SPEARFISH, S.D. – Kay Schallenkamp, president of Emporia State University at Emporia, Kan., will become the 9^th president of Black Hills State University, the South Dakota Board of Regents announced Wednesday.

 

Schallenkamp replaces Tom Flickema, who is retiring July 1 after 12 years at the helm of the Spearfish-based campus.

 

“We had an exceptionally strong pool of candidates, and were pleased to consider a number of people with presidential experience,” said Regent James Hansen, chair of the search committee. “Dr. Schallenkamp knows our system and has had a variety of administrative experiences in different environments. She has had a long and successful presidency at another institution, and is recognized nationally as a leader among university presidents.”

 

Schallenkamp has served as president at Emporia State since 1997. Prior to that, she was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and provost at Chadron (Neb.) State College. She began her higher education experience in South Dakota as an undergraduate student at Northern State University. She later returned to Northern to begin her academic career, starting as an instructor of communication disorders in 1973 and ending her tenure there as dean of graduate studies and research in 1988.

 

“Like Kansas, South Dakota’s aging workforce, coupled with flat high school graduation rates, present challenges to higher education, as well as to the state’s economic growth,” Schallenkamp said. “Through effective enrollment management strategies, recruitment and retention of students can be integrated into the very fabric of the campus.” As president at Emporia State, Schallenkamp guided the campus to enrollment stability with modest but manageable increases resulting in a 19 percent overall growth.

“Black Hills State University and Emporia State University share many similarities relative to role and mission, history, and academic programs,” she said. “The focus of the entire campus on student success is a special characteristic that both campuses demonstrate.

 

“Higher education must be poised to respond to the dynamic needs of the Information Age and the global economy,” Schallenkamp said. “It is clear that Black Hills State University is uniquely positioned to make special contributions to the region and the state of South Dakota.”

 

Throughout her career, Schallenkamp has been professionally active at the state and national levels. She currently serves on the board of directors for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and The Renaissance Group. She chairs the board of directors of The National Teachers Hall of Fame and served as chair of the Presidents Council of the NCAA Division II. Additionally, she has been active in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission.

 

Schallenkamp holds three degrees in communication disorders: a B.S. from Northern State University, a M.A. from The University of South Dakota, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

 

She and her husband, Ken, have two daughters. Heather (Shad) Newbury is a high school English teacher in Kansas and Jenni (Danny) Simon is a doctoral student at the University of Denver. Heather and Shad have two children, Alyssa and Tyler.

 

-30-