Monday Message, May 6

SDSU Community –

We begin a new week on campus after a wonderful weekend in which we celebrated the graduation of more than 2,000 students. It was a wonderful time seeing students and families share in the sense of excitement as they were recognized for their academic achievements.

I am thankful to everyone at SDSU who helped and the city of Brookings for its support and effort to make this possible. It is culmination of a lot of time and planning to make graduation ceremonies happen.

Although we just finished one academic year, our attention will turn quickly to the fall semester and the beginning of another year. The Meet State Committee is already seeking volunteers for move-in weekend Aug. 23-24. Additional information is located below. I hope everyone can take some time to volunteer and help with this very important weekend.

Also, please join me tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. when the Professional Staff Advisory Council hosts its annual meeting and awards in Woster Celebration Hall at the SDSU Alumni Center. It is a special time in which we recognize several employees for their work and contribution to make SDSU a premier land-grant university.

In addition, I want to be sure to thank everyone for their work and celebrate contributions to make this past year one of the most successful at our university. We would not have raised more than $600 million for the Bold and Blue campaign without having a campus community where everyone is supportive of each other and willing to represent our core values every day.

We continued to build new buildings and launch major initiatives like the POET Bioproducts Center at the Research Park at SDSU. We expanded our reach into Sioux Falls, supported by a major gift from Avera that will provide a home for our nursing and pharmacy programs at the SDSU Metro Center.

We have added new programs to address the workforce needs of our region. We increased scholarships for our students and have the continued support of the South Dakota Legislature to continue to make higher education affordable and accessible for many. These successes don’t happen without all of you who work every day to make our university the best it can possibly be.

I hope you are able to get away from campus this summer and enjoy time with family and friends. As we know, summers pass quickly and soon we will be welcoming the next class of new Jackrabbits and all our returning students back to campus.

Thank you for everything.

Go Jacks!

Sincerely,

Barry H. Dunn, President

Above and Beyond

Above and Beyond recognizes individuals and groups of South Dakota State University employees, faculty and students for individual and team efforts that go Above and Beyond to make the campus community a better place. This week we recognize Early Alert Award for Excellence winners who are supporting our students and helping them succeed.

South Dakota State University participates in an Early Alert program to identify undergraduate students who need assistance from academic and student service offices. The purpose of this program is to employ a collaborative effort through which faculty, academic advisors and staff notify and support students who are demonstrating characteristics that may hinder academic performance. Providing support to these students early in the semester is important to their success.

The university has recognized faculty and academic advisors whose work with Early Alert demonstrates best practices that support and further the mission of the program at SDSU. Two faculty members and one academic advisor were selected to receive the Early Alert Award for Excellence for their outstanding performance during the 2023-24 academic year. The recipients are Victoria Dubbelde from the Ness School of Management and Economics, Bonnie Shinn from the School of Education, Counseling and Human Development and Laura Plowman from the School of American and Global Studies.

The Department/School/Program Early Alert Award for Excellence celebrates outstanding performance and recognizes a department, school or program whose work with Early Alert demonstrates best practices that support and further the mission of the Early Alert program at SDSU. The recipient of this year’s award is the Academic Success and Recovery Program, which operates with the help of Nicole Gertken, Viena Klipfel and Hannah Niemeyer.

Congratulations to the award winners, and thank you to everyone whose efforts help our students succeed.

The Meet State Committee is already looking for volunteers to help with move-in weekend to welcome new and returning Jackrabbits for the 2024-25 academic year.

Meet State weekend is Aug. 23-24, and the two days include various activities to welcome new students and their families to campus. On the two opening days, hundreds of volunteers from various campus departments and student organizations help move residents into their rooms.

Additional information and how to register to help with the weekend is available online. Please contact Brian Dominguez if you have more questions.

McCrory Gardens and the Office of Human Resources will host Third Thursday at McCrory Gardens for SDSU employees and up to six guests. The events will provide employees an engagement opportunity while showcasing the many wonderful features of the gardens.

The scheduled events include:

Bee theme, May 16 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Explorer theme, June 20 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Wellness theme, July 18 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Additional information, including how to access tickets, is available by contacting Laura Sroufe in the Office of Human Resources.

The Professional Staff Advisory Council will host its annual meeting and awards tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in Woster Celebration Hall at the SDSU Alumni Center.

The event will include an all-staff social with the program and awards beginning at 3 p.m. A Zoom link will be available for those who cannot attend in person.

The program will include updates from the council and the announcements of the Rising Star Award and the Presidential Awards of Excellence.

Jackrabbit Central in the University Student Union will be closed Wednesday and Thursday for yearly inventory. The downtown store will be open normal hours from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Faculty, staff, graduate teaching assistants, advisers and anyone else interested are invited to join the Common Read Committee on Wednesday from 1-3 p.m. in the American Indian Student Center classroom for a professional development workshop.

Participants will receive an overview of the 2024 Common Read "The Invention of Wings" and our selected theme H.E.A.L. (Hope, Empathy, Advocacy, Loyalty). They will also learn about the historical context surrounding the book, preview the online library guide and other resources from our fantastic librarians at Hilton M. Briggs Library, and take home several examples of “plug and play” curriculum that can be used in a classroom or other educational setting.

SDSU is working with EAB on reimplementing Navigate, the platform that powers ConnectState. Reimplementation is scheduled to take place May 28-31, which means that ConnectState will not be available on those dates.

Faculty conducting student outreach or campaigns later this month or early June, please plan accordingly. You will want to pull lists and reports that you will need during the dates the platform is offline by May 23.

The Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering will host the National Summer Transportation Institute Summer Camp, June 2-8 and June 9-15. The camp will focus on transportation engineering, including planning, materials, transportation modes and other topics.

Participants must be entering grades 9-12 during the 2024-25 school year, have a cumulative GPA of 2.0, completed algebra and be interested in engineering, science or technology.

All selected students will receive scholarships to attend the camp. Scholarships will cover the cost of on-campus housing, food and workshops.

Application deadline is May 15.

Jack’s Cupboard, the on-campus food pantry for SDSU students, is seeking volunteers this summer. Jack’s Cupboard will be open weekly on Wednesdays from 3-5 p.m. and volunteer shifts last one hour.

Interested individuals may sign-up online to volunteer or contact Avery Sage with any questions.

The Monday Message appears weekly during the academic year and less frequently during the summer months and holiday breaks.

Information for the Monday Message, including nominations for Above and Beyond, can be submitted online through the submission form.