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DSU Honors Faculty and Donors at Legends and Legacy Dinner  

Dakota State University (DSU) held the first annual Legends and Legacy dinner in May. The purpose of the dinner was to honor donors and to present four faculty awards and one award for professional excellence.

 Donors were recognized for their annual gifts with certificates and plaques.  Those donors who had achieved certain levels of accumulated giving were awarded a special collage designed by DSU student Ashlei Fawbush.

 Four DSU faculty were recognized for their unique contributions to the university. The awards were sponsored by donors who have a special tie to the college.

Pictured below are are the faculty award winners:  Dr. Don Wiken, Dr. Dan Weinstein, Dr. Judy Dittman and Dr. Mark Hawkes.

Dr. Don Wiken received the Alexander “Sandy” Davidson Faculty Award for Excellence in Advising.  This award was established by Sandy Davidson, former dean of men at General Beadle State College.  Davidson retired in 1985.  Dr. Wiken is an associate professor in the College of Education and is designated as the faculty member who advises students transferring to the College of Ed from outside the university.  That process includes an intense review of the student’s transcript to ensure a smooth transition. Wiken also advises DSU students on campus, is a mentor for College of Ed faculty, and is a member of the FASTeam as the Faculty Advising Specialist. 

Dr. Dan Weinstein was the recipient of the D.J. Cline Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.  The award was sponsored by DSU Academic Vice President Dr. Cecelia Wittmayer in honor of Dr. Cline, one of Wittmayer’s instructors while an undergraduate at SDSU.  Cline was an instructor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at SDSU and later served as the director of tourism for the state of South Dakota.  Dr. Weinstein is an association professor  of English in the College    of Arts and Sciences at DSU.  He is also the general faculty chairperson.  Dr. Weinstein teaches English and web publishing classes at the university. He is a campus leader in the integration of new technologies such as blogging, podcasting, RSS syndication and online collaborative writing into his classes.   Dr. Weinstein communicates with his students using Voice Over IP internet telephony programs, chats and video. He is currently working on a content management system that will provide a shared environment that will allow DSU English faculty members to access each others writing instruction or evaluation materials. Eventually access to this program will be worldwide.

 Dr. Judy Dittman was the recipient of the DeWayne Mork Faculty Award for Excellence in Service. The award was established by Delon Mork in honor of his late father DeWayne’s commitment to service of the community and an ongoing commitment to the university. Delon recently established an endowed scholarship in his father’s name at DSU.  Dr. Dittman is an associate professor of health, physical education and exercise science in the College of Education. She also serves as the coordinator for both the Physical Education and the Secondary Education programs. She serves on numerous campus committees including chairing the Faculty Advising Specialist Team (FASTeam.)  Under her leadership the FASTeam implemented an early alert program to identify students who needed additional support to succeed at DSU.  Dr. Dittman was the head coach for the DSU Women’s basketball team for many years and now volunteers as an assistant coach for the team. 

 Dr. Mark Hawkes received the Merrill Hunter Faculty Award for Excellence in Research. The award was sponsored by Jon Hunter in honor of his late father Merrill.  Merrill purchased the Madison Daily Leader in 1947 along with his brother and worked in various positions at the paper, becoming publisher in 1966. He died in 1990, ending 43 years at the newspaper.  Dr. Hawkes is an associate professor in the College of Education and the coordinator of the Masters of Science in Educational Technology.  He recently co-authored a book, Toys, Tools, and Teachers; The Challenges of Technology, which examines how technology can be used more effectively in the classroom.  Dr. Hawkes serves on various campus committees, including as a grant evaluation consultant for the Wireless Mobile Computing Initiative for DSU, Chester Area School District, and the South Dakota Department of Education.  He currently serves as the Chair of the Institutional Research Committee, where he spearheaded a plan to support student and faculty research initiatives. Hawkes mentors College of Education faculty to help them focus research questions and to guide them through the publication process. 

 The Award for Professional Excellence was awarded to Daniel Kern. Kern, brother of Madison businessman Brian Kern, is a member of the DSU Foundation where he chairs the finance and investment committee. A native of Minnesota, he grew up watching his father trade and deal in commodities on his family’s farm. In 1984, Kern moved to Chicago and became a stockbroker. He became a branch manager, and by the time he was 22 years old, he had 41 brokers working in his branch.  He moved to California in 1990 and began Kern Asset Management, which he currently operates.  Kern was also honored for his lifetime giving to the University with induction into the 1881 Society which recognizes donors who have contributed between $50,000 and $100,000 to Dakota State.  

Pictured left is Daniel Kern