BROOKINGS On Tuesday afternoon, South Dakota State University President Barry Dunn had his 10th annual interview with The Brookings Register. A list of the universitys accomplishments might be summed up in the words of a Frank Sinatra classic: It was a very good year. And the years ahead look to bring other very good things to the states land grant university and also its largest.
The past academic year we had the largest freshman class the universitys ever had, the president noted. That was a huge accomplishment. We struggled with the loss of international students. Since when I first became president, (their) enrollment dropped; we did a lot of marketing, a lot of recruiting. We changed our scholarship grant. We changed a lot of things and it has been working. Im hopeful that international student enrollment numbers will continue to increase.
Having that large freshman class validated what weve been trying to do, Dunn added. Its been a real point of pride for us.
For the first time, SDSU offered elementary education and special education and graduated its first cohort of students who did not have to attend the University of South Dakota (Vermillion) for a year.
Another source of pride was the first graduation of veterinary students from Minnesotas School of Veterinary Medicine up in Minnesota. Eighteen of 20 graduated and two have a little more work to do but will also graduate.
I started that as a dean and it took a lot of time to get going, Dunn noted. It takes four years to get through the curriculum: two years here and two in Minnesota. Some came back to South Dakota, some of them from Minnesota stayed in Minnesota.
It did exactly what we were hoping to do: stabilize the population of veterinarians in rural communities. Weve got a long way to go on that but its the first big step taken to get that done.
Looking back at record freshman enrollment and new degree programs in veterinary medicine, elementary education and special education, the president called them big steps in our 140-year history. Weve never had graduates in those programs before. Theyre key to having a successful South Dakota. Its very exciting.
Making an R1 university
In his inaugural address on Sept. 29, 2016, Dunn announced a goal of doubling research. I didnt announce R1 because I thought it would shock people, he said. But I did say we could double our research expenditures. And if it hadnt been for COVID, we would have hit that.
Pathway to Premier 2030 is now in the second year of a seven-year strategic plan to make SDSU an R1 university. With the change in administrations thereve been a lot of changes to higher ed, the president noted. But our goals remain the same. Our mission is 140 years old; our mission and our vision of being a premier university doesnt change. Were going to achieve those things. Its our job as leaders to navigate the changes that happen and were up to that task and doing the best we can.
On the road to R1, Dunn noted: Last year we accomplished the highest research expenditures weve ever had, of $94 million. Were way above the $50 million. We just need more Ph.D.s.
The key is that weve created new knowledge that positively impacts society. Thats our goal. The more of that we do, the more impactful we are and we get more status; so thats a good thing.
When we get to R1, getting people interested in coming to SDSU will be easier because theres more status and it will have huge economic benefits to South Dakota.
Dunn noted that along with R1 comes new knowledge that will lead to more people going into teaching, research and industry and increase the body of knowledge on certain topics, whether it be sociology or something in engineering or agriculture. Thats the magic; thats why to be an R1 university is so important. Its not so much about us. Its the knowledge we create that informs the teaching that goes on in this school. That new knowledge empowers our farmers or consumers and thats what the university is all about.
By virtue of SDSUs role as a land grant university most of the R1 Ph.D.s produced would in engineering, agriculture and the natural sciences such as chemistry and biology.
Land grant for a-l-l
I think the land grant university system and its mission was to provide the benefits of higher education to all; it literally says a-l-l, Dunn explained. So that didnt change; that hasnt changed. We became a land grant.
The language changes a little bit. It looks like scholarship programs are going to change. There are lots of discussions. A land grant university has a three-legged mission of teaching, research and Extension. So there have been a lot of executive orders, changes in funding to a lot of federal agencies that impact those three missions.
So here we are at the end of August. Well have a lot of students this fall. And our Extension program is still going to work with 4-H kids and all the way to sophisticated farmers and ranchers. For all the activity, dialogue, court cases, we actually think were doing pretty well.
The things we can control are our relationship with the Board of Regents, how we treat each other on campus, our own allocation of resources. What we can control, I think the university is in great shape. Were doing really, really well.
The things we cant control, were working very hard to inform the decision makers about those topics, whether that be the administrative cost of research, that is in the news so much, or several grants that we lost. We work very hard to inform the policy makers decisions about the federal budget, certainly the state budget. And also about the pros and cons of some of the decisions that are being discussed and promoted.
In some instances federal funding is filtered down through state agencies that have similar functions and missions such as health issues.
Big win for business school
One big win for the university was gaining accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for the Ness School of Management and Economics. The Ness School will certainly have Ph.D. students in the future, the president said. That will help our R1 initiative, but more importantly it will be a much more robust and very active school of management and economics. Very, very happy about that.
Dunn noted that also tied to R1 status, is the approval to offer a Ph.D. in social sciences. That Ph.D. will help us achieve R1. That kind of unleashes the power of the faculty in the humanities, political science, history and English to have Ph.D. students in psychology and sociology. We still get funding for their graduate students but now we have a degree we can offer and I think that will be a huge step forward.
The university now has a good relationship with Sioux Falls the largest and most influential city in the state. Building a new home for SDSUs pharmacy and nursing programs is underway. A record number of the graduates from its high schools came to SDSU last fall to pursue their higher education.
Add to the Sioux Falls connection a new facility for the nursing program in Rapid City. On Sept. 30 were going to have a grand opening of a brand-new facility tied to Black Hills State University campus. A really, really important step.
In a sort of summation of all of the above, the president noted: So that list of everything that went well last year, its everything from the freshmen class to new Ph.D. programs to AACSB accreditation. It was a good year last year.
AI: the good, the bad, the ugly
Its up to us whether its good, bad, or in between, Dunn responded when asked for his thoughts on artificial intelligence. Its really a test of our own integrity and our commitment to excellence. Its going to showcase who we really are as human beings.
Are we going to use it as a tool to enhance the world around us or might it be used inappropriately to hurt some individuals? I recognize that it could be used nefariously. This is a big moment in human history right now.
Faculty members and researchers are using AI tools on this campus every day for good things. If youre studying viruses or genetics of different viruses, you can do it 10,000 times faster, probably 100,000 times faster with an artificial intelligence tool. Thats a good thing; you can accelerate knowledge creation.
On the flip side, if youre going to rely on it to inform value-based decisions, youd better be very careful.
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