Innovation Talent
Charles Ruch
President, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
May 22, 2008

As the end of the first decade of the 21st century approaches, a sharper vision of life in this new millennium is emerging. The third economic wave is engulfing the world, causing a recalibration of the world’s economy and a realignment of the major economic players. The dominance of the United States is being challenged by China and India, emerging economic giants.

These changes affect all sectors of the economy and are dominated by dramatic increases in competition within the technology industries vital to the United States. Technology industries are driven by individuals with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the STEM disciplines). Once the world leader in the graduation of STEM majors, the United States’ position is now being challenged. The trends are inescapable:

• During the past two decades, the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in STEM majors has declined by 18 percent; and the proportion of STEM graduates declined by 40 percent.


• The United States has fallen from third in the world to l7th in the proportion of degrees awarded in science or engineering over the past three decades.


• Engineering doctorates awarded by U.S. universities to U.S. citizens has dropped by 23 percent in the past decade.


• Less than l5 percent of U.S. high school graduates have sufficient mathematics and science preparation for engineering degrees, while China graduates more English-speaking engineers than the United States. (Augustine, 2007)

Why focus on the STEM majors? Science, technology, and innovation are the currency of the new economic order. Intellectual talent has replaced capital as the key ingredient to economic growth in the 21st century!

The challenge to American higher education is clear: Enhance, expand, and produce the number of citizens who can play a role in supporting the information economy. Responding to this challenge is of the highest priority on many campuses; on a campus that offers only STEM programs, such as the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, it drives nearly every initiative. The demands to deliver graduates who will pursue careers in “innovation” industries and to form links to current industries and local economic development are the order of the day. Like our sister institutions, we’ve made efforts to “stem” the STEM challenge.

Developing a pipeline of talented STEM students is critical. As I write this, more than 400 middle and high school students dot our campus for a science fair. Later this month, our Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program will host 250 girls. Partnerships with tribal colleges and summer residential pre-college programs serve Native Americans, the largest minority population in South Dakota. Activities for K12 students and their teachers are a given part of our agenda.

There are two areas of special note in our curriculum. First, a “value-added” dimension to the technically oriented undergraduate experience is supported through technical communication, leadership opportunities, entrepreneurship, and international experiences. Additionally, students engage in firsthand experience with technology/information-driven industries through internships, summer jobs, and cooperative learning; more than 80 percent of our undergraduates participated in at least one of these programs. Undergraduate research and senior design projects expand these opportunities.

We foster these skills through our co-curricular Center for Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP), where interdisciplinary and vertically integrated student teams design and build projects for entry in an array of national and international competitions. Teams have access to campus research laboratories, providing them with cutting-edge tools while they practice leadership, teamwork, communication, and the realities of working toward a goal. Since CAMP’s inception a decade ago, its teams have amassed an enviable record of first place and top 10 finishes and industrial awards. And, more to the point, CAMP graduates are sought after in the workplace.

A businesses incubator and an office of technology transfer create linkages to local economic development and transition new ideas into the marketplace. While the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology implements these and other strategies to continue to provide talent for the industries that power the 21st century economy, we are not unique. This new challenge drives American higher education, and our record in responding to such challenges is consistent and positive. So too is our record in meeting the needs for a robust workforce to guide the innovative needs of the 21st century.