Becky Bahe, director of the Career and Advising Center, was selected as the inaugural President Dean L. Bresciani Endowed Chair in Leadership.
Bahe will hold the title from July 1, 2024, until June 30, 2027. Funds designated to support the President Dean L. Bresciani Endowed Chair in Leadership will be used to enhance and expand the work Bahe is doing in student access and success, during her three-year term.
In a campus-wide email, NDSU Provost David Bertolini said Bahe’s nomination highlighted a twenty-year career focused on improving student access and success.
In his email, Bertolini wrote one of Bahe’s nominators said “Becky is not simply a manager of people and programs. She is visionary in proposing new ideas, and collaborative in bringing teams alongside her to plan, implement and assess.”
Among her many accomplishments include initiating a co-curricular learning model in student affairs, co-leading the President’s Council on Retention, merging the Career Center and Advising Center, implementing the professional advising model and securing scholarship funds for the degree completion program. Her impact is far reaching on students, faculty and staff.
The fund and Leadership Chair award was established by benefactors in appreciation of Dr. Bresciani’s leadership during his presidential tenure. Dean L. Bresciani was named North Dakota State University’s 14th president in 2010. President Bresciani fell in love with North Dakota State University and under his leadership NDSU expanded scholarship opportunities, set new fundraising records and became a top 100 research institution.
Historically, in higher education, an endowed chair award would be reserved for faculty. However, this unique endowed chair recognizes that leadership that advances the university can occur by people in positions across the institution.
This chair recognizes an outstanding leader at NDSU who strives to provide transformative leadership, eliminate barriers and drive growth through strategic initiatives, in the areas of student access/success, increased research profile of the university, and/or economic impact of the university in the state and region.
The selection committee established in the fund agreement consisted of the NDSU President, Provost, NDSU Foundation President, Faculty Senate President, Staff Senate President and Student Body President.
