Dear Alumni and Friends,
As our university launches Pathway to Premier 2030, our new strategic plan, it is important that we remain
anchored to our core values of being people-centered, dedicated to the principle of integrity, committing to a community of diverse ideas and striving for excellence in everything we do.
Embracing these principles continues to shape the future of our institution and impacts the lives of those we serve. More importantly, it’s those core values that allow us to continue to build on the success we’ve had the past five years under our previous strategic plan, Imagine 2023.
Our commitment to people is reflected in the growth in our endowed positions from 13 in 2017 to 51 as we entered the new academic year. An endowed position is a commitment that, when combined with accredited programs, enhances teaching and learning on our campus and overall academic quality. A major achievement of Imagine 2023 is the more than 60 accredited programs we now have, which fosters research and scholarly activity at SDSU and a depth of faculty who bring their research and ideas to our great state.
Integrity forms the foundation of our credibility and is the backbone of Bold and Blue, the SDSU Foundation’s capital campaign that recently surpassed the $500 million mark. To aid in the affordability of obtaining a degree, a third of these dollars is earmarked for student scholarships. Capital campaigns are a margin of excellence for a university, providing additional resources that enhance access to higher education, teaching, learning, research and scholarly activity. It is our university’s commitment to our wonderful donors that their investment in us will be that margin of excellence.
Diversity is the wellspring of perspectives that enriches our academic community and prepares our graduates to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. With that commitment, we continue to chart new pathways to ensure student success by providing resources to support them, like within the Wintrode Student Success and Opportunity Center. It is the opportunity for them to explore and grow through the more than 200 clubs on campus and the many cultural events we host each year.
Creativity fuels innovation, which was evident this past summer with the launch of the Ness School of Management and Economics in downtown Sioux Falls. Located in the Startup Sioux Falls building, faculty and students can engage with business leaders to share knowledge and provide training to critical startups in the area. It’s SDSU reaching into the state’s biggest and fastest-growing metropolitan region to create a bridge to a better future, one that continues to serve our land-grant mission to impact the citizens of our state and region.
Excellence is the culmination of our efforts. It is that commitment that led us to build the Raven Precision Agriculture Center, combining disciplines in engineering and agriculture to create new opportunities to enhance a growing industry in today’s world. Excellence is what propelled us to successfully compete in and win international NASA competitions. It is reflected in the new and growing relationships with global companies that will create opportunities and pathways for faculty to succeed and students to reach their full potential.
As we turn the corner to Pathway to Premier, it is these types of accomplishments that will allow us to do more and continue to be a leader in higher education in our state, region and world. The next seven years will be an exciting time for SDSU, as we continue to chart and define what higher education will be for the next generations of Jackrabbits. I welcome you to join us as we celebrate our many successes, while moving boldly into the future.
Thank you for being an important part of South Dakota State University. I hope to see you on campus soon.
Barry H. Dunn
President
