal on Friday, May 8th.

It has been an “awesome” year and more is still to come!!!

March Newsletter

March 1, 2009

To the DSU Community:

It has been awhile since I have had a chance to write to all of you about some of the happenings and activities here at Dakota State. Since I have last written, Sharon and I have moved into the new Stahl-Phillips House at 1022 NE 9th St. Most of you probably know that because of some structural issues with the Girton House and through a partial gift from Gene and Margie Phillips the DSU Foundation made the decision to buy this home as an investment and as a new home for Sharon and I and our future presidents. It is a wonderful home that is totally accessible (a problem with the Girton House) and has the kind of space that will allow for larger functions. On Saturday evening we entertained over 100 people as a part of the Madison Area Kick-Off of the DSU Capital Campaign. Later this spring we will be hosting an open house at the new home for all the DSU faculty and staff.

We are moving forward with the capital campaign to raise 37 million dollars to support scholarships, initiatives and two new buildings. At the kick off of the Madison area part of the campaign we were able to announce that we have already achieved 8 million dollars in pledged cash gifts and deferred gifts. I was also so pleased that our National Campaign chair was able to tell the gathering that our gifts to-date from our own faculty and staff has topped one million dollars with a goal of three million dollars. Thanks to all of you that have pledged or are considering pledging to the campaign. Members of the foundation staff will be visiting with everyone on campus to answer their questions and ask for their support. This is a five year campaign so we are just at the beginning stages. I have been meeting with donors and alumni both here in Madison and around the country to tell the DSU story and to ask for their investment in the university.

As most of you know the legislature is in session and I have been to Pierre twice to appear before the Appropriations Committee. At the end of January, VP Wittmayer, VP Krusemark and I made our annual report on Dakota State. We received very few questions and had many positive reactions to our report.

This past week the appropriations committee had a hearing on the 2010 Research Centers that the state is supporting. DSU was recently awarded 2 million dollars in funding to support our 2010 Research Center – The National Center for the Protection of the Financial Infrastructure. The president of SDSU, VP from SDSMT and I testified to the panel about the impact of these research centers on our campuses. It was very gratifying that DSU was received so positively and it was great to be at that table talking about this important educational and economic niche for the state. As a part of our ongoing development of the Center, I accompanied Kevin Streff to Washington, D.C. and participated in meetings with staff from the Department of Homeland Security, National Security Agency and the Department of Treasury. Be watching for more positive news about the center in the future. (The university is working with the Lake Area Improvement Corporation to locate the research center in the Heartland Technology Building north of the campus).

Here is a summary of a few issues and activities that have commended my attention over the past few weeks.
· We are actively recruiting new coaches in the Athletic Department and just named a new head football coach, Josh Anderson – former DSU student and Madison High School graduate. He will be joining us some time in March.
· Approximately two weeks ago the external reviewer for our Master’s in Health Informatics was on campus. This professor from Northeastern University in Boston had many positive observations and gave us an excellent review. We are hoping that this 4th Master’s degree will be finally approved by the Board of Regents in April
· The new University Center classroom building was opened this month in Sioux Falls and so we have faculty and staff utilizing that facility. The official grand opening is later this month. I have been working with the USD President, the SDSU President and the Executive Director of the Board of Regents to outline governance and determine appropriate management for the Graduate Education and Applied Research Center (GEAR) that is a part of the new UC development.
· Look for a new version of the DSU athletic logo/image to be revealed in next couple of weeks
· Our application numbers are looking very good for next fall with our first year and transfer applications up about 11% compared to a year ago at this time.
· Our bids for the 2nd phase of the residence hall renovations came through in such a way that we should be able to do all of the upgrades that we had hoped. This 2nd share of the 5.2 million dollar project is about 2.2 million. Emry Hall and Zimmermann Hall are included in the project that will take place this summer.
· We are in the final design stages for the Science Center Renovation that will begin this summer. Bids for this project should come in sometime in April. This will be a major improvement for the campus and the science center.

We have been having a good time meeting for coffee at my President’s Coffee Hour each Thursday from 10:30 to 11:30 AM in the new Myxers coffee shop and convenience store. As a result of discussions we have a new clock in Myxers, some new lighting going into Myxers for evening events and more hot water in Emry. Other more serious topics have included our weapons policy review and the use of D2L as our course management system. Come join this group of students and faculty. There is always some type of special if you should want some coffee or other treats.

Tomorrow is our All University Convocation and I am exceptionally excited about our main speaker. Dan Schoepf is an amazing young man who is a graduate of DSU. He does training for corporate staff and other organizations and has written two books. He will be sharing thoughts about goal setting and the title of his talk is “You Against You”. The Convocation is scheduled from 11-Noon in the DPP.

It is starting to warm up out there and I am confident that spring is just around the corner!!


Douglas D. Knowlton, Ph.D.
President-Dakota State University
820 N Washington
Madison, South Dakota 57042
605 256-5112
douglas.knowlton@dsu.edu

Education, Spirituality and Religion

Knowlton’s Notes: Education, Spirituality and Religion
Submitted to Trojan Times – February 4, 2009
As I write this article for the next issue of the Trojan Times. I am also preparing to give a talk at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast here in Madison tomorrow morning. As the president of the university I am rarely at a loss for words and I am not particularly anxious about public speaking, but this particular presentation has been more perplexing and challenging. When asked for a title for my speech I came up with the idea of discussing spirituality and education and thus the title “The Coexistence of Two Journeys: Spiritual and Education” was developed. The challenge that has presented itself is the fact that there are those who might think these two concepts are not compatible. In significant circles in the academy (the very formal word for faculty within the broader university community) there would be a debate about the appropriateness of integrating religion and education. This is particularly problematic in public universities where the courts have found that public school sponsorship of religious practices to be inconsistent with the first amendment to our constitution.
There are organizations that have been developed to explore and attempt to understand the whole concept of Spirituality in Higher Education. Large national studies have been completed looking at the trends, patterns and principles of spirituality and religiousness among college students. For example, there was a study of 3,680 undergraduate students completed in 2003 and here are some of the more interesting findings from that study of first year and third year students at large and small and public and private colleges and universities.
* 58% of the students placed a high value on “integrating spirituality” in their lives,
*71% indicating they “gain spiritual strength by trusting in a higher power”.
* Among the third year students or juniors, three in four report that they pray, that religion is personally helpful to them and that they discuss religion and spirituality with friends.
*Although students report a high level of spirituality and even religiousness, they are very tolerant of non-religious people. Seven in ten agree that most people can grow spiritually without being religious and 88% say that non-religious people can lead lives that are just as moral as religious believers.
*Three fourths (76%) have “struggled to understand evil, suffering and death” and nearly half (46%) have at least occasionally “felt angry with God”.
When the students were asked about the interaction of students and faculty when it came to issues of spirituality and education, more than half (56%) say that their professors never provide opportunities to discuss the meaning and purpose of life. Nearly two-thirds of the students say professors never encourage discussions of spiritual or religious matter (62%).
Over half (52%) of the sample reported attending religious services frequently the year before they entered college, but less than one-third (29%) attend frequently by their junior year.
I find some of this data and the findings to be very interesting. I have questions about the role of the university in supporting the journey to find a sense of spirituality and or even religious “fit” in the context of exploration that is necessary in almost all educational environments. At DSU we are faced with educating students to utilize technology in educational settings, creative settings, pure IT settings and in business. There are ethical and moral questions that accompany the use of technology in almost all settings and how does the university facilitate questions of ethics and not touch on moral issues that are often connected to spirtitual or religious thought. I am going to reprint this brief article on my blog and would invite discussion of this issue by submitting a comment to my blog. Maybe I will even get some individuals to come to my new coffee hours (Thursdays at 10:30 AM in the Myxers lounge). Let me know your reactions to this data or your view on the subject.

DSU leads Wireless Mobile Computing Initiative

I had this letter published in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader to counter information in the paper that made it appear that the SD Board of Regents was abandoning the Wireless Mobile Computing Initiatives on all the campuses.
Madison
Recently, the Argus Leader printed an article about the South Dakota Board of Regent's decision to defer their initiative to provide a wireless mobile computing environment on all the public university campuses. A follow-up editorial also applauded the Board of Regents for that decision.I am writing to clarify the fact that there currently are two campuses in the South Dakota higher education system that already have integrated this environment: Dakota State University in Madison and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.
DSU, as South Dakota's designated information technology university, was the first to adopt this approach to teaching and learning. During the past five years, every student at Dakota State has been issued a wireless tablet computer and virtually all spaces on the campus have wireless access. This technology has been infused into the educational experience of our students in all majors on the campus. In addition, students in DSU's College of Education graduate with the coursework needed for an educational technology endorsement.Dakota State also has been the coordinating unit for professional development in the school districts that have adopted the state-supported initiative to put wireless computing devices in the hands of high school students.The purpose of this letter is to clarify that there are two public higher education campuses that already have and will continue to advance this 21st century approach to teaching and learning.
Speaking for DSU, we are committed to bringing the best practices in computer-facilitated learning to our students and to providing support to other education entities that are also pursuing this approach.

College Experience

Knowlton’s Notes: The College Experience
Submitted to the Trojan Times – November 29, 2008

As a “maturing” college president I often think back and reflect on my own “college experiences”. I sometimes try and relate those experiences to the kinds of reactions that students here at Dakota State University might have today. There are a few decades and a world of changes between then and now and so it is difficult to draw direct connections. I am currently reading a book titled “Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again”, by Roger Martin. Yes, President Martin was slightly older than me when he decided to take this adventure but I am finding his reactions and experiences to be very thought provoking.
Martin takes a semester off from his job to move to another city and enter a small liberal arts college as a freshman student. He doesn’t hide the fact that he is a president (at age 61 it would have been difficult for him) but he engages in all (well not all) activities that are a part of the first semester experience of the students. He lives off campus and not in the residence hall. From registration frustration, embarrassment at being late to a class, lack of physical stamina in an intramural athletic activity and academic performance anxiety he is able to examine his own reactions. He engages in conversations with fellow students about their homesickness, their doubts about having picked the right university, their family turmoil, and their personal self doubts. Throughout the experience he is energized and inspired by the students engagement in their attempts to understand the subject matter they are exposed to.
As I sat reading this recounting of Martin’s journey I drifted back to so many of my own experiences and my attempts to connect currently with students here at DSU. When new students appear here at DSU I know that they experience some of the same anxieties and doubts as well as excitement that are a part of this new experience of college. As I walk through the Trojan Center or engage students in the new coffee shop I often ask “how things are going” and can usually judge the students current state of mind based on their response. So often, I have wished that I could take away all the anxiety, self doubt and lack of confidence so that all students could engage in learning without this “painful” part of the process of becoming independent. I also get such a positive feeling when engaging with a student who has “found themselves” or is at the end of their college career and are ready to take on the world. It is a process, a journey, an adventure and a path that so many have taken.
It is almost the end of the Fall 08 Academic Year. This can be a time of significant worry about projects that are due or finals to be taken. It can also be a time for thinking back over the semester. I know for some this was their first semester and for others their last. I hope for all students it has been a time of growth and for self reflection.
On another level this book by President Martin has made me pause to think about my journey as President of DSU, my current college experience. While the experience is so often exhilarating and rewarding there are some things I wish I could do better or differently. While it is not quite time for new year’s resolutions this reading has helped me look to the future-next semester. I miss teaching! I hope some time in the not too distant future to be engaged with students in this most meaningful part of the college experience. While I have been on the road doing major fundraising, I have grown to feel less connected to the campus and to what is happening here at DSU. I am going to find times next semester to visit classrooms, sit in the new coffee shop, have more lunches with students. I am going to care less about whether our athletic teams win or lose and care more about their experiences as student athletes. I will talk more with students so I can understand the differences between their experiences and mine. Let me know about your experiences here at DSU by writing me or commenting on my blog. Thanks Doug

Dare to Do

DARE TO DO
Last year Dakota State University adopted a new “slogan” or “tagline” that is a quote from a wonderful writer named Eudora Welty. While the statement is short and to the point, it also encouraged discussion about what exactly it meant. So I would like to use my column in this issue of the Trojan Times to give my perspective on “dare to do” and point out a few examples of what this means in concrete terms.
There are many examples of how this university has dared to take on new programs and new initiatives. We have been absolutely in front of the mobile computing initiatives that the state (at the K-12 and university level) is adopting system wide. We have developed a new doctoral degree in information systems that has surpassed our expectations for enrollment. While these university wide activities are good examples, it is clearly individual student “dares” that are what “dare to do” is really about.
DARE to COMPETE:
Dakota State University student Ashley Podhradsky was named a recipient of the 2008 Google Anita Borg Scholarship. This $1000 scholarship was awarded to 50 women across the nation. Podhradsky is the only woman from South Dakota who is receiving the scholarship. Others schools represented include Berkley, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.
Dakota State University junior Jenny Grabinger was awarded the Sales & Marketing Executives Inc., of Sioux Falls (SME) scholarship. Grabinger competed against three finalists for the $4,000 scholarship. The competition consisted of an oral sales presentation, along with a formal application process.
Citibank awarded 30 scholarships, with 9 of them going to current Dakota State students and 3 to students transferring to DSU – double the number awarded to any other university in the state. The purpose of the scholarships is to address the teacher shortage in South Dakota, as well as encouraging the graduates to stay in the state. Current Dakota State students receiving scholarships included Michael Anderson, Sioux Falls; Kelsey Hoff, Watertown; Nicole Hoiten, Montrose; Jennifer Hove, Sioux Falls; Casey Krogman, Oldham; Abbey Rotter, Centerville; Katie Schultz, DeSmet; Amber Sherman, Goodwin; and Scott Sonne, Mount Vernon.

DARE to ACHIEVE
Dakota State University student Ryan Pries was awarded the best paper award at the 2008 International Conference on Communications (ICC) in Beijing, China. Pries’ paper was judged best by peer-reviewers and received the top recommendation from the symposium chairs. The ICC is the flagship international conference on communications.
DARE to LEAD
Dakota State University (DSU) senior Justin Kulm was selected to serve as Detachment 780 Cadet Wing Commander for the Air Force ROTC at SDSU. Kulm is the first DSU cadet to be chosen for this role. He assumed the responsibilities for leading the Cadet Corps on May 3 and will continue through the fall 2008 semester.

The South Dakota National Education Association/National Education Association (SDEA/NEA) recently recognized two Dakota State University students for their service to the organization and their local campuses. Kindra Bean Hofman was named 2008 Outstanding Student Leader for SDEA. Michael Anderson was named 2008 Outstanding State Student Leader for SDEA.

Appreciation and Dedication

This past week I have been significantly aware of the amazing things that the faculty are doing on this campus to promote student learning. I had a chance to attend the Collaboration meeting in Minneapolis. I am on the board of directors for this regional faculty development consortium. DSU was wonderfully represented by 10 of our faculty members that presented 5 different sessions on various ways that technology is used to facilitate learning. This was the largest number of presentations by any one of the 90+ institutions that are represented in the Collaboration.

Earlier this week DSU had 18 students present poster sessions at the SD Universities Research forum at the Capital in Pierre. We also had a great contingent of faculty and staff accompany the students. This number is the second highest of any higher ed institution in the state. I have always been convinced that one of the primary ways to influence and impact student learning is to support an appreciation and participation in research activities.

On Monday of this week a group of faculty in our College of BIS put on an ethical hacking workshop for high school students from across the region. They also involved our own graduate students in the project. This is another example of the active and creative ways we are involving students and potential students.

PS As a side note. We are very excited that the SD Legislature seems to be moving to support the Board of Regents Science Lab bonding bill. After hearing testimony on the projects on Tuesday - the appropriations committee of the SD Senate voted 8-0 to support the bill. Now just the full Senate and we will see funds to improve the science labs across the state with 6 million slated for a total renovation of our Habeger Science Center at DSU.