Cheryl Dickson, president of the Minnesota Humanities Commission, has retired after 24 years.

Monday, July 16, 2001

Cheryl Dickson, president of the Minnesota Humanities Commission, has retired after 24 years.

Her legacy will continue through the work of MHC’s Motherread/Fatherread K-12 education programs, Minnesota Core Knowledge Center grants program and the Minnesota Center for the Book, plus older adult programs.

The programs are used in the Austin School District and by the Parenting Resource Center of Mower County.

"Cheryl Dickson built the Minnesota Humanities Commission into a vital force, contributing to the quality of life in our state," former Minnesota Gov. Elmer L. Andersen said. "Through her career she has been an enthusiastic, vital, imaginative leader and leaves a tremendous legacy."

Dickson became a national leader in offering humanities-based programming during her tenure with the MHC, according to MHC board chair Kareen Ecklund.

"Minnesotans of all ages will continue to be enriched by her work for years to come," Ecklund said.

Founded in 1971, MHC originally was funded solely by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dickson worked with private funders and the state Legislature to expand MHC from a granting agency to an important provider of humanities programs throughout the state.

A native of Pierre, S.D., Dickson and her husband moved to Minnesota and it was literally love of a job at first sight.

"I walked in the door of their office and said I was willing to work there for free," Dickson said.

Dickson’s zest for the job quickly saw her become the MHC director after being hired as a staffer. Through the years, she shaped the MHC into the educators’ tool it has become today.

MHC grew from a $40,000 budget, when she was hired, to a $2.3 million budget. Unfortunately, the amount of grants has not kept pace, growing from $200,000 24 years ago to $350,000 today.

"Our work has always been to build teachers," Dickson said. "We want to train the teacher to teach better."

The Core Knowledge programs have, according to Dickson, been especially helpful for rural school districts, dealing with the Profile In Learning implementation.

Meanwhile, the Motherread/Fatherread programs promote books and reading.

Reading is a passion for Dickson, who doesn’t believe today’s teen-agers are reading enough.

"They don’t read for pleasure and this really concerns me," she said.

Education, family strengths and reading are only the tip of an iceberg of topics that, Dickson believes, are held together by the humanities.

"Social issues, history, ethics and so many other topics are all a part of the humanities. They are so much a part of our lives and that’s why the Minnesota Humanities Commission is so important.

Dickson’s retirement will not be uneventful. She already is contemplating running for the Minnesota State Universities and Colleges board of trustees.

Who better to serve than a woman, whose passion for the humanities and how educators and families can use them has carried her to the top of her profession and kept her there so long?

Call Lee Bonorden at 434-2232 or e-mail him at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com.