Regents approve SDSU's plan to upgrade computing capabilities

South Dakota State University moved another step closer to Research 1 status following the South Dakota Board of Regents July meeting in Spearfish.

The regents approved a preliminary facility statement for a new on-campus computing center — a move that will allow the university to significantly bolster its technology infrastructure and research enterprise.

"This is a great step forward for our university," SDSU President Barry Dunn said. "A new computing center means more opportunities for our students, more support for our faculty's best ideas, and a stronger foundation for the discoveries that will shape South Dakota's future."

Computing power is critical for any research-intensive university, and the growth of scientific fields — like genomics, materials science and precision agriculture — now require large-scale, high-powered computation as a baseline capability. Coupled with the rise in artificial intelligence, the data volumes, power densities and cooling requirements needed to meet modern research demands are far greater than what many older campus computing centers are built to handle.

A new computing center, a Phase 1 priority in SDSU's campus master plan, will provide enhanced computing services to better serve students and the state of South Dakota. It will also support interdisciplinary research collaboration and help faculty secure highly competitive grants from funding agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

SDSU's current computing center is located in Morrill Hall. The approval of the preliminary facility statement will allow the university to determine a new site and preliminary design for a standalone facility, likely west of Medary Avenue.