An Aberdeen native is becoming the president of Dickinson State University in western North Dakota.
Thomas Mitzel says when he accepted the position as president of Dickinson State University, it felt like coming home.
Growing up in Aberdeen, Mitzel began his bachelor’s degree in English at Northern State University and graduated as a chemistry major. Currently he’s serving as the dean of students at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
When he arrives at the North Dakota school he has a series of challenges waiting for him. But Mitzel says making tough decisions is not new in his career. At Trinity he had to cut 10% of the school’s budget. He says when he begins working to fix a series of financial record problems at Dickinson, the most important lesson he’ll take with him is to give everyone a chance to be a part of the process.
One of his goals at is to grow the marketing department to give the school a stronger presence in the state.
He begins his official role as president later this year.