Kay Schallenkamp

Kay Schallenkamp served 41 years in higher education prior to her retirement in 2014.  She served as President of Black Hills State University (SD) from 2006-2014 and President of Emporia State University (KS) from 1997-2006. Prior to that, she served as Provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Provost at Chadron State College (NE). She started her higher education career at Northern State University (SD) as a faculty member of communication disorders and later served as department chair and dean. 

Dr. Schallenkamp serves on the Career and Technical Education Board of Trustees, Board of Directors for the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, Board of Trustees for Baker University (KS), the SD American Indian Education Committee, and the Cultural Advisory Committee for SURF. She previously served on the SD Board of Education Standards, and the  SD Board of Junior Achievement. Throughout her career, she was professionally active at the state and national levels. 

She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the North Central Association (now the Higher Learning Commission) the Board of Directors for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), and the Renaissance Group. In addition, she served as chair of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Presidents Council for NCAA Division II, and the National Teachers Hall of Fame, as well as the steering committee for the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

Dr. Schallenkamp served as a Consultant Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission for 25 years. During that time she conducted over 30 site visits, serving as chair for many teams. She also led a team to evaluate international sites in Japan and England and was a member of an HLC team to assist the Minister of Education in the United Arab Emirates. She was a member of the task force to develop assessment of student outcomes for the HLC. 

Dr. Schallenkamp is married to Ken and together they have two daughters, Heather (Shad) and Jenni (Danny), four grandchildren and one great granddaughter.