The news of President Joe Chapman's resignation hit like a thunderbolt from a clear sky this afternoon. Like many supporters of North Dakota State University, I sat stunned, sinking into my office chair as I read the banner headline on the Fargo Forum website. If students are the backbone of North Dakota State, Chapman is unquestionably its heart. The man who was - who is - the heartbeat of a resurgent NDSU since his arrival from Montana State over a decade ago has left such an indelible footprint that students flocked by the hundreds to the Memorial Union in 2006 when Chapman was a finalist for the president position at the University of Wyoming to convince him to stay. When has that ever happened before in higher education? Probably never.

Why? It's simple. To students, alumni, and boosters, Joe Chapman is more than a President. Just as Joe Paterno is Penn State, and Warren Buffet is Berkshire Hathaway, so to Joe Chapman is North Dakota State. The turnout at that rally and chants of "Joe, don't go," helped keep Chapman in Fargo, and were a direct testament to the strong bond he formed with students. More so than any of his other achievements while NDSU President, which are too numerous to recount in the span of a single column, that student support symbolized the remarkable transformation spurred by the innovate, aggressive, and student driven leadership provided by Chapman during his tenure.

Who knew only three years removed from that memorable moment we'd be forced to say goodbye. "The most important thing he has done is to change the attitudes of people in North Dakota, and especially at NDSU," said Provost Craig Schnell in an October 2008 interview with the Fargo Forum. Schnell was spot on. The ambitions were large, no question about it. It wasn't the status quo. No, it was the status go. As in big dreams for a small state university. Chapman is fond of the Jonathan Swift quote, "Vision is the art of seeing the invisible." Today, that vision is responsible for having turned NDSU from a small state university into a comprehensive doctoral research university with programs involved in high research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation. Not too bad for the AC and old cow college.

The numbers speak for themselves, but hardly begin to describe what Chapman has done for NDSU and its students. Shortly after he arrived, in the fall of 2000, NDSU surpassed 10,000 students for the first time. Ten years later, in the fall semester of 2009, NDSU had increased its enrollment by an additional 40% to 14,189 students. That makes NDSU the largest and fastest growing higher education institution in North Dakota. For good reason, people want to be here, they want to be a part of NDSU.

In 2002, North Dakota State made one of the biggest decisions in its history. That decision to move to Division I athletics has reshaped higher education in North Dakota and ushered in an unprecedented era of success, exposure, and Bison Pride unmatched in the history of our thriving institution. Moreover, it is arguably unmatched by any institution in the history of North Dakota higher education. This wasn't just a move for athletics, this was a bold statement by our university that we could be something better. Chapman led in the face of tough criticisms by the media and even strong doubts among its most ardent supporters. But students believed because we believed in him. Rightfully so, because he believed in us.

Coinciding with this bold new philosophical approach was the physical transformation of North Dakota State. The university had added, or is currently constructing , more than 20 new buildings since Chapman took office. This includes the downtown campus that has helped revitalized and drive economic development in downtown Fargo. Barry Hall is the new home of the College of Business in the renovated Pioneer Mutual Building. It's a state of the art facility where the future business leaders of the Great Plains are educated.

A few blocks away sit Klai Hall and Renaissance Hall, the home of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Chances are when a new home is built, or a new business is designed in Fargo, it will have been designed or worked on by somebody educated in Klai Hall. Without President Chapman, there is no downtown campus. His vision made that possible.

Just west of the Fargodome tailgating lots sits the 55 acre Research and Technology Park. The last six years NDSU has averaged over $100 million each year in research dollars. That's an increase of nearly $45 million since June 1999. It's a nationally recognized center of innovation and technology, two words that have become synonymous with NDSU since Chapman's arrival. When leaders in industry think nano technologies, polymers and coatings, RFID, and high performance computing, they now think NDSU. NDSU is now the largest research institution in North Dakota. Between 2000 and 2007, NDSU added 31 graduate programs alone, not including numerous undergraduate programs.

Other improvements and additions warranting mention include the additions to the Memorial Union, the Wallman Wellness Center, the Walgreens addition to Sudro Hall, the Minard addition, the new RDC (Residential Dining Center); and new residential facilities like the Bison Court apartment facility and the Living and Learning Center. Without Joe Chapman's leadership and vision over the last decade these improvements to NDSU would remain visions instead of realities. Chapman had the skill to see the invisible and make it the reality that is the North Dakota State we take so much pride in today.

President Joe Chapman has been an outstanding leader, servant, and ambassador for North Dakota State. Borrowing the title from Doris Kearns Goodwin's Pulitzer Prize winning book, the last ten years at North Dakota State University have been "No Ordinary Time." We are indebted to Joe Chapman for that.