College of Arts and Sciences has new dean

Dennis Papini

• Papini coming to SDSU from Tennessee university

Dennis R. Papini will serve as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, pending final approval by the South Dakota Board of Regents, South Dakota State University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Laurie Nichols announced today.

Papini comes to SDSU from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. There he chaired the department of psychology in the school’s College of Behavioral and Health Sciences.

He replaces Jerry Jorgensen, who left SDSU last summer after serving 11 years as dean of arts and sciences, completing a total of 36 years working for the university.

While at MTSU, Papini directed 43 faculty and more than 1,000 undergraduate student majors and 200 graduate students pursuing degrees in six graduate programs.

His department engaged in significant strategic planning that set goals for curriculum redesign, partnerships, faculty culture, service and external funding, all vital to what he brings to SDSU, said Nichols.

Papini said he’s ready to use his experience to help SDSU meet the growing challenges of conserving and reinvesting higher education resources while maintaining its reputation as a land-grant university which serves South Dakota citizens.

“The academic and intellectual vibrancy of South Dakota State University depends upon our ability to actively engage students and faculty in the lifelong process of teaching and learning, both in and out of the classroom,” said Papini.

In order to meet recent changes in higher education, he said, universities should celebrate and focus on the traditions of a liberal arts education to acquire reading, writing, speaking, critical thinking and creative expression skills by using strategies that better prepare students for the workplace.

Infusing experiential, volunteer and service learning into the curriculum provides important ways for the college to improve its excellence in teaching.

Papini supports faculty-driven research labs and distance learning, when appropriate, as ways to increase teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students.

In addition to his work at MTSU, Papini served on the faculty at Western Illinois University, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and Southeast Missouri State University.

The SDSU College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the university’s eight colleges, with 2,984 undergraduate and graduate students majoring in 16 department disciplines.

Nearly every SDSU student takes a class taught by the college. Those required courses help students test and broaden their perspectives in order to become educated, lifelong learners.