DANA COLLEGE HOLDS OPENING CONVOCATION
Speakers focus on plans for
Dana's future
Speakers Dr. John Lyden and Richard Vierk revealed plans for Dana
College’s future development during the Opening Convocation
ceremony on Monday morning.
Dana College President Myrvin Christopherson opened the fall Convocation
by welcoming the largest freshmen class since 1970, a time when
many chose to enter college in hopes of avoiding the draft. Overall
enrollment will be in the 625 to 650 range, and 32 more students
will arrive from Denmark in mid-September for a fall term class.
Christopherson credited the enrollment growth to an outstanding
effort on behalf of the admissions team supported by an enthusiastic
faculty and staff. Christopherson said the college is transforming
and is energized for steady growth by pursuit of strategic initiatives
aimed at securing greater fiscal strength and excellence in educational
program delivery.
Speakers beside Christopherson included Provost and Dean of the
College Brian Viets, Student Senate President Matt Bloomingdale,
and two keynote speakers, Dana College Board of Regents Chairman
Richard Vierk of Lincoln, and Dr. John Lyden, professor of religion
and chairman of the faculty. All echoed pleasure at the large new
class of students and promoted the theme for the opening, namely,
that Dana aims to be a community of respect, one in which all participate
actively in and outside of class.
Lyden spoke to the packed audience about the college’s plans
to redefine its mission statement, one of the first steps in a strategic
plan for Dana’s future.
“Redefining the mission is not just a matter of playing with
words,” Lyden said. “It is declaring who we are and
what we want to be.”
Vierk laid out plans for changes in the college’s facilities
and operations. He stressed the Board’s commitment to consider
building suite-style apartments on campus and exploring expanding
Dana’s class offerings off-campus and online.
This semester, Dana admitted its largest class in more than three
decades, increasing overall enrollment by more than 10 percent over
last year. Vierk, a Dana College alumnus, said Dana would continue
to build on this success by staying true to its tradition of providing
a quality liberal arts education for active and involved students.
“You come to college to get a degree, but you leave with
an education,” he said.
Dana College is a place where all students actively participate.
They make things happen — in their own lives and in the lives
of others. Through a highly supportive faculty and campus community,
Dana students develop interpersonal skills, leadership abilities,
and other important values and knowledge as they make choices about
their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business,
education, art and social work, among others, ensure that students
have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging
careers or placement in graduate school.
Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair, Neb.
To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.
Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge,
Build a future — We’re with you all the way.
— END —
For more information contact:
Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu
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