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President's Desk

President’s Column: Reflections of gratitude for 2024 and looking forward to 2025

Dec 23, 2024

President LaFave and wife Kari stand with VCSU's Resident Assistants in front of McFarland Hall

The days between Christmas and the beginning of the New Year give us all an opportunity to look back, reflect with gratitude on our work together and continue plans for moving ahead.

I’d like to highlight just a few of the accomplishments and some reflections on the past semester.

Enrollment

For the first time in our history VCSU eclipsed 1800 students, reaching our third consecutive semester of record enrollment with 1806 students this fall. Headcount enrollment increased by 3% and FTE (full-time equivalents) increased by 6.4% reaching the highest level in university history. While several factors contributed to this growth, the graduate student enrollment experienced a 23% increase! Our residence halls are at an 81% occupancy rate and the University apartments are 100% filled. Our retention from Fall ‘23 to Fall ‘24 increased by 4%, and we saw significant growth in transfer students choosing to join our campus community. We celebrate this outstanding achievement with thanks for and recognition of the focused efforts of our entire faculty, staff and community. Through continued effort and adherence to goals set forth in our strategic plan, “Forward Together.”

Reputational Excellence

Student attainment and achievement is one of our first priorities. VCSU continues to be a great place for students to earn an affordable, high-quality degree. U.S. News and World Report ranks VCSU #2 among Midwest regional public institutions (12 states) and #1 among the regional public institutions in North Dakota. VCSU was also named a Best Value School and Veteran friendly institution. Our institution is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) with two of our academic programs also nationally accredited, including education by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and music by the National Association of Music (NASM). In addition, our business department recently underwent a thorough and successful self-study and site visit from the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) for our program in Business Administration, with anticipated accreditation coming this spring. Several other national accreditations for programs are in the works. I’m grateful and appreciative for the commitment of our faculty and staff in these efforts, as they confirm the quality of the academic experience at VCSU.

Facility enhancements

The press box replacement at Lokken Stadium was completed just in time for the Fall 2024 football season. The upgrades provide an improved, safe, and comfortable environment for coaches, officials, media, and other game day personnel. Upgrades to the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse (The Bubble) included a new paint scheme, branding, concession stand refresh and addition of a Viking apparel store.

Window and ceiling replacement was completed for 1st floor in McCoy Hall before the fall semester. Other residence hall upgrades included new mattresses, living room furniture, vertical blinds, ceiling tiles, and lights. Student Center improvements included renovation of the main floor student lounge, new ceiling tiles, lighting, VCSU branding, and refresh of the Viking I and Skoal room.

Finally, the McCarthy Hall renovation project began in late July and will continue through this academic year with an expected completion date of summer 2025. McCarthy is set to become the new home for our nationally recognized School of Education. We also completed the move and relocation of the Prairie Waters Educational Center from Kathryn School to the Valley City National Fish Hatchery, providing a convenient and outstanding location to continue the important work of delivering educational outreach to K-12 students through aquatic and other scientific research. We know the importance of having upgraded facilities to provide excellent experiences for our students in and outside the classroom. We are so very grateful to our donors, support from the state legislature and governor, and all who support the continued transformation of our physical campus.

Forward into 2025

As we look to the future, we are nearing the acceptance of the final design for our indoor turf practice and performance facility, which is an addition to the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse. Made possible through the generosity of donors to our capital campaign and a lead gift from the Gary Tharaldson Family, this facility will be game changing for our campus, student-athletes, athletic program and community.

The weeks and months ahead will include the important biannual legislative process to secure necessary funding for the continued success of Valley City State University. I will be providing updates as this process unfolds during the spring 2025 semester.

I hope these updates help illustrate the recognition of a VCSU degree as a smart academic investment. Our trusted degrees and generous scholarship programs combine to provide our students with quality education and experiences at an affordable price.

My hope is that you can spend some quality time with family and friends during this holiday season. From our VCSU family to yours – all the best wishes for a joyous holiday season!

Go Vikings!