Bridge to VCSU with President LaFave:

Greetings from Valley City State University! It’s been an exciting year at VCSU.

In this final column of 2021, I wish to reflect on some of the successes of the past twelve months. Our campus community has been recognized nationally, continues to grow, and thrives with the support of alumni, friends, community members and supporters from across the state and nation.

This year we were recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the best regional public college in North Dakota. The same organization also named VCSU as having one of the best online master’s in education and online bachelor’s programs. These are prestigious awards and show how our campus continues to provide the highest-quality education possible. Our elementary education program continues to be lauded as the best in the nation by Study. com. This doesn’t happen overnight. We are so proud of the students, faculty and staff who continue to work hard to make this program one of our shining stars.

Capitalizing on the momentum of the nearly complete $32 million Center for the Arts, another big milestone this year was the official public launch of our Forward Together capital campaign. The campaign seeks to raise $25 million in private funds to address important capital improvement needs on campus, including updating student athletic facilities, educational spaces and to provide continued scholarship support. This will include a major addition to the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse, the renovation of McCarthy Hall into VCSU’s School of Education, scholarship enhancements and funds to update and improve the use of the Memorial Student Center.

This momentum continues to grow along with our enrollment. Our headcount has increased 24% in the past decade and graduate programs are seeing strong growth. This fall we enrolled 1,686 students, the most students in the school’s history in a fall semester. Fall enrollment has grown for nine consecutive years. The 1,686 count of students includes a recordbreaking 163 students in graduate studies. Graduate program enrollment increased by 20% this year.

While our students continue to grow in the classrooms, they also continue to excel on the field. Although this spring was a little hectic with multiple teams playing at times not typical for their sport, our athletes excelled. Allyssa Weitkum set a new school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase, ranking her first in the NSAA by 42 seconds. Softball clinched its second straight NSAA Softball Conference Championship in April, the 13th in program history. We established a coach’s hall of fame and welcomed friends and family during a well-attended homecoming weekend. This spring Zachary Co set a new school record and earned All-American honors by placing fifth in shot put at the NAIA national meet. He has earned All American honors three times to date and has already qualified for nationals in two events. Volleyball played in the NSAA Semifinals after an exciting season. The football team set or tied nine different school records and the defense finished ranked Top 10 in the nation in several categories.

We know that all successful organizations owe much of their success to the support from many different groups, and VCSU has enjoyed incredible support over the years. We thank all who have contributed to the growth and continued success of our community and university. Go Vikings and Happy New Year!