The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will celebrate its official change in leadership Saturday, May 9, when Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D., is formally invested as the 18th president of the university. The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena.
In its nearly 125-year history, the School of Mines has had just 18 presidents, making these ceremonies an important transition to new leadership. South Dakota Board of Regents President Terry Baloun will perform the investiture and present the institution's symbols of leadership. Michael C. Gallagher, Ph.D., past president of Mesa State College, will give the investiture address.
Wharton became the 18th president of the School of Mines on July 1, 2008. Prior to joining the university, he served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Idaho State University (ISU). Wharton was a tenured professor of biology at ISU and previously served as its chief research officer, leading the university's efforts to foster, support and expand its research enterprise. President Wharton was a member of the Federal Government's Senior Executive Service and served as the executive officer for the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs where he helped oversee a $340 million budget and a 52-person management staff. President Wharton has been a visiting senior scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., an executive vice president for the Institute of Management Studies in Reno, Nevada and a vice president for research and research professor at the Nevada Desert Research Institute.
President Wharton received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and his B.A. and M.A. from Humboldt State University. He attended the Harvard Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society. Having participated in 11 expeditions to the Antarctic, Wharton is a recipient of the United States Antarctic Service Medal and has served on the National Research Council's Polar Research Board. President Wharton is currently an appointee to the National Coal Council, a federal advisory body to the Secretary of Energy. He is actively involved in a number of Rapid City community outreach and volunteer activities, including the Black Hills Area Boy Scouts, Rapid City Chamber of Commerce and the Rapid City Area Economic Development Partnership.
"I am proud to lead the dynamic growth and stewardship of this elite, world-class university and continue the institution's proud heritage of excellence in preparing students to serve as leaders in the professions of engineering and science," Wharton said. "Working with our exceptional students, our award-winning faculty and staff and all university stakeholders, we will strengthen our status as one of the nation's premier science and engineering universities."
Since joining the School of Mines, Wharton has been a strong supporter of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) project and has hosted a number of important planning sessions on campus. The School of Mines was established in 1885 to meet the growing research needs of the mining industry led by the Homestake Mine, and continued that partnership when the university championed the conversion of the mine into a national laboratory.
"Today, as we continue to prepare leaders in engineering and science, we are collaborating with our colleagues to transform Homestake into a world-class laboratory to further exceptional research and discoveries not yet imagined," Wharton said. "Just as the School of Mines creates transformational opportunities for our students, we believe the DUSEL will create transformational opportunities for the School of Mines, for all our university collaborators in South Dakota, for our region, state, nation, and the international scientific community."
In addition to his work with the DUSEL, Wharton has identified four strategic foci to guide the university: Optimizing Enrollment, Securing Resources, Growing Graduate Education and the Research Enterprise and Continuous Quality Improvement.
Wharton is married to Dr. Carolyn R. Fassi Wharton, a native of St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Fassi Wharton has 20 years of experience working in health care administration at the federal, state and local levels, in private industry and in academe as a faculty member. Her doctorate in public administration is from the University of Southern California and she holds a master's degree in public health from San Jose State University. Wharton's son, Matthew Wharton, is a software engineer with Ericsson Corp. in Colorado.
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