President’s Column: Welcome Back!
By Dr. Allen Burgad, VCSU Interim President
Fall is a fantastic season! Growing up in a farm family, I saw fall as a celebration of hard work for a plentiful harvest. It was also the start of something new. A new school year, new friends, new opportunities to get involved, and new opportunities to learn.
With the start of the new school year at Valley City State University, I would echo the excitement of starting something new for our students, faculty and staff, campus community, and the great community of Valley City.
This year also marks the beginning of our new five-year strategic plan at VCSU. Our strategic plan has two important areas of focus: campus experiences and learning experiences.
Campus experiences embrace opportunities for our students to engage, belong, and get involved during their time at VCSU. We want students to connect with others, explore their interests, and develop leadership skills.
Learning experiences focus on providing rigorous and relevant opportunities both in and out of the classroom. Our goal is to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to be successful in their future careers and communities.
We are also grateful to our many regional business and industry leaders who participate alongside our university faculty and administrative teams through our Business and Industry Advisory Council. The council has two primary goals: 1) identifying the essential knowledge and skills our students need to prepare for the future workforce and 2) expanding internship opportunities that provide students relevant, real-life work experience. This partnership will help guide our coursework and programs while also connecting our students to workforce opportunities throughout our region.
As we begin the year, I can think of no better way to officially launch the 2026-27 school year than Summer Vikes on Central on Thursday, September 10. Summer Vikes brings our students, faculty and staff, local businesses, and community together. It is a great example of what makes VCSU and Valley City special and provides our new and returning students a chance to get to know the community they will call home during their time at VCSU.
A special thank you to the Summer Nights on Central team and all our local businesses and organizations that help make this event possible. We appreciate your partnership and, especially, the warm welcome you provide our students. I hope you will join us downtown September 10 as we officially kick off another great year at VCSU.
Go Vikings!