After a seven month search the University of Sioux Falls announced Brett Bradfield as its 23rd president.
Bradfield has worked at the university for 16 years and in 2007 became the university’s provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Bradfield says he recognizes the challenges higher education institutes face but is hopeful the University of Sioux falls will stay strong into the future.
The scene was festive in the student commons. Students, faculty, staff and trustees mingled in anticipation of the announcement.
Bradfield says he will acknowledge the past and look toward the future as he takes over starting February 6. He says it’s his goal to increase the footprint the University of Sioux Falls has on the region and the nation. To do that he says the university will start by analyzing its programs.
“We’ll continue to address the demographic issues that are challenging across the nation, and South Dakota is not immune to that. We have a dwindling number of eighteen-year-olds that are going to college and, on top of that, we have many schools competing for those students and so we’re going to have to keep working on our strategies in regard to that," says Bradfield.
Bradfield says he will also look at more online classes and how to keep rising costs low. He replaces Mark Benedetto who announced his retirement last April after serving as the university's president for 20 years.
