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Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders for Public Stewardship

The challenges facing societies today cannot be solved by a single government, nonprofit, or corporation. Problems such as stewardship of resources, poverty, sustainability or access to education are complex, interconnected and subject to real world constraints when it comes to finding solutions and mitigating their negative consequences. The future success of communities in South Dakota is predicated upon engaged yet pragmatic citizens who know how to work toward the greater public good across diverse constituencies and sectors.

The undergraduate certificate in public service will create a corps of passionate leaders through academic excellence, civic engagement and ethical stewardship devoted to advancing the overall public good through public service. Unlike government advocacy that serves the defined interests of business, industry or interest groups, the aim of the public service certificate is to educate the next generation of public servants, equipping them with the leadership skills and experiential learning opportunities needed to solve today’s complex challenges. Students will study their chosen major, develop 21st century leadership skills such as intercultural competency and professional ethics and complete an internship that tackles real-world challenges in the public, private or nonprofit sector.

The public service certificate partly serves as the curriculum portion of the Mike Huether Public Service Academy, housed within the School of American and Global Studies. However, the certificate is a value-added credential that is open to all majors. It may be of particular interest to existing majors seeking preparation in fields as varied as education, ethics, languages and cultural competence, health care, infrastructure, military, politics, public policy or social planning. Completion of this certificate is a stand-out credential for students applying for employment in public service professions (e.g., police officers, firefighters, judges, public health workers, city engineers, urban planners, economists, bank examiners, housing agency administrators, homeless shelter directors and other nonprofit management positions) or when running for public office.