Messages from the President

NDSU community,

As I reflect on last week's inauguration and homecoming celebrations, I am filled with pride and gratitude.

Thank you for the role each of you played in making the week so meaningful. Whether you were maintaining grounds and buildings before sunrise, setting up tables, planning events, welcoming guests, sharing your talents through music and other performances, celebrating the ribbon cutting of the Richard Offerdahl '65 Engineering Complex, cheering on the Bison during their first Mountain West home game win, or contributing behind the scenes in countless other ways, you helped showcase the very best of NDSU to visitors from across North Dakota and beyond.

We demonstrated what's possible when One NDSU comes together around a shared purpose.

For me, the inauguration was a humbling honor and a reminder of the strength of this community. I am grateful for your support and all you do each day to strengthen our student-focused, land-grant, research university.

It was a great week to be a Bison.

Marshall Stewart, Ed.D.
President
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

NDSU community,

The strength of North Dakota State University has always started with its people. That is why creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported and connected remains one of our highest priorities.

As we begin the third year of NDSU's Employee Engagement Initiative, we also continue our partnership with Gallup, a nationally recognized firm specializing in workplace engagement. This work helps us better understand the employee experience across NDSU and identify opportunities to strengthen our culture, support professional growth and recognize the contributions of our faculty and staff.

Over the past two years, your feedback has guided important conversations across the university and informed efforts focused on employee recognition, professional development and workplace well-being. While there is more work ahead, I am grateful for the honesty and thoughtful engagement employees have brought to this process.

On October 12, employees will receive an invitation from Gallup to participate in NDSU's annual employee engagement survey. The survey is brief and responses are completely confidential. No individual data are shared with NDSU personnel or leadership. Results are reported only in aggregate form.

I encourage you to participate in the survey. Your feedback helps us understand what is working well, where challenges exist and how we can continue building an environment where employees feel connected to our mission and supported in their work.

You often hear me talk about being a university that puts people first. This initiative is one way we put that commitment into action. Together, we can continue building a workplace where employees thrive and where every member of our community can do their best work in service to our students and our state.

Thank you for all you do for NDSU.

Marshall Stewart, Ed.D.
President
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

NDSU community,

Like thousands of students who arrived on campus this weekend, I’m starting my first semester at NDSU. Across campus, classrooms are filling, residence halls are becoming a new home and thousands of new Bison are beginning their NDSU journey.

Yesterday, I joined Lillian Dybing, a first-year student and member of the inaugural Honors College class, for a conversation about what it means to begin a new chapter at NDSU. I invite you to click this link to watch our conversation.

As we begin the new academic year, we are also beginning an important process to set our strategy for NDSU's future. This work will help build on our existing strengths and it will be shaped by our community. I encourage you to stay involved and share your perspective as we continue this work together as One NDSU. You can learn more about ways to engage and the timeline at ndsu.edu/strategic-plan.

While this process will take some time, we won't wait to be strategic. In the months ahead, I will be especially focused on strengthening student recruitment and retention, advancing our research enterprise and building relationships across our campus, throughout North Dakota and beyond. These priorities will help position NDSU for success as we prepare for the next legislative session and continue telling the story of our distinctive excellence as North Dakota's land-grant research university.

There is already plenty to celebrate. We marked the opening of the Bolley Agricultural Laboratory earlier this month. We moved over 3,000 students into residence halls over the weekend and have a full schedule of Welcome Week events this week. Next month, we will dedicate the Richard Offerdahl '65 Engineering Complex, welcome alumni and friends back to campus for Homecoming and gather for Inauguration on October 1.

My message to all of you is simple: be involved. Join the conversation. Attend an event. Mentor a student. Share an idea. Help us set the strategy that will guide NDSU's future. If you're already doing those things, thank you. NDSU is stronger because of your involvement.

Thank you for everything you do for our students and our university. I look forward to the year ahead and what we will accomplish together.

Go Bison,

Marshall Stewart, Ed.D.
President
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

NDSU community,

Today is my first official day as president of North Dakota State University, and I am honored to join this community.

Over the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to listen, learn and engage with many of you. I’ve spent time with students, faculty, staff, cabinet, alumni, donors, state leaders and citizens across North Dakota. Each conversation has deepened my appreciation for NDSU’s impact and potential. I’ve seen firsthand the expertise across this university, the pride people feel for this institution, and the shared commitment to helping students succeed and communities thrive.

Jan and I are grateful to be here. We’re excited to become part of the Bison community and to call Fargo home. We look forward to building relationships not only on campus, but across the Fargo–West Fargo–Moorhead region and throughout the state.

In the months ahead, I will continue meeting with people across campus and across North Dakota. Your perspectives matter, and they will help shape the path forward.

At the same time, we acknowledge the challenges ahead. Higher education is facing real headwinds, including enrollment pressures, demographic shifts, increased competition, questions about the value of a degree, and state and federal budget constraints. Retention and student success remain critical priorities. These are not challenges unique to NDSU, but how we respond will define our future.

There is no better model for that response than the Bison itself. As Interim President Berg recently shared, when storms approach, Bison turn into the wind and move forward. That is what we will do. Together, we will face these headwinds directly.

We will do so by building on what makes NDSU distinct. We will focus on excellence in everything we do, strengthen our role as North Dakota’s land-grant university, and remain deeply committed to students and the outcomes they achieve here. Our work will be grounded in partnership, with each other and with the communities and industries we serve.

I am confident in this university and in the people who make it what it is. There is strong purpose here. There is pride. And there is opportunity.

To hear more about these ideas, I invite you to watch this short video message. I’ll continue sharing updates like this every couple of weeks so we can stay connected.

Thank you for welcoming me. I'm ready to get started, and I look forward to what we will accomplish together.

Go Bison.

Marshall Stewart, Ed.D.
President
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY