a publication for alumni, family, and friends

Brandon Vetter
Student Contributor

A Conversation with the President
In this interview, Dr. Robert Duffett talks about the university's vision statement, the process used to develop it and how the Gallup Organization aids our students in understanding their talents and strengths. Last year, students began taking the Gallup StrengthsFinder as one tool to help them choose a major and potentially a career.

When did DWU begin to develop a vision statement?
The honest-to-goodness answer is 1883. In essence, this vision statement is a more focused rearticulation of the founding of this school. The Gallup Organization wasn't around then, but it was John Wesley who talked about gifts, graces and fruits. All we are doing is taking what we do best and rewording it in a concise manner. So, when I say it started in 1883, I really believe that.

Anytime you have presidential transition you have some tweaking of the vision that needs to be done. Four, five or six years from today we will have to rework the vision, but there will always be continuity with our mission. As I work with alums and students, one of the things I see over and over again is that a Dakota Wesleyan education transforms. I feel the new vision statement allows us to be more focused on what we do best.

What process did you use to develop the vision statement?
We spent months in President's Council on it and we took the statement to students, alums, faculty and staff. We asked them if this was a fit for DWU. We had discussion from a critical standpoint wondering if we were a university or a shell for the Gallup Organization. The answer is clear and simple: we are using tools from the Gallup Organization to research human talent, which is the essence of the liberal arts education from the Christian perspective.

Six hundred years ago, the church decided to study these kinds of things. Many of the subjects Martin Luther and John Wesley studied in universities our students are still studying today. The feeling was that the liberal arts were the best kind of education for leadership. Back then, leaders were found in two areas: the church or the civil state.

Today, with the proliferation of jobs, how do we, as a university, help students figure out what they are good at? That's what we want to become: one of America's best universities that educates students to identify and develop their talents for successful lives in service to God and the common good.

I get pretty animated about this because we are simply saying this is our focus. I think if students give us four years, nine times out 10 we are going to help them find careers.

Why is the vision statement important?
A vision statement says this is who we are, and this is who we are going to become. It gives us focus and direction. It will help us to recruit students, staff and faculty. It will be the basis for our commitments, promises and budgets.

If a student wants to party, to drink beer or to merely get a degree, I couldn't imagine a worse place to come than here. What we want are the values and the education to help students develop their talents in a moral, ethical and spiritual setting. We simply want to say, "here is what we are" focused and clear. Some students may say they don't want to be here and that's great. The worst thing we can do institutionally is to try to be everything to everybody. I think with this rearticulation of our vision, it's John Wesley and Wesleyan at its best.

What is happening with regard to DWU's values?
There are four task forces composed of board members, faculty, staff and students turning the rhetoric into reality. We are living out what it means to say we value learning, leadership, faith and service. We've defined those words; now, we need to live them out.

Recent studies have suggested anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of people are doing jobs that don't call for their best talents. They are like a duck out of water or a round peg in a square hole. They say to themselves, "this is not what I want to do but this is what my job calls me to do."

I want to see students electrified with learning, leadership, faith and service in a way that helps them to identify and develop their talents. In the long run, it will help them find careers that call forth their best talents and skills.

I worked at a steel mill for a time with thousands of people. Some could have gone to Harvard, but the seductive nature of a blue-collar job got them. The mill offered great benefits, great pensions and great vacations. However, most people hated their work. When the whistle blew, you saw a mad dash out the door. What I don't want to see is people with college degrees only doing a job to pay the bills; I want to see them do something they are called, wired and gifted to do.

What more needs to be accomplished?
We will present a plan to the board of trustees in April. I don't know what the proposal will look like yet, but it will put the rhetoric into reality. All organizations need a clear focus. We now have a clear vision and more focused values of learning, leadership, faith and service.

Anything else?
I think the founders of DWU, long in their graves, would be incredibly pleased and intrigued by the fact that we are being intentional to discover people's talents and to educate their children for the sake of God, the church and the common good.

Vision Statement
Dakota Wesleyan University aspires to be a leading university that educates students to identify and develop their individual talents for successful lives in service to God and the common good.

Values
Learning
We affirm the power of ideas, the pursuit of excellence, and a personal and collaborative approach to liberal arts education.

Leadership
We challenge our students, faculty and staff to be leaders of character who will maximize their talents for the common good.

Faith
As a faith-affirming community, we embrace John Wesley's model of uniting knowledge, reason and vital faith in curricular and cocurricular activities.

Service
We inspire and empower our students, faculty and staff to use their talents to serve God and humanity.

Dakota Wesleyan University
1200 W. University Ave
Mitchell, SD 57301
800-333-8506