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President Robert Griggs Announces Resignation

Bob HeadshotFor 8 years, Southeast Technical College President Robert Griggs has championed technical education for Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the region. On Thursday, March 14, Griggs announced his resignation, effective this summer, to employees and college constituents. The Sioux Falls School Board has hired Hazard Young Attea Associates to assist its search for a new president.  

At the local level, the Sioux Falls School Board focuses on Southeast Tech’s operations, maintenance and review and approval of policies. They also hire the college’s president and delegate administrative authority to the president and convene monthly for STC board meetings. At the state level, STC is authorized to provide programs under the jurisdiction of the S.D. Board of Technical Education.

“President Griggs’s authenticity and ability to engage with local businesses, organizations, the city and the school district have made him an exceptional leader,” said Carly Reiter, school board president. “He leans in and listens before charging forward, and that leadership style has served the college well in strategic planning, developing new programs and partnering with the school district and others to best meet its workforce mission.”

Griggs, who took the helm in 2016, has seen the college through campus facility expansions, development of new programs, increased enrollments and retention, new and expanded collaborations, internal restructuring, external rebranding and more.

“It’s been an honor to work closely with President Griggs,” said Nick Wendell, executive director for the board of technical education. “His leadership was instrumental in securing the funds for STC’s new Healthcare Simulation Center. It serves as just one example of how his hard work and vision have and will continue to impact thousands of students and graduates.”

The center was sourced from three gifts to the college from Avera Health, Sanford Health and Forward Sioux Falls, totaling $5.6 million. Those donations were boosted by a $4.5 million appropriation by the South Dakota legislature.

“Southeast Tech is an award-winning technical college recognized as one of the nation’s best, and we’re proud of the district’s ongoing partnership with STC,” said Reiter. “President Griggs is leaving from a position of strength, and doing so provides the college’s next president a springboard for further success and innovation in advancing STC’s mission and strategic goals.”

Dr. Cory Clasemann has been named STC's next president. 

Media Coverage

Published

March 15, 2024

Categories

Administration, President