Northern_Today_Spring_2021

NORTHERN TODAY 11 SPRING 2021 During his time on the Regents, Jewett said he learned that being a Regent meant not only being a regulator of the state’s institutions, but also the promoter of the state’s institutions. Enrollment went up by 10,000 during his time on the BOR. Jewett and Jim Abbott conducted a long-term study over the last 20 years that found that the state had cut about $250-275 million from the State budget for the university system since 2010. “It’s a frustration,” he said, particularly that so little attention has been given to this occurrence. Thankful for Governor’s Support Now, fortunately, Gov. Kristi Noem has started the ball rolling toward supporting education, Jewett said. In fact, Noem was the second of two governors to put a total of $5 million into the new South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The city of Aberdeen also put in $5 million to the Educational Impact Campaign over time, he said, though no money came from the Regents or Legislature. Jewett praised Noem’s leadership, saying it was instrumental in completing the Educational Impact Campaign projects. It was an example, he said, of the right person being in the right position at the right time. “This cannot succeed without our economy functioning,” he explained, adding, “It couldn’t have been done without her.” Campaign Had Strong Support Another example of having the right leadership in place, he said, is former NSU President Dr. Tim Downs. “He was the right person at the right time.” A lot of generous companies, corporations and individuals worked to make the campaign projects become a reality, Jewett said. The campaign had a good team behind it, including Jim Thares, Mike Evans, Jim Koehler, Rod and Robert Fouberg, Art Russo, Tim Kessler, Eldon Swingler and Jack Thompson, to name some of the leaders. “Guys like that really led the way and stepped up and made things happen,” Jewett said. “They deserve a lot more recognition than they got.” Now that all campus projects are wrapping up, it’s nice to see it coming to fruition, ending with the Regional Sports Complex, he said. “It’s such a dominating structure for a school that never had a football stadium on campus,” Jewett said. “I think it’ll be a pretty big deal. It’s an impressive-looking place.” These facilities now provide an opportunity for Northern, he said, which has to continue to attract students, keep modernizing its academics and hiring good faculty. “They’re set up to succeed.” “I love Aberdeen; I think it’s a wonderful place to live, with a good business community,” Jewett said. “Northern was a central part of that business community of Aberdeen.” NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSI TY | News Pictured left to right: Olivia Jorgensen, Arthur Jorgensen (son of Olivia), Cynthia Jewett, Harvey Jewett, Chase Jewett and Taylor Jewett