Charles Luke records

Record Group — Multiple Containers

Identifier: RG15

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Charles Luke records (1978-1986) contain the administrative papers from Luke's presidency at Dakota State College.

Included are the files on DSC's mission change from a teaching school to a cyber academy, a change that came with both backlash and support from students and the surrounding Madison community. These files detail the mission change as well as the building of the two new degrees: a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems degree and a two-year Associate of Science in Application Programming degree. These degree programs were developed by Eric Johnson and Karen White, both of whom went to Dallas, TX, to study existing computer degree programs.

Also of particular note are the Sisseton-Wahpeton College files that detail SWC's accreditation. Before SWC's accreditation, DSC was in partnership with the tribal college, supplying DSC associate degree courses to their campus. Now, the college is independent and has grown their resources, providing a wealth of academic programs and aid, and even helping the Sisseton and Wahpeton tribes to develop and administer welfare reform measures.

Dates

1978 - 1986

Creator

Luke, Charles (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to research, and no special permissions are necessary to access its materials. Researchers requiring extended access to the collection are asked to contact the archivist to make arrangements.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Charles Luke was President of Dakota State University for a short time in 1983-1984, but his was a pivotal presidency. This was at the beginning of the institution’s mission change, which tasked the university to provide instruction in computer-related areas across all disciplines.

Through his career experience with IBM and Citibank, Luke was able to implement an agreement with IBM to share their curriculum, creating a four-year degree in Information Systems. Three Dakota State faculty were allowed to attend IBM training in Dallas, the first non-IBM individuals to go through that program. Luke also worked out an agreement with a California junior college to provide curriculum for a two-year degree in computer programming. Both these programs gave students with the necessary knowledge base to work in the industry.

Luke knew that hands-on experience was an integral component for these career fields, so he used special legislative funding to replace primitive microcomputers with IBM PCs. He was also able to secure a gift for a large-scale stored program computer from Citibank. In addition, he was able to institute 13, four-year scholarships, and hold two summer youth camps on campus.

Then Governor Bill Janklow said Charles Luke “made the commitment to save DSU and … created the dream of a computer-oriented future for DSU.”