October 30, 2024

Campus community,

The leadership assembly met yesterday afternoon to discuss several important topics that we should all be aware of. Please read the summary below of the initiatives presented:

Free Speech

Presenter: Chris Wilson, Chief Compliance Officer

Over the summer, a committee reviewed NDSU’s policies and procedures regarding free speech and protest activity and implemented changes to NDSU’s time, place and manner rules located in the facility/grounds use agreement guidelines.

NDSU’s Dean of Students’ website was updated to provide additional guidance about NDSU’s commitment to free speech.

I also encourage everyone to watch Chris’ presentation sponsored by the Northern Plains Ethics Institute, titled “Political Participation as an NDSU Employee” as we near Election Day.

NDSU Transform

Presenter: David Bertolini, Provost

The goal of NDSU Transform is to position our university as a national leader with global reach, aligning higher education with industry partnerships to prepare all students to take the lead in an ever-changing world.

This work is driven by our five strategic priorities:

• Enhancing enrollment, retention and student success
• Prioritizing our R1 Carnegie classification status as a top research university
• Investing in the well-being of the people across the NDSU community
• Building a stronger culture of diversity, inclusion and respect
• Embracing our critical role as a land-grant university

To keep our transformative momentum going, we are establishing Strategic Priorities Work Teams to move forward on recommendations from the President’s Councils, university senates and other shared governance groups. More information about each team – including their goals, members, sources of input and point of contact will soon be available on the NDSU website.

Legislative Session Preparation

Presenter: President Cook

Since April 2024, I’ve been meeting with many of our legislators across the state to share our institutional strengths and NDSU’s priorities and position our great university for success. As president, I find it particularly rewarding to share illustrations of all your hard work and our impact on North Dakota. As a leading educational and research institution, our influence reaches across the state and beyond. Guided by our land-grant mission, we maintain strong ties to the land and the people we serve. So far, I’ve held 124 meetings with legislators, federal delegation, and business leaders across the state. I look forward to more discussions as we prepare for the upcoming legislative session. I encourage you to learn more about our legislative priorities and stay informed during the session by visiting my website.

General Updates

Accreditation

Presenter: Jeff Boyer, Vice Provost for Assessment and Strategic Initiatives

NDSU’s next reaffirmation of accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission is scheduled for October 2025. A steering committee will guide our reaffirmation process, assembling teams to gather evidence for each criterion and support the development of the assurance argument. Individuals from the university community are encouraged to join a team so that there is broad representation and diverse perspectives from across the institution. More information can be found at the accreditation website.

Leadership Searches

Presenter: Provost Bertolini

Several leadership searches are in progress or planned for next fall:

• The associate dean of the College of Agriculture, Food systems, and Natural Resources will be announced soon.
• The search for the university Registrar has begun, with applications due in early November.
• The search for the dean of the College of Engineering will start this week, with applications due in late December.
• Searches for the dean of the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies will begin in Fall 2025.
• A national search for the position of Provost will begin Fall 2025.

If you have any questions or would like further details on any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the presenters or me.

Thank you for your continued dedication to making NDSU an exceptional institution.

Best regards,

David Cook