Dear Alumni and Friends,
It was Steve Jobs who once said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.â€
As I reflect on the historical accomplishments of South Dakota State University, I am reminded of the many impactful innovations emanating from our “college on the hill.†In this hyper-competitive world, our ability to innovate will be the distinguishing characteristic that makes SDSU a premier land-grant university.
Innovation comes in many forms. Research and creative activity are drivers of innovation, and our university has outlined aggressive goals in this area in our strategic plan, Imagine 2023. We will accomplish those goals by aligning our administrative support, infrastructure and personnel resources to enhance our success. Typically, success in research has meant shaping agendas to fit the research goals and objectives defined by granting agencies. But a road less traveled, where innovation comes in, is to actually shape the goals and objectives of the agencies to align with the challenges faced by our stakeholders and constituents. While more difficult, this latter approach helps us stay true to our land-grant mission.
For example, as you will read later in this magazine, working with our South Dakota congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., SDSU’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development Daniel Scholl successfully led an effort to include language in the 2018 Farm Bill that will create research funding around the emerging area of soil health. This is certainly an important topic for all farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and an area of strength in our SDSU research and extension team. This addition in public policy is an innovative way of ensuring our success. It will create funding opportunities for our faculty in multiple colleges throughout the university, SDSU Extension and the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. It is a game-changer for our university and the state of South Dakota, and is one example of many more to come.
A second area of SDSU’s influence on the 2018 Farm Bill was language to support funding for Native American students to attend land-grant universities throughout the United States. SDSU’s Wokini Initiative was the driver of this new federal program—another innovative effort by many people at SDSU to have a positive impact on fulfilling our land-grant commitment of providing access to all to the benefits of higher education.
Thank you for your continued support of SDSU. Each of you makes our university a special place. I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Go Jacks!
Barry H. Dunn
President, South Dakota State University
