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President's Desk

2020 Year End Column

Jan 4, 2021

Dr. Alan LaFave, VCSU President2020 has certainly been a year the world will remember – with great moments and difficulties alike. At VCSU, 2020 was no different. We faced the challenge of dealing with COVID-19 and delivering quality education during a pandemic, but also experienced milestones and achievements that all contribute to a year we won’t forget.

Beginning in March, our campus shifted to online instruction for the remainder of the spring semester due to COVID-19 concerns. In August our campus reopened utilizing a blend of face-to-face and synchronous course delivery, and since then, we’ve experienced enrollment growth, new construction and student success stories – all of which paint a bright future for our campus.

Construction on the new VCSU Center for the Arts began in earnest this summer and has progressed steadily. Helped in part by a mild fall weather, work on the project has gone smoothly and we anticipate the building will be finished in late 2021. During a recent indoor tour of the concert hall, it was exciting to envision future performances and gatherings inside the new space.

We set enrollment records for the sixth consecutive year with a total headcount of 1,676 students and an undergraduate headcount of 1,541, according to official fall term 2020 figures released in September. The 1,676 total headcount surpasses the previous record of 1,665 set in fall 2019, and the undergraduate headcount of 1,541 surpasses the previous record of 1,524, also from last fall.

The availability and value of scholarship assistance has played a key role in attracting and retaining students at VCSU. Our generous donors have helped facilitate this enrollment growth through their continued support of our scholarship program resulting in a new record for scholarship dollars awarded to our students during this past year. We proudly offer one of the strongest scholarship programs in the region and this year our Foundation office allocated a record $1.86 million in student scholarships.

This year, our Foundation Board also finalized plans for the first-ever capital campaign in VCSU history. “Forward Together: A campaign for Valley City State University” was introduced this fall and seeks to raise $25 million for facility upgrades and scholarship enhancements. Included in the campaign is an $18 million expansion to our athletic facilities along with scholarship enhancements, and renovations of McCarthy Hall and the VCSU Student Center.

Most importantly, the heart of our institution is student-focused education, and that’s why I’m also excited to share a few student success stories from 2020. VCSU junior Shane Hitch completed an internship with NASA this summer, helping to develop network protocols that will extend internet-like services deep into the solar system. Hitch, one of our software engineering students, researched DTN cybersecurity for the project and played the role of an ethical hacker to find potential vulnerabilities.

This fall, VCSU Fisheries and Wildlife students partnered with the North Dakota Department of Game & Fish to relocate thousands of mussels in the Sheyenne River just below the Kathryn dam.  This particular area is the largest-known mussel bed in North Dakota. The dam is being removed, which will release a large amount of sediment, so this project allowed the mussels to be moved to a location where they can thrive. Our students’ involvement in this project is just one example of the real-world experience offered at VCSU.

In athletics, Valley City State freshman Travis Joseph claimed a national championship in March, winning the high jump at the NAIA Indoor National Championships. It was VCSU’s first national title since 2017. Joseph was one of three Vikings to earn All-American honors at the national meet. Additionally, we were able to navigate a successful fall sports season including; football, cross-country, golf, volleyball and baseball.

Finally, we celebrated two groups of graduates in 2020, awarding nearly 400 degrees at virtual commencement ceremonies in May and December. The experiences of our graduates have been shaped by countless people, programs and opportunities throughout their time at VCSU, and we are thrilled to see them embark on new careers and adventures.

Despite the challenges, obstacles, and uncertainty our campus faced, VCSU’s reputation continued to trend up in 2020. As we enter 2021 the excitement for the future of VCSU has never been higher!

Happy New Year!