Herseth Sandlin: ‘I feel called to stay’ at Augustana University

April 21, 2021

President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin plans to remain the leader of Augustana University.

Herseth Sandlin was being considered to fill the U.S. District Court seat of Judge Jeffrey Viken of Rapid City, who has said he plans to move to senior status Oct. 1. The position is a lifetime appointment with the approval of the U.S. Senate.

Herseth Sandlin said she has communicated her intention to stay at Augustana to the White House and “asked not to be considered for or appointed to the federal bench.”

There was “a lot to discern” about the decision, she said.

“To be considered for that kind of appointment is such an honor,” she said. “I gave it serious thought and consideration because it’s an important and unique form of service to state and country. I certainly appreciated the support from friends here in South Dakota and former colleagues in D.C. as well as the interest from the White House.”

Ultimately, though, “when I think of all that my colleagues at Augustana and I have accomplished together, not just this past year but over the past four years, and all the energizing and important opportunities that lay ahead, I feel called to stay at the university,” Herseth Sandlin said.

“We teach our students that discernment is not just while they’re here on campus with us. It’s a lifetime thing you do when certain opportunities might be set in front of you to consider, and people were really respectful of that discernment process.”

She’s energized by progress made on the university’s Viking Bold strategic plan and inspired to continue executing it, she said, calling this a critical time in higher education.

“There’s a lot of innovation and not just in the design of new academic programs, which is certainly front and center and essential, but there’s innovation we’re doing here in terms of finding ways to help students access an Augustana education and degree,” Herseth Sandlin said.

“We’re looking at expansions for our commitment to the campus residential community, but it’s now also taking what we accelerated in virtual platforms and continuing to make investments to serve students of all kinds and ages with emerging technologies and innovations in teaching.”

Navigating through the pandemic in higher education showed her the strength of her team, she added.

“I watched how people in this campus community got it right, in terms of being open for business but in a safe, appropriate way, to give students an on-campus experience with responsible health and safety protocols, and we were successful,” she said.

“When I see a group of people come together, put their great minds to work, their care for the campus community and Sioux Falls, and design a plan … and at the same time not use the pandemic as an excuse to not make progress … it’s hard not to be energized and inspired.”

The approach seemingly has been effective.

There were “two modest spikes” in cases after students arrived in the fall and another in November, but “we never plateaued there. We brought it down quickly because we could,” Herseth Sandlin said. “We were transparent, we asked people to exercise more caution, we told them what the risk indicators were.”

The university has had a total of 59 confirmed cases since the beginning of 2021, and 41 of those were students.

“We’ve had no trace of any spread of the virus in our classrooms,” Herseth Sandlin said. “They’re wearing masks, they’re socially distanced, and the professor typically has a plexiglass barrier. And we’ve had much more testing available, and we think we have good vaccination rates already. I’m really proud.”

Coming out of the pandemic, there’s an elevated awareness of the emerging tools and needs in the workplace, she added.

“There are so many things our university does and has to continue to do now more than ever to prepare graduates for those changes – how to serve and lead,” she said. “To be engaged and caring citizens, who think deeply, and respectfully listen to different viewpoints. There’s a unique role for Augustana in higher education and particularly a unique role for Augustana in Sioux Falls.”

Nearly 60 percent of graduates in recent years have started their careers in Sioux Falls, she said. That includes nearly 70 percent of South Dakota natives who graduate from Augustana.

“We think we’re doing a terrific job in attracting talent for Sioux Falls and in the region and are doing more to integrate our mission with the community’s needs,” she said.

Sioux Falls also has become home, she said. She and her husband, Max, and son, Zachary, have now lived in Sioux Falls for a decade.

“The community has been really wonderful for our family,” she said.

She serves on the Cabinet of Forward Sioux Falls and will continue to through the campaign ahead.

“Talent attraction, retention and development has been a focus of both those campaigns, and the leadership in the community and visionaries and the ways in which my colleagues and new grads are welcomed to plug in and add value and find progress to be made (in Sioux Falls) is another reason for my decision,” she said.

Herseth Sandlin became Augustana’s president in August 2017. Looking ahead, she said she’s energized by everything from upcoming new construction on campus to academic programs to meeting the emerging needs of Generation Z.

“We’ve laid a lot of groundwork to keep differentiating Augustana because we have to differentiate,” she said. “There are a number of levers I feel like we’ve started to pull in these creative, differentiating opportunities for a university and a city like Sioux Falls. I just really want to keep being part of the momentum and the success and the impact – the positive impact that I know we’re having.”

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Herseth Sandlin: ‘I feel called to stay’ at Augustana University

After being considered for a U.S District Court judgeship, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin plans to remain the leader of Augustana University.

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