Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program

Mission Statement

The Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program (TRHLP) challenges academically successful students to greater intellectual achievement while they earn a Leadership Studies minor, perform community and campus service, pursue leadership opportunities, and prepare to become leaders in their field. TR Scholars will learn theories of leadership, collaborative decision-making, tools for lifelong learning and peak personal performance, practical reasoning skills for 21st century leadership challenges, and how to succeed in a diverse and rapidly changing workplace dominated by global competition.

Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program Scholars will take a course of study that culminates in a Leadership Studies minor. TR Scholars grow into leadership through a broad Leadership Studies curriculum, service learning projects, and other special learning opportunities. Students will be encouraged to present research at national, regional, and local undergraduate conferences. All of these elements combine to make this unique leadership and honors program an academically challenging and personally rewarding way to study and build leadership credentials to ensure future career successes.

Theodore Roosevelt Scholarships, made possible through the Dickinson State University Heritage Foundation, are granted on a competitive basis to applicants who meet program entrance criteria. Once admitted, students form a close learning community. They share experiences and take courses taught by distinguished faculty that allow them to become more adept in their future role as leaders in whatever career path they choose. Students completing this program will graduate with a Leadership Studies minor and are recognized and presented a framed certificate and an honors medallion to be worn during graduation.

For more information, please contact:

Program Director

Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program

Lowman Walton Hall 425, 426

701-502-4438 or 507-829-8920

General Academic Policies (Updated 02-02-23)

1. All participants in the Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Program (TRHLP) must be baccalaureate degree seeking. It is mandatory all TR scholars graduate with a Leadership Studies Minor. 

2. DSU will have rolling acceptance for the TRHLP. Students who are interested in the program are encouraged to apply early. Qualified DSU and transfer students may enter the TRHLP in the fall only. These students must make up all required coursework for the Leadership Studies minor. 

3. If a student is admitted as a freshman, (0-23 credit hours) he/she will receive 4 years of funding. If a student is admitted as a sophomore (24-59 credit hours) he/she will receive 3 years of funding. 

4. If a nursing student is admitted as a freshman (0-23 credit hours) he/she may receive 5 years of funding. If a nursing student is admitted as a sophomore (24-59 credit hours) he/she will receive 4 years of funding. Nursing students should consult the Nursing Department chair and the TRHLP Director when planning their course of study.

5. To keep their scholarships, students must maintain all program requirements.

6. Because they are honors courses, all TRHLP classes involve intensive reading and writing assignments.

7. Students must take at least one class from the TRHLP curriculum per semester. Those classes and a Course of Study are listed below and in the Dickinson State University Catalog. Students take additional courses in their discipline or other general education courses to meet the mandated full-time student load of 12 hours or more of coursework at DSU. 

   • College Composition I and II and Fundamentals of Public Speaking taken through the high school early entry (formerly known as dual credit) program will ONLY count toward TRHLP curricular requirements if the student received an “A” grade.

8. Students must be attending courses on campus during their time as TR Scholars and DSU students.

9. Students are expected to be very active in the program. The TRHLP requires attendance at certain events. These include, but are not limited to, all-class meetings, co-curriculars, service events, and other events/activities deemed mandatory by the Director. More information is available in the Maintenance of Honors Program Status section below. 

10. The TRHLP has a strong service learning orientation. All students will complete 60 volunteer, unpaid service learning hours over the time of their scholarship. The first thirty hours will be completed in the first semester course, LEAD 495H-1 Introduction to TRHLP. The remaining 30 hours will be completed in LEAD 495H-2. Students will engage in other service learning opportunities, but will only earn credit towards the required 60 while enrolled in LEAD 495H-1 and 495H-2.

11. When applying for graduation, students must indicate they will graduate with a Leadership Studies minor. Graduating Seniors will also need to schedule a graduation audit with the TRHLP Director the semester prior to graduation.

Maintenance of Honors Program Status

1. GRADES: Students must enroll in all appropriate courses (detailed in the Course of Study) and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.25.

   1. If a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.25, they will be placed on academic warning status for the following semester. If the student does not have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 after the warning semester, they will be placed on probation for the following semester. If after the probationary semester the student’s cumulative is still not a 3.25, they will forfeit the scholarship beginning the next semester. Please note this could mean revocation of the scholarship in the middle of the school year. A student will be placed on academic probation only once during their time in the TRHLP. Instead of being placed on academic probation for a second time, the student will forfeit the scholarship and be removed from the program.

   2. Appeal of this removal and requests for waiver of this requirement because of special circumstances must be submitted in writing to and received by the TRHLP Director within 10 working days of student receipt of either the letter of probation or of non-renewal.

   3. Simultaneous academic and participation probation at the same time indicates a lack of suitability for continuation in the TRHLP and will also result in immediate removal. Please note this could mean revocation of the scholarship in the middle of the school year.

   4. Students removed from the TRHLP may not apply for re-admission to the program or the scholarship.

   5. Students attending the National Collegiate Honors Conference must be in good academic standing.

2. PARTICIPATION: All TRHLP Scholars are required to attend and to sign in to mandatory events for each semester. These include, but are not limited to, monthly all-class meetings, donor luncheons, Freshman Retreat, Homecoming Parade, and other events deemed mandatory by the Director. Students who cannot attend a mandatory event must inform the Office Manager 24 hours in advance of the start of the event.

   Every semester all students must also attend three DSU co-curricular events and write a response to them. Acceptable co-curriculars include, but are not limited to, campus speakers, Global Tables, sessions at the NCHC conference, and TR Symposium events. The focus of the co-curriculars should be educational and not mainly for entertainment purposes. Page-long responses should answer the following questions for each event attended: What was the name/title of the event? What was the name and title of the speaker(s)? What were the main points of the event? What was the most important lesson learned?

   Responses should be a minimum of one singled-spaced page in length, written in excellent, academic prose, and should demonstrate a thoughtful and serious engagement with the topics covered.

   The three response essays will be due at the same time as the TRHLP Semester Update form at the end of each semester, but these co-curricular responses can be submitted earlier.  The TRHLP office prefers electronic submissions.  Electronic submissions can be sent to Mari Kovash at [e-mail].

   1. If a student does not have satisfactory participation for a semester, they will be placed on participation warning status for the duration of their time as a TR Scholar. If the student does not have satisfactory participation after earning the warning status, they will be placed on probation for the duration of their time as a TR Scholar. If, at any time after the probationary semester, the student's participation is still not satisfactory, they will forfeit the scholarship beginning the next semester. Please note this could mean revocation of the scholarship in the middle of the school year. A student will be placed on participation probation only once during their time in the program. Instead of being placed on participation probation for a second time, the student will forfeit the scholarship.

   2. Appeal of this removal or requests for waiver of this requirement because of special circumstances must be submitted in writing to the TRHLP Director within 10 working days of student receipt of either a letter of probation or of non-renewal.

   3. Being placed on both academic and participation probation at the same time indicates a lack of suitability for continuance in the TRHLP and will also result in immediate removal. Please note this could mean revocation of the scholarship in the middle of the school year. See above for information about academic requirements.

   4. Students removed from the TRHLP may not apply for re-admission to the program or the scholarship.

   5. Mandatory Events: When attending mandatory events, students must sign in or do what is necessary to verify attendance. If a student is not in attendance and another student signs in for them, both parties will be immediately placed on probation. If one or both parties are already on probation, they will be removed from the TRHLP.

   6. Mandatory All-Class Meetings: In the event a TRHLP Scholar misses a mandatory monthly class meeting, they should ask their TREC representative for an update within 7 days.

   7. Update Forms: Students must complete the online TRHLP Update Form and submit it electronically to the TRHLP Office each semester by the deadline established in the announcement email. This form supplies an array of important data used to improve the program and facilitate timely graduation and communication.