Dakota State celebrates 40 years of STEM mission and envisions 40 years into future
As Dakota State University celebrates 40 years since it changed its mission from being mainly about teacher education, to being more of a STEM university with a special focus on computing, information technologies and cybersecurity, university leaders are looking back on the DSU’s progress and envisioning where the university could be 40 years from now.
The DSU of the future will see advancement in emerging technologies, global leadership in cybersecurity, expansion of learning modes and global partnerships and collaborations, and will become the entrepreneurial hub of South Dakota, DSU President José-Marie Griffiths said Thursday.
“To everyone at DSU: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to continue to inspire, innovate and ignite the flames of curiosity and discovery for decades to come,” Griffiths said as she spoke during the university's 40th anniversary celebration on Thursday.
More: José-Marie Griffiths honored as USA TODAY’s Woman of the Year for South Dakota
How DSU has grown since 1984
DSU was founded in 1881 to recruit and educate young adults to become teachers, but its offerings changed throughout the years to include business programs and fine arts majors, former Gov. Dennis Daugaard said in a video message Thursday.
Daugaard said there was talk of closing DSU in 1984, but businessmen, legislators and state leaders came up with an idea for a new mission to include technology in all programs., which former Gov. Bill Janklow signed into law via House Bill 1357 on Feb. 29, 1984.
The focus encouraged economic development in the state by providing a well-trained workforce for the growing banking and financial services industry, and its education graduates took the lead in computer education, Daugaard said.
Former DSU President Charles Luke’s experience at IBM and connections to Silicon Valley brought DSU the curriculum for the first two technology-related degree programs, Griffiths said, noting IBM was pivotal in the early years of the mission change, providing training and curriculum to start DSU on the path to where it is today.
Since the 1984 change, DSU has grown from 867 students to more than 3,700, and from 57 faculty to 170, Griffiths noted.
The ‘cyber powerhouse of the plains’
Forty years later, DSU is still at the forefront of new and evolving technology, Sen. Mike Rounds said in a video message Thursday. The university has become what he and Griffiths call a “cyber powerhouse of the plains.”
“Cybersecurity is critical in the defense of our country,” Rounds said. “Competitors like China continue to improve their cyber capabilities. It is important that we make sure our men and women in uniform are equipped with better tools and more resources than our adversaries.”
Gov. Kristi Noem also made an appearance in the form ofa video message Thursday, stating DSU is on the forefront of emerging technology, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
More: Why 4 of South Dakota's universities want a Center for Quantum Information Science
She said she was proud to propose the Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology at the start of the session. That proposal, Senate Bill 45, passed the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Senate, and is set to be heard Monday in the House of Representatives.
“Research with this technology will be the next big industry in South Dakota,” Noem said.
Griffiths thanked Luke for his work and thanked Travis Scholten, technical lead for the public sector at IBM Quantum, for speaking at the 40th anniversary celebration.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Dakota State University celebrates 40th anniversary of mission change
