A national leader in cyber-security training and computer-information education now has a new home that’s every bit as advanced as its academic programs. The town of Madison, S.D., turned out Aug. 20 for Dakota State University’s “Welcome to the Future” celebration. TSP and partners from SmithGroupJJR designed the $11.4 million facility, while Journey Group served as construction manager.
The 31,000 sf Beacom Institute of Technology is the campus’ first new academic building in 30 years. It’s also the first project in the state slate to achieve LEED v4 Silver certification. Named for lead donors Miles and Lisa Beacom, the institute offers classrooms and offices, a “collaboration corridor” with performance/lecture area, and hands-on learning labs, and a sweeping view of historic East Hall from a glass-walled commons. That last feature connects past, present, and future: DSU was founded in 1881 as a school for teacher education in the Dakota Territory (eight years before South Dakota become a state).
In her opening remarks, DSU President José-Marie Griffiths called the BIT a “magnificent facility” with “cutting-edge form and function – and a stunning design aesthetic, inside and out.” Designed for the long term, the BIT will support and stimulate advances in teaching and learning over time and serve as “a signature visual statement for all who see this campus.”
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Gov. Dennis Daugaard, one of several dignitaries present for the daylong celebration, described the BIT as a worthy symbol of the university’s excellence in computer-centered education. The South Dakota State Legislature in 1984 designated DSU with a new mandate and mission: to deliver leading-edge, technology-intensive degrees.
The project reconnected donor Miles Beacom with the campus he first set foot on 40 years ago this month. He graduated in 1981, but his memories of DSU are as vivid as ever. From the window in his first dorm room inside Richardson Hall, he’d now see the building that bears his family’s name. “Never would I have imagined in my wildest dreams I would be standing here,” said Beacom, who has spent the past 25 years as president and CEO of PREMIER Bankcard.
During the ceremony, Griffiths announced a potential $60 million in additional funding for her university. The Beacoms and PREMIER founder T. Denny Sanford have pledged another $30 million to support the DSU’s mission and broader footprint, advance cyber programming, create new facilities, and fund scholarships. The State of South Dakota will contribute an additional $10 million, while U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds – chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity – is working with colleagues to secure $20 million in federal money.
