DSU Names new CEO of Applied Research Corporation

Andrea Thompson has been named CEO of the Dakota State University Applied Research Corporation.

Thompson is a South Dakota native with a long career in national security, foreign policy, intelligence, cyber and emerging technology, and strategic policy. She spent over 25 years in the Army as an intelligence officer, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 After retiring from the Army, she continued building senior executive experience in government and the private sector, as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the U.S., Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and VP of International Programs at Northrop Grumman.

     Thompson noted that DSU is leading the nation in so many innovative academic sectors and corporate growth is a natural next step. “With over 700,000 unfilled cyber positions across our nation, I want every tech grad in South Dakota to have the opportunity to fuel their passion and do what they love, and to be able to do it in the great state of South Dakota,” she stated. She will work with Stacy Kooistra, the Chief Operations Officer and General Counsel for DSU-ARC, who took on this role earlier this year.  She will begin her duties at DSU -ARC on Nov. 1st.

DSU-ARC was recently established as a non-profit corporation that is affiliated with but separate from DSU. Its mission is to serve as a management company, working to develop, operate, and expand the DSU Applied Research Lab (DSU-ARL). The Lab is currently located on the Dakota State campus in Madison, and will expand to Sioux Falls in a building that is currently in the design stage.  The Corporation will be responsible for operating the Lab that will support important national security research with government, military, business, and industry partners.