-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
A measure begun 40 years ago by South Dakota lawmakers and state higher education leaders has turned a small rural college into one of the top high-tech1 universities in the United States.
It began at a time when the future of Dakota State College itself was in question.
In 1984, the South Dakota Board of Regents, which oversees2 the school, was under pressure to cut its budget. It closed one college and turned it into a prison.
Soon after, a new law went into effect. The measure put technology at the center of all Dakota State's study programs.
The decision to reinvent a teacher's college founded in 1881 in a rural city of 6,000 people seemed risky3. But, at around the same time, Citibank, a major financial services company, decided4 to headquarter its credit card business in Sioux Falls, a city near the college.
José-Marie Griffiths is the current president of Dakota State University (DSU). The school changed its name from college to university in 1989.
Griffiths said Citibank was looking for computer programmers, and "somebody came up with the idea that, well, we could turn this college that's fumbling5 a little bit into a computer school with software development and engineering."
Griffiths told South Dakota News Watch, "That way, we could supply the needed programmers to the Sioux Falls workforce6 for Citibank and ultimately for others...."
Change was not fully7 supported at first
Lynette Molstad Gorder was teaching at DSU 40 years ago when the change to a high-tech campus began. She said, at first, some members of the college community were unsure about the change, and its effect on people and programs.
"Later on we looked upon it as a welcome opportunity," she said. "It was kind of hazy8 (at first) and then all of a sudden, it just clicked."
Suddenly, computers replaced pens, pencils and typewriters in classrooms. And later, the move into computer science and then cyber security, she said.
The jump into technology at DSU started with a bachelor's degree in computer science using teaching materials from IBM. The teaching of computer science and software development along with industry partnership9 laid the groundwork for what was to come, Griffiths said.
With a mix of private and public money, the university expanded the school and its offerings.
In 2004, the National Security Agency named DSU a Center of Academic Excellence10 in computer security, one of the first in the nation.
The number of students has also risen steadily11, from 867 in 1985 to 3,509 in 2023. The university said DSU now offers 44 degrees, including seven master's degrees and four doctoral programs.
In 2017, DSU started Madison Cyber Labs with money from the state and local businesses. It expanded research at the university to include cyber security, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, among others.
The school is now planning an expansion into Sioux Falls itself. The plan includes partnerships12 with another research center and a cyber academy program for high school students.
DSU is also pushing the state for more money to start a new center for quantum computing13.
Opportunities for DSU graduates
Jen Easterly is director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure14 Security Agency. She was the lead speaker at a DSU cybersecurity event last March.
Easterly said that before she visited Madison, she had been hearing increasing discussion on the national level about the growth and innovation taking place at DSU.
She said, "The ideas generated at forums15 like this are just further proof that it doesn't matter the size of the university. ..."
Alexis Kulm graduated from DSU in December of 2022. She studied cyber operations there.
The 23-year-old said she liked the small-town feel of the college. She took classes in web and network design, computer programming and malware analysis. All of them, she said, helped prepare her for the cyber workplace.
"You get a strong real-world education in your classes," Kulm said.
Kulm also said she had several job offers after graduating. She chose Sanford Health, a company in Sioux Falls. It has a partnership with the university to increase employment opportunities for DSU graduates.
Kulm is not the only DSU graduate to stay in South Dakota. Jon Waldman and Chad Knutson were in the class of 2006. Soon after graduating, they set up a business together right in Madison. Their 90-employee company SBS CyberSecurity serves the banking16 industry in 49 states.
Waldman said DSU has "a commitment to innovation" that makes it easy for students to remain on top of the always-changing cyber technology and security industry.
Words in This Story
fumble17 - v. to handle something clumsily or awkwardly
ultimately - adv. at the end of the process
innovation - n. new idea, method
收听单词发音 |
1
high-tech
|
|
| adj.高科技的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
oversees
|
|
| v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
risky
|
|
| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fumbling
|
|
| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
workforce
|
|
| n.劳动大军，劳动力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
hazy
|
|
| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
partnership
|
|
| n.合作关系，伙伴关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
excellence
|
|
| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
partnerships
|
|
| n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
computing
|
|
| n.计算 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
infrastructure
|
|
| n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
forums
|
|
| 讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
banking
|
|
| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fumble
|
|
| vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
购买
在百度中搜索