Two Parts

Here are both parts of a two part article I recently wrote for the DSU Trojan Times and I would welcome comments.

Reasons to be Proud – Challenges to Face

This will be the first of a two part “Notes” column. In this issue I would like to review some of the incredible reasons for us to celebrate and be proud of what we are accomplishing at Dakota State and in the following issue I will discuss what I see are some of our challenges.

This whole 125th Anniversary year has given us a chance to celebrate our history and the role that this university has played in the development of this region and the state of South Dakota. During the past couple of months we have also received a series of recognitions that are real causes for celebration. The recognition by US News as the top rated public comprehensive college in the Midwest was a major accomplishment and acknowledges the work of so many people associated with the university. The factors that go into this decision, including general reputation, graduation rates, etc are all important reasons to feel proud of DSU.

Our enrollment news was very positive. DSU had the highest percentage increase in headcount of any of the public institutions in South Dakota (4.72 percent). Our headcount enrollment is a new record for DSU and now ranks our enrollment ahead of two other regental institutions. This is a major accomplishment in the face of declining high school graduating classes. It is a function of a larger first year class and also due to increases in our programs in Sioux Falls and our distance programs.

Recently Citigroup Inc. one of the largest financial services based businesses in the United States announced a new program for development of information technology professionals. They named just 16 universities from across the country that were eligible to have students apply and where they will go to interview possible candidates. This list included Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California Berkley, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Rennsalear Polytechnic Institute, U of Illinois, U of Florida and other “BIG” name universities. Guess what small, focused and dynamic university located in South Dakota was named - DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY!
Recruiters from Citigroup will be on campus some time in October. To see DSU on the same list with these other high powered, large, and prestigious universities is clearly a reason to be proud. It recognizes the accomplishments of our graduates and the clear national reputation that DSU is developing.

In the past week our two US senators from South Dakota, Sen. Tim Johnson and Sen. John Thune have been in Madison. I had the chance to meet with each of them. After meeting with them, each gave public speeches. Both identified the accomplishments and the activities at DSU as major pluses for South Dakota and Madison. Their endorsements and their recognitions are vital to even more advancement and potential funding for program development.

These are visible and significant recognitions for which we are understandably proud, but I want to offer two other examples of reasons that make me proud to be associated with Dakota State. First, while touring the public school complex in Flandreau I ran into one of our recent graduates that had just taken a teaching position there. After greeting her and after she walked away the superintendent indicated what a great job she was doing as a special ed teacher. Second, during a presentation at a Chamber of Commerce dinner here in Madison the speaker acknowledged that the special graphics etc. in the power point presentation were done by a DSU student. Now there are two of hundreds or thousands of reasons to be proud of what we are doing at DSU. Our graduates are doing great work and being recognized for their expertise and their special talents.

Yes I am truly proud of what is happening here at DSU. There are challenges that lay ahead of us and one of them is to not rest on our laurels. Next edition I will outline what I think our major “problems” will be in the future. Mean time I plan to relish and celebrate what we have all done together.


Part 2: Reasons to be Proud – Challenges to Face

In the first installment to this two part column I wrote about all the incredible reasons for us to celebrate the success we are experiencing at DSU. I have also written about the strategic planning process “The Next Step” that will be an integral part of this year at Dakota State. This article will focus on what I see as some of the challenges our campus and this university community will face in the next few years.

I believe that the number one challenge to our future is something we have considerable control over. How do we celebrate our successes and yet not become complacent or rest on our laurels? How do we keep ourselves energized and “hungry” as we look at these next few years? I know that it has taken a tremendous amount of “sweat and tears” to get us to this point and it would just be human nature to want to sit back and “relax a bit”. DSU is not a campus that can afford to “sit back”. We are all about innovation and dynamic change. Our mission directs us to be at the forefront of this information revolution and so we must find ways to push ourselves and stay “on the edge”.

In order to stay ahead of the game we need to find more and better ways to encourage and reward innovation, entrepreneurship, and even experimentation. We have to continually remind ourselves there are “no mistakes – just lessons to be learned”. We must encourage our students and all of our staff and faculty to challenge any process, procedure or attitude that hinders our “edgy” approach to the future.

The second challenge is our budgetary situation. I am convinced that many of our “new” approaches to education – off site and distance, are ahead of the means that our funding agencies have for providing financial bases for DSU. We will continue to work with the Board of Regents and others to find the means for recognizing this important part of our mission.

Another concern or challenge will be our continuing need to engage students in a conversation about what a Baccalaureate degree means and how they can embrace the breadth of academic experience that will broaden their academic backgrounds. I often talk about DSU as an institution that “educates technologists” not an institution that “trains technicians”. Our second vision statement reads – we will graduate students who have “Exceptionally creative problem solving skills”. One does not think creatively by being locked into one vision of the world. To be a “creative” problem solver, it is important to think (some times) like a mathematician, or a historian, or a sociologist, or a biologist or a thespian (now there is a term for everyone to look up). We must do a better job of helping students to understand why a strong general education background is so important.

Lastly, I am concerned that we will run out of “new students” who truly understand the technology edge that DSU can give them as a computer scientist, business person, or teacher. The numbers of American students interested in a career in engineering has continued to show a dramatic decline. I hope that this will not happen in the information technology field. As a campus, a state and as a nation we will need to encourage more students to pursue technology rich occupations so that we as a nation don’t lose means for true economic development in this “knowledge or information” based world we are living in. Right now the demand for our students is at an all time high and we need more graduates to fill the increasing demand for technology savvy professionals.
We will need to think creatively, not be afraid and find incentives to face these challenges. If there is any campus equipped to overcome these potential obstacles it is Dakota State University.