Homecoming Success

NDSU President Dean Bresciani gave a positive speech for the annual State of the University Address Thursday.

Bresciani spoke of four future commitments of NDSU: to advance higher ranks for our school, better retain graduate time and get jobs right after college, increasingly draw new talent on a long term basis and to contribute to be an economic engine.

“Our university’s graduates, whether from North Dakota or beyond, are increasingly staying in the state to be the foundation of the future,” Bresciani said. “Enriching North Dakota in ways people could have never have imagined.”

Bresciani spoke of NDSU’s past accomplishments, as well as innovative ideas that head the University into the future.

Bresciani went on to notably mention some new developments and improvements for NDSU.

He announced that NDSU is now honored to present the Music Department as the School of Music. This makes NDSU the 49th school in the nation to be accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Students can now receive a doctorate in conducting.

Thanks to the generosity of the Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Leadership Fund, Bresciani also announced the receiver of the Distinguished Professor Award, the highest honor that NDSU awards faculty. Elias Elias of the department of plant science was awarded this honor.

“Dr. Elias’ scholarly accomplishments and contributions to some of the most pressing needs of our state, nation and increasingly the world define this recognition, which he so richly deserves,” Bresciani said.

This year also marks the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Land Grant Act. The act granted each eligible state 30,000 acres of federal land. This act allowed colleges to teach and help students better learn in departments like agriculture and mechanical arts. Justin Smith Morrill authored the act in 1862 and it was then passed and signed by Abraham Lincoln.

“[The act] wisely envisioned a well-rounded higher class education,” Bresciani said.

President Bresciani mentioned how NDSU and North Dakota are “increasingly one of the most vibrant, healthy, exciting economies in the nation.” NDSU has a cumulative student body of 17,000 and is ranked in the top 2 percent of all public and private schools.

“We are a lean, mean scholarship machine,” Bresciani said.

Bresciani said people are recognizing the stability of North Dakota; they see it more as a home instead of just a place to pass through.

“We are unique. We are and remain committed to students and citizens,” he stated.

Bresciani ended his speech with a challenging question asking current NDSU students to invest for their generation and generations to come.

“What if our grandparents and parents had not invested in our futures?” he asked.

The NDSU Concert Choir concluded the event by singing The Yellow and the Green.

The speech can be found online at www.ndsu.edu/president/speeches/.