Shudak Returns to MMU as Dean of Undergraduate Studies
October 17, 2023
After nearly 10 years, Dr. Nicholas Shudak has returned to Mount Marty University (MMU) as dean of undergraduate studies.
Dr. Shudak moved to Yankton from North Carolina in 2007 to start his academic career as a professor of education at Mount Marty.
"I fell in love with the mission," said Dr. Shudak. As his career advanced into chair of the Division of Education, director of the Department of Teacher Education, and director of the Master of Education program at Mount Marty, so did his love for the Benedictine traditions and teachings. Dr. Shudak even started the Oblate program with the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.
New opportunities led Dr. Shudak to the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, and later as the dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb.
During this time, Dr. Shudak, his wife, and five children continued to call Yankton home. "Yankton is an amazing place," said Dr. Shudak. "More than a million people descend on Yankton every year, and we get to live here. Our family motto is 'let's not take it for granted.'"
That's why, when Mount Marty released a search for a dean of undergraduate studies, Dr. Shudak put his name in the hat. In just a decade, Shudak watched a lot of growth at "the college on the hill," including the launch of the Benedictine Leadership Institute—in its infancy when he left—and new programs like the Master of Science in Biotechnology.
As dean, Dr. Shudak is looking forward to hearing and learning from the faculty, as well as finding new ways to partner with the business community in Yankton and the region. And, he plans to pick back up where he left off to become an Oblate.
Dr. Shudak feels most connected to the Benedictine values of Lifelong Learning and Awareness of God, as he works to earn a Master of Arts in Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary while exploring new ways to build programming for Mount Marty students and faculty.
"I think Mount Marty is exactly what the world needs right now," said Dr. Shudak.
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