31 Jul Orton Appointed as Acting President of Dickinson State University
BISMARCK, N.D. – The State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) has appointed Ty Orton as acting president of Dickinson State University (DSU) beginning Aug. 3, 2024, upon the departure of President Steve Easton.
A committee will begin the search for the DSU interim president Aug. 7 and the SBHE will appoint the interim president of DSU at its scheduled Sept. 24 meeting. Following the interim president appointment, a nationwide presidential search for the next president of DSU will begin. A timeline for the upcoming search can be found here in the July 31 SBHE agenda.
Chair Tim Mihalick said, “Our highest priority is focusing on the students at Dickinson State – to sustain DSU’s commitment to academic excellence and thereby ensuring the future success of our students. President Easton has been a responsive leader, guiding the institution through the pandemic and budget deficits, while also strengthening the institution’s dual mission. He has worked alongside institutional leaders to raise scholarship funding to benefit students, and ensured workforce needs remained an emphasis to meet the demands of western North Dakota. We thank him for his efforts serving the Dickinson community, and his deliberate work focused on the betterment of Dickinson State University and the students it serves.”
Orton has served as the executive director for the DSU Heritage Foundation since 2015. He coordinates efforts to strengthen relationships and raise funds to support DSU, fulfilling its commitment to provide high-quality accessible programs; promote excellence in teaching and learning; support scholarly and creative activities, while serving the region.
Orton began his fundraising career in 2002 at McCook Community College where he was the head men’s basketball coach. Moving to Dickinson in 2007, he continued to invest in relationships while coaching and fundraising for DSU athletics. Prior to his appointment at the DSU Heritage Foundation, he was the major gifts officer at Sanford Health. In this capacity, Orton serves on the president’s cabinet and the president’s advisory council. Orton earned a Bachelor of Education from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, in 1998 and a master’s degree in exercise physiology from Adams State University in 2003.
About DSU:
Dickinson State University’s story began on June 24, 1918. The newly established Dickinson State Normal School had no buildings, so the first classes and the 104 students that attended were hosted at Dickinson High School. This was done under the direction of Dickinson School District Superintendent Peter S. Berg. It was the first official action of the Dickinson State Normal School. The sessions were free of charge to the students, although they paid their own room and board. Subsequent classes were held at the historic Elks Building until May Hall was completed in 1924. The push to create a Normal School in Dickinson stemmed from the intense need in rural areas for qualified teachers. In the early 1900s, fewer than 25 percent of the teachers in the western half of North Dakota were certified.
In 2018, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education appointed Dickinson State University as the first dual mission institution in the state. This designation allowed us to expand course offerings beyond the bachelor’s degree to include continuing education, certification, associate degrees, and graduate degrees, providing the programs needed to prepare a workforce for our growing region.