Guest Commentaries:
DSU makes life better in the Delta
by
John M. Hilpert
One company's television advertising requires a bit of thought. You likely remember these words: We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better. The first time I heard this slogan, it caught my attention because it seemed so unwieldy. Now it immediately conveys BASF Corporation to me, and I think of it as tremendously clever. This chemical firm that makes 6,000 products as components for other manufacturers' goods wants to say, “You may not realize it, but we make your life better.”
If I wasn't worried about copyright infringement, I might steal BASF's sharp self-description and massage it into an advertising campaign for Delta State University (DSU). Just as with this international company, higher education is not an end in itself; it is rather an enabler for individuals and communities to reach their goals and to live better lives. We exist to offer teaching, research, and service, and we succeed in all of those dimensions only when we meet the expectations of the citizenry that supports us.
Certainly the most obvious products of our efforts are our graduates, and it is our goal to equip them with the professional and personal tools that they need to be productive and contributing members of their communities. There must be constant exchange of information between DSU's academic programs and the real world of the workplace, so that we are offering relevant and competitive knowledge and skills to our students. To that end, advisory committees, on-site visits, internships, and regular employer surveys provide us with the information that we need to educate a 21st century workforce for the Delta.
Because we are a thread in the fabric of this region, we most often define the research and service aspects of our mission within the framework of the Delta's needs, challenges, and opportunities. Lists of the university's programs and projects that are on-going and aimed at regional communities, agencies, school districts, and other organizations include well over 100 separate efforts with nearly that many partners helping to achieve ambitious goals. Developing the regional economy, planning locally for tomorrow's global opportunities, enhancing education in K-12 classrooms, preserving the record of the Delta's rich history, offering cultural programs, presenting professional entertainment and competitive sports events, and providing resources for lifelong learning - these are but a few of the services that Delta State University brings to the region.
How can we make your life better? The answer, of course, depends upon your needs and opportunities. If you are a businessperson trying to assess where you are and what directions might be profitable for the future, there is expertise available at the university to help you answer your questions. If you need highly skilled employees, we produce a steady stream of graduates. If you have a technical problem, faculty may have particular research skills that can help you or they may be able to steer you toward those who can create solutions for your situation. In other words, whatever your situation, DSU stands ready to assist.
We have adopted the goal that Delta State University will be the best regional university in America . What we mean is that we intend to couple the educational excellence that is the heritage of this institution with our determination to offer meaningful research and services targeted at the challenges and opportunities of the Delta. We invite your engagement in a lively dialog that will result in actions aimed at opening new doors and creating better lives. DBJ
(John M. Hilpert, is President of Delta State University.)
