Dickinson State President outlines workforce focus, new cybersecurity and health programs during legislative campus visit

Dickinson State University President Scott Molander told a North Dakota Higher Education Institutions Committee meeting in Dickinson that the university will push workforce-aligned programs, expand online and hybrid delivery, and strengthen partnerships with local K-12 and industry to meet regional labor needs. "I'm 82 days on the job now," Molander said as he outlined plans to grow enrollment and to make campus offerings more workforce ready.

The presentation emphasized Dickinson State's dual mission — pairing career and technical education (CTE) with traditional bachelor programs — and several near-term program goals. Molander described a planned Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and a proposed master’s in athletic training, and said faculty have completed Quality Matters training to raise online-course quality. "We re going to create a workforce advisory board to make sure our students are learning exactly the skills that they're going to need out in our regional workforce," Molander said.

Nut graf: Committee members and community partners said Dickinson State nd local K-12 schools have expanded shared programming and facilities to address immediate workforce needs — particularly in health…