SMSU Foundation Staff

Dr. Kumara Jayasuriya became the 10th permanent president of Southwest Minnesota State University on July 1, 2019.

Dr. Jayasuriya has enjoyed a distinguished academic career and points to himself when he talks about the transformative power of higher education. He quit high school on two occasions, but with the urging of his mother, returned. Years later, he is now the president of SMSU.

A Sri Lanka native, he came to SMSU from West Virginia State University, Institute, West Virginia, where he was Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and a Professor of Mathematics since 2014. At WVSU, he was successful in implementing student success initiatives that contributed to an increase in retention while forging international partnerships, which increased overall enrollment.

Prior to that, he was Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Mathematics at Purdue University North Central, Hammond and Westville, Indiana. There, he collaborated with other universities to establish statewide articulation agreements and worked with deans and faculty to establish new academic programs.

Before that, he was Dean of the School of Natural Science and Mathematics at Indiana University East, Richmond, Indiana. He held other positions there, including assistant professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, and associate professor and division chair of the Division of Natural Science and Mathematics.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka; a master’s degree in Mathematics from Southern Illinois University; and a doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

President Jayasuriya has proven himself to be an inspirational leader who works collaboratively and transparently. He speaks with enthusiasm about SMSU’s potential and his hopes that the entire University community will help spread the word about what an outstanding college choice SMSU can be for potential students.

In speaking about his new position and the opportunity to move the University forward, President Jayasuriya quoted Mahatma Gandhi: “You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results. I will do everything I can to propel SMSU forward to the next level of recognition.”

President Jayasuriya and his wife Salmini (Sal) are the parents of three children: Daniel, who is attending medical school at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia; Dylan, who will graduate from West Virginia State University in December 2019 and attend medical school; and Devon, who will be an eighth-grader at Marshall Middle School.

Nathan Polfliet received his undergraduate degree from SMSU in 2000 and returned to receive his MBA in 2011.  After working at the South Dakota State University Foundation for over 11 years, Nathan started a consulting business and has worked with nonprofit organizations across the country.  Nathan met his wife Angel while attending SMSU and they have three children, Noah, Nicholas, and Alexis. Nathan’s family has deep roots in Marshall and he is proud that Nicholas is following in his parent’s footsteps by attending SMSU to pursue a degree in Computer Science.

A native of Minneota, Rustin is an SMSU Graduate with a BA in Speech Communication with a Marketing Minor. He spent over a decade in the sports industry working for professional and summer collegiate baseball teams. He also has experience working for a non-profit and had success in positions with two corporations.

Prior to joining the SMSU Foundation in the spring of 2022, Rustin was Assistant General Manager of the Kenosha Kingfish. He was a key member of the front office that was named 2015 Northwoods League Organization of the Year. With his role, Rustin oversaw in season media, baseball analytics and statistics, served as Executive Producer for webcasts and led the club’s outside ticket and groups sales efforts in Southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois.

Rustin was a senior member of the Omaha Storm Chasers front office when the team was named Pacific Coast League Organization of the Year. He was a major part of team’s rebranding and the opening of their new stadium, Werner Park. With the Storm Chasers, he did outside ticket and group sales including off day events and luxury suite leases. He designed and managed the team’s summer internship program and raised funds for the Ronald McDonald House through a game day promotion. He volunteered at Boys and Girls Club baseball clinics, Open Door Mission and organized a community service day with coworkers. After working with the Storm Chasers, Rustin was with MDA in the non-profit sector. As Fundraising Coordinator at MDA he ran the annual Gala, managed the outbound call center and tripled revenue as lead of the Casey’s Mobile Shamrock promotion.

Rustin started his career in Sioux Falls, SD. His first positions were with corporations Esurance and Revonet. He then worked with the Sioux Falls Canaries baseball team. With the Canaries, as Director of Group Sales he was an integral part of the front office being named American Association Organization of the Year as the team set club ticket sales, revenue and attendance records. He also managed off–site food and beverage as the Canaries partnered with the University of Sioux Falls to provide concessions and catering at USF sporting and social events. In Sioux Falls, he volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and served one season with the Sioux Falls Storm indoor football team as game day music coordinator.

Devin Gorter joined the SMSU Athletics department in December 2021, as the Assistant Athletic Director- External Affairs. His responsibilities include organization and implementation of athletic department fundraising, corporate sponsorships and the athletic department scholarship endowment program. He also assists in fundraising and marketing strategies for special events hosted by the SMSU Athletics Department.
 
Prior to joining SMSU, Devin was a corporate partnerships executive with the Minnesota United FC for two years. He was responsible for developing & maintaining corporate relationships with new and existing clients and was part of the inaugural season at Allianz Field in 2019. He was also a member of the team that earned the 2019 MLS (Major League Soccer) Corporate Partnerships Team of the Year award. He was also was a digital advertising manager at ScoreVision from 2016-19, helping develop and oversee its Digital Media Sales Department.

 Devin earned his bachelor’s degree in sports and recreation management with a minor in business and marketing from South Dakota State University in 2015. He served an intern with the SDSU Athletics Department, the Sioux Falls Canaries and Daktronics.
 
Devin and his wife, Amber, live in Marshall with sons, Hayes and Camden