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News Release |
| For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 USD's Engstrom Named Regents' Fellow PIERRE - The vice president for research and dean of graduate education at The University of South Dakota has been named a Regents' Fellow, the South Dakota Board of Regents and USD officials announced Wednesday. Royce Engstrom will be assigned to the regents' system office to work on projects aimed at developing a statewide research agenda for South Dakota. "Our public universities need to be an aggressive partner with the state and private sector to create the kind of research base in South Dakota that supports a 21st century economy," said Robert T. Tad Perry, the regents' executive director. "Royce will be our point person, as we discuss how higher education plays a critical role in Gov. Rounds' 2010 Initiative for developing a research infrastructure in the state," Perry said. Engstrom has been on the Vermillion campus since 1979, when he was hired as an assistant professor. He has held a series of increasingly responsible positions at USD, including chemistry department chair, project director for the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), research director for the university and the South Dakota Health Research Foundation, and acting vice president of academic affairs. "Dr. Engstrom has first-hand knowledge of the kind of research that can take place in South Dakota," said James W. Abbott, president of The University of South Dakota. "In his capacity as a Regent's Fellow, his knowledge will benefit the regental system and the state as much as it has benefited The University of South Dakota." Engstrom holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison; his undergraduate degree in chemistry is from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. "I am excited to be involved in this effort," Engstrom said. "As the state makes strategic, long-term investments for the knowledge-based economy, public universities can do much more to enhance their capacity for research." Under the Regents' Fellow program, faculty fellowships provide a professional development opportunity for regular tenure-track faculty and administrative professionals in the Board of Regents' system. Fellows undertake assignments at the direction of senior BOR staff. Perry said he expects Engstrom to be assigned to the regents' office through early next summer. -30- |
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