The NDSU Development Foundation has awarded its first SU Impact Fund grant to create the “Thought Leader Workshop Series.” The project, proposed by Tim Peterson, associate dean of the College of Business, will receive $70,000 over a three-year period.
“The concept of the Thought Leader Workshop is to bring major speakers to North Dakota so our students, faculty and the community will have the opportunity to learn from them,” Peterson explained. “For every thought leader we bring, we will have a partnership with either a community agency or another college. This series is not only for the College of Business; it is for NDSU and all of North Dakota.”
According to Peterson, the first event is planned for fall 2011. He said the speakers are expected to be of the caliber of Howard Gardner, author of “Changing Minds” and creator of the concept of “multiple intelligence,” whose work prepares K-12 teachers and helps entrepreneurs understand the change process and how people can be influenced. Another possible speaker Peterson suggests is Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, whose techniques to help musicians improve can be readily applied to the workplace.
“I’m really excited about the number of partnerships we can build with the series and the chance we’ll have to hear big name people. These speakers really can be life changing,” Peterson said. “If we didn’t have the NDSU Development Foundation with the forethought to make this kind of grant available, we could only dream about these things. We could never make them a reality. But, now we can.”
The SU Impact Fund was established by the foundation’s board of trustees to provide funding for projects that have a significant impact on excellence and the educational experience for NDSU students. The fund is supported by annual contributions from alumni and friends of the university.
The foundation’s Grants and Awards Committee selected Peterson’s proposal from five finalists when the group met during Homecoming Week. Committee chair John Wold said it was a tough decision because each project was innovative and merited funding.
“The exposure to nationally and internationally recognized leaders with the Thought Leader Workshop will provide a real opportunity to open the minds of students, staff and faculty to things that are going on across the country and around the world,” Wold said. “This is an exciting event that could impact a large number of students and people in the community.”
Jim Miller, executive director of the foundation, said he is pleased with the first year of the SU Impact Fund program. “To be able to put alumni contributions to immediate use for the benefit of students, faculty and staff will help us grow the participation by alumni and friends in the fund. The number of submissions exceeded our expectations, and, unfortunately, our funding. However, we are optimistic about the future of the Impact Fund and the potential to raise more dollars so we can provide additional annual benefits to the campus.”
Peterson said the project provides other education opportunities because two NDSU students in the hospitality and tourism program will help organize the series. They will receive course credit and a summer internship to take the event from initial planning through implementation.
In addition, Peterson hopes to reinvest other funding raised through patrons’ dinners and sponsorships so the series can continue into the future. “The grant is the seed money for the series. The workshop will not be a one-, two- or three-time event; we’ll keep doing it every year,” he said.