New dean steps in with a vision

Welcome Week for incoming students comprised of various actvities sponsored by different student organizations,  as it does every year.

Yet this year’s activities were the first organized by University of South Dakota’s new dean of students, Kimberly Grieve.

Kimberly Grieve was named the university’s dean of students earlier this summer. Grieve comes to USD after spending 20 years at Lourdes College in Ohio, where she served as the assistant vice president and the dean of students and retention. She completed a bachelor’s degree in education at Michigan State University and obtained a master’s degree in education from the University of Toledo. Grieve also completed a doctorate in leadership in higher education at the University of Toledo.

Grieve said she wanted to advance her career in the time prior to taking the position at USD.

“I had been considering making a career change,” Grieve said. “My children were all grown and graduated from college. As this position became available, I was open to coming out to interview.”

The “big university” appeal, combined with the school’s focus on education in the liberal arts, ultimately won Grieve over.

“Once I got on campus and saw the great education that students could receive in the liberal arts, as well as the opportunities to get involved in student life and cultural events, I decided it was going to be a great fit for me,” Grieve said.

As dean of students, Grieve is responsible for maintaining a pulse on student life and implementing programs to help students achieve success during their time at USD. She outlined student-driven programs as one of her main objectives for impacting student life at the university.

“I want to make sure all students are served on campus,” Grieve said. “I want to start looking at the programs that we have.Lots of great work has been done here but I want to be more intentional and purposeful about program planning and see more student involvement in the program planning.”

Grieve cited an increase in student participation of campus activities as another goal for her department.