José-Marie Griffiths, vice president for academic affairs at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., will become the 23rd president of Dakota State University. The South Dakota Board of Regents made the announcement at a special meeting today in Madison.

Griffiths will begin her duties as president at the Madison campus later this summer.
Griffiths says Dakota State is a very attractive university.

Griffiths says every part of higher education is facing challenges.

Griffiths says she hopes to build for the future on the heritage of Dakota State.

Griffiths has worked for more than 30 years in higher education and has focused her academic research on the use of information technology in higher education, the contribution of technology and informatics, and health informatics.

She has been vice president for academic affairs at Bryant University since 2010.