main

AllAlumniAnnouncementsBlog HomepageDSU HomepageFaculty & Staff

DSU alumnus Stephen Easton named interim president5 min read

November 14, 2019

During a special ND State Board of Higher Education meeting held via teleconference Nov. 14, 2019, Stephen D. Easton, J.D., was named interim president of Dickinson State University (DSU).

Easton has a strong personal connection to Dickinson State University. Easton, who graduated summa cum laude from DSU in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a minor in business administration, was the third generation of his family to choose Dickinson State. After earning his undergraduate degree at DSU, Easton enrolled in Stanford Law School where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1983.

Easton practiced law for more than 20 years before returning to higher education as a professor and administrator.

We had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Easton about his recent appointment.

We are looking forward to welcoming you on campus. When will you arrive?

I will be taking a leave of absence from my current position at the University of Wyoming to begin my work at Dickinson State University on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. I look forward to meeting with the staff, faculty and community during my first weeks on campus.

Tell us about your family.

My wife, Marivern, and I have three children. Our oldest and only daughter, Gaylemarie, graduated from the University of Missouri and currently resides in Florida where she works in member relations at a tennis and golf facility. Tedder, our oldest son, graduated with his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming, where he is now pursuing a master’s degree in counseling. He also works with at risk youth in Laramie. Our youngest son Nathanial, or “Nate” as he is known in Dickinson, graduated from Dickinson State University. Nate worked for the DSU Heritage Foundation after graduation. After completing his master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts this May, he is pursuing his PhD at the University of Connecticut. He hopes to eventually teach at the university level in the area of business.

Marivern is the assistant director of the WWAMI program at the University of Wyoming, a program whereby the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming educate their medical students for the first year and a half at their respective state universities before they transfer to the University of Washington’s School of Medicine to finish their degrees.

Why did you apply for the position of interim president at Dickinson State University?

My interest in serving as the interim president stems from a lifelong passion for DSU. For four generations, my family has benefitted from this cherished institution. My grandmother attended Dickinson Normal and then taught in one-room and other schools in southwestern North Dakota. My father attended Dickinson State Teachers College, then pursued a career in teaching and, later, community college administration, including the presidencies of five community colleges. I attended Dickinson State College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a minor in business administration.

I am hopeful that my work background will help DSU. Through much good fortune, I have accumulated over two decades in higher education, service as a leader of a government agency (as U.S. Attorney), over a decade in private business (as a partner of a leading North Dakota law firm), and work at two law schools (as a dean and a Policy Committee member), including extensive scholarship (including two solo-authored books and two co-authored books). Education, including my DSU education, is what made that good fortune possible for me. I cherish the opportunity to give our students similar opportunities via education at DSU.

As an alumnus of Dickinson State, how did your time here impact your life?

My decision to attend Dickinson State was one of the best in my life. As I have often said, of all the teachers at all of the fine educational institutions that I was fortunate enough to attend, my best, including Mr. Richard King, Dr. Lee Skabo, and Ms. Jean Waldera, were at Dickinson. For me, Dickinson State was the right size, as I was able to participate in student government, theater, athletics, and other extracurricular activities, even though I was far from a star in any of them. It is hard for those outside my family to understand just how crucial Dickinson State has been to my family and me.

What do you believe are the University’s strengths?

After deciding to apply, I drilled down to determine the realities for my alma mater. I have discovered a faculty and staff that includes many who are the kind of teachers that highlighted my time as a student, a vibrant community with an economic base as diverse (with agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and energy as major players) as any in North Dakota that is eager to support the University, and political leadership that has worked hard for the University.

The strength of the University lies in its legacy of service. Service to its students, service to the community and service to the region. Preparing students to lead in their profession by providing access to quality educational opportunities is the cornerstone of the University. It is exciting to be part of continuing to honor this legacy of service as we plan for the future.

Supporting this initiative, there must be a foundation of integrity. We must be honest, even when it hurts. We must be who we say we are. As in any human enterprise, there will be difficulties and bad days. I will be honest whether the news is good or bad, celebrating the good news and learning from the bad news to help us become even stronger in the future.

There is so much to learn and so much more to be done. Of course, the president of the University, alone, can do very little. But there are good people at Dickinson State and in southwestern North Dakota who are standing at the ready to build the future of Dickinson State. What a special privilege it will be to work with them for our beloved “college on the hill.”

Spread the love