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About SDSU | Students | Faculty and Staff | Alumni | Campus | Research | SDSU Extension | South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station | South Dakota Board of Regents | SDSU Executive Officers
About SDSU
South Dakota State University is the state’s largest, most comprehensive higher-education institution. As South Dakota’s Morrill Act land-grant university, SDSU had a fall 2019 enrollment of 11,518, with students coming from every state and 83 countries. Students can choose from 82 majors, 35 specializations, 94 minors, 36 master’s degree programs, 15 Ph.D. programs and two professional doctorates. The university also offers courses at various off-campus sites as well as undergraduate and graduate programs online through the Office of Continuing and Distance Education.
- Colleges
- College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- College of Education and Human Sciences
- College of Natural Sciences
- College of Nursing
- College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions
- Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering
- Graduate School
- Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College
- University Authorization
A public, land-grant institution, SDSU was founded in 1881, authorized by the Dakota Territorial Legislature and is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station at SDSU was established and linked to the university in 1887 under the federal Hatch Act to conduct research that “concerns agriculture and the home.” In 1914, SDSU Extension was added by the Smith-Lever Act to “provide information to the people of the State.” Both the Agricultural Experiment Station and SDSU Extension are administered by the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences .
- Athletics
The SDSU Jackrabbits compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level in all sports, including the Football Championship Subdivision. Jackrabbits teams play in The Summit League, with the exception of football, wrestling and equestrian. SDSU is a member of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Big XII Conference as an affiliate member for wrestling.
- Community at a Glance
Named by Safewise as the safest college town in America in 2016, Brookings (pop. 23,938) is just 55 miles north of Sioux Falls on Interstate-29, 200 miles from Minneapolis and 400 miles east of Rapid City and the Black Hills. Students from communities in Nebraska, North Dakota and Iowa also find SDSU within an easy day’s drive.
Students
- Enrollment - Fall 2019
Total Enrollment - 11,518
Fall 2019 enrollment showed the incoming first-time freshmen class recorded an average high school GPA of 3.4. More than 42 percent of the class registered scores of 24 or higher on the ACT.
Enrollment By Level Undergraduate 9,923 86% Graduate 1,217 11% Professional 378 3% Total 11,518 100% Gender Female 6,216 54% Male 5,302 46% Total 11,518 100% Race/Ethnicity Nonresident Alien 719 6.2% Hispanic/Latino 283 2.5% American Indian or Alaska Native 131 1.1% Asian 137 1.2% Black or African American 213 1.9% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 4 0.0% White 9,671 84% Two or More Races 268 2.3% Race and ethnicity unknown 92 0.8% Total 11,518 100% Residency South Dakota Residents 6,200 54% Other States 4,605 40% International 713 6% Total 11,518 100% - Enrollment Breakdown - Fall 2019
Enrollment by Area Academic Affairs[2] 1,024 8.9% Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences 1,711 14.9% Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences[3] 2,054 17.8% Education and Human Sciences 1,610 14.0% Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering 1,428 12.4% Natural Sciences 675 5.9% Nursing[4] 1,259 10.9% Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions[5] 570 4.9% Graduate School 1,187 10.3% Total 11,518 100% Notes
- Student General Information
General Information Student : Faculty Ratio FY 2018 18.5 : 1 Graduate Student Assistants (Fall 2018) 531 Retention Rate (Fall 2018 FT FT bachelor's cohort) 78.3% - Graduates -- 2018–2019
Graduates By Degree Type Associate degrees 82 3.2% Bachelor's degrees 1,916 74.8% Master's degree 417 16.3% Doctor of Philosophy 41 1.6% Doctor of Pharmacy/Doctor of Nursing Practice 106 4.1% Total 2,562 100% - Financial Aid for New Students -- 2018–19
Full-time, First-year Students Full-time, First-year Students 2,114 Percent receiving financial aid 92.5% Average award (including loans) $11,373 Percent receiving institutional scholarships 53% Average scholarship award $2,676 South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship New recipients (Fall 2018) 394 Total number of recipients (Fall 2018) 1,378 Average Award Graduate and Undergraduate $11,903 - Estimated Costs of Attendance -- 2019–2020
Undergraduate, Resident (30 credits) Tuition and Fees $9,114 Room and Board $7,270 Undergraduate, Nonresident (30 credits) Tuition and Fees $12,590 Room and Board $7,270 Graduate, Resident (24 credits) Tuition and Fees $9,217 Graduate, Nonresident (24 credits) Tuition and Fees $16,675 Graduate Assistant (24 credits) Tuition and Fees $1,134
Faculty & Staff
- Full-Time Equivalent Employees -- 2019–2020
Employees Numbers Faculty 649 Administration 66 Professional 716 Support Staff 649 Total 2,079 - Rank of Faculty (Full Time, Permanent) -- Fall 2018
Faculty Rank Professor 141 Associate Professor 112 Assistant Professor 153 Instructor 96 Lecturer 65 Total 567
Alumni
- Graduates
Graduate Numbers Total Graduates (Through September 2019) 92,793 Alumni Living in South Dakota 34,802 Alumni living out of state 35,687 Alumni living out of USA 498
Campus
- Physical Plant -- FY2020
Physical Plant Stats Central campus location (maintained) 386.7 acres Additional acres, including 6 research farms 11,467.67 acres Buildings 178 Building space maintained 4,048,398 sq. ft. Replacement value of buildings $1,165,326,000 Residence hall capacity (Fall 2019) 4,577 students - SDSU Foundation (Calendar Year 2018)
SDSU Foundation expenditures Expenditures to support university programs $39,795,545 Expenditures per student FTE - Fall 2018 $4,059.78 - Operating Budget Authority By Agency - FY2020
Operating Budget University Proper $252,525,281 81% Agriculture Experiment Station $40,072,423 13% SDSU Extension $18,550,690 6% Total $311,148,394 100% 
- Operating Budget Authority - FY2020
Operating Budget Breakdown Instructional Support $131,676,404 42.3% Research (including AES) $65,098,510 20.9% Public Service (including SDSU Extension) $29,094,750 9.4% Institutional Support $26,640,358 8.6% Operations and Maintenance of Plant $28,853,946 9.3% Scholarships and Fellowships $2,314,253 0.7% Auxiliary Enterprises (Res. Life, Food Service, Bookstore) $27,470,173 8.8% Total $311,148,394 100% - Operating Budget Authority By Source of Funds - FY2020
Source of Funds State Funds $71,606,955 23% Student Tuition & Fees $106,195,210 34% Federal Grants & Contracts/Fed Appropriations $43,076,126 14% Room & Board $17,676,599 6% Other Funds Including General Sales of
Commodities & Services$72,593,504 23% Total $311,148,394 100%
Research
Research to help society and drive economic development in the state and region is an essential part of the university’s land grant mission. The Division of Research and Economic Development works closely with university researchers and business leaders to tie faculty expertise into solving industry problems. The university has positioned itself as a leader in agriculture and precision agriculture, remote sensing and life sciences. The research enterprise is also capitalizing on expertise in digital technology related to agriculture and resource management.
Total Research Expenditures — FY2019 ---- $67,590,710
- Research Highlights
- More than 800 undergraduates are engaged in university research through the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College.
- 1,320 graduate students are engaged in university research through 36 master’s degree program, 15 Ph.D. programs and two professional doctoral programs offered in seven colleges.
- Faculty researchers provide leadership through the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center and four research centers, Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence, Ethel Austin Martin Program in Human Nutrition, Biosystems Networks and Translational Research (BioSNTR) and the South Dakota Center for Biologics Research and Commercialization.
- The Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization, which assists university researchers in protecting and commercializing intellectual properties and fosters collaborations between the university and industry partners, has generated nearly $18.5 million in royalties and license fees since it was established 2007. During the last five years, SDSU has averaged 33 invention disclosures, three new patents issued, seven new license agreements per year with half for start-up companies and more than $1.5 million in royalties and revenue per year.
- A new economic development initiative brought together interdisciplinary research groups related to precision agriculture with the support of the Brookings Economic Development Council. This includes experts in computer science, statistics, engineering, remote sensing and agriculture.
- Industry partners, such as Raven Industries, General Mills and Novita Nutrition, have established offices in the Research Park near campus to facilitate collaboration with university researchers in technology development and workforce training.
SDSU Extension
- SDSU Extension
South Dakota State University is home to SDSU Extension, the outreach arm for South Dakota’s land-grant university. SDSU Extension strives to serve as the indispensable outreach link to the citizens of South Dakota by providing solutions, creating entrepreneurial opportunities and providing educational processes that use scientific knowledge. Core educational programs are offered in the areas of:
- Competitive Crop Systems
- Competitive Livestock Systems
- 4-H Youth Development
- Community Development
- Food and Families
- Rural and Urban Initiatives
- Native American Outreach
SDSU Extension faculty, field specialists and 4-H youth program advisers are based on the campus of SDSU, at the West River Ag Center in Rapid City, at one of eight SDSU Extension Regional Centers (Aberdeen, Lemmon, Mitchell, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Watertown or Winner), at one of the tribal extension offices on the Rosebud, Pine Ridge or Cheyenne River Indian Reservations or at county extension offices throughout the state. The virtual office of SDSU Extension can be accessed at iGrow.org.
- SDSU Extension Operation Budget Authority, FY 2020
Operation Budget of SDSU Extension State Funds $8,838,210 48% Federal Funds $7,219,073 39% Other/Local Funds $2,493,407 13% Total $18,550,690 100% 
SDSU Extension Stats Number of Regional Extension Centers 8 Number of Field Specialists 43
South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station
- Agricultural Experiment Station
South Dakota State University is home to the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Faculty scientists carry out research on campus and at seven stations strategically located across the state. New discoveries are made available to the people of South Dakota, commodity groups and industry through the educational programs of SDSU Extension. Agricultural Experiment Station research programs directly support student education in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and College of Education and Human Sciences.
Eighty-five percent of the S.D. Agricultural Experiment Station resources are directed to five knowledge areas that are critical for South Dakota and the region:
- Plant production and protection (33%);
- Animal production and protection (30%);
- General, forest and range natural resources (10%);
- Nonfood products (6%); and
- Soil (6%).
- Agricultural Experiment Station Operating Budget Authority, FY 2020
Operating Budget of Agricultural Experiment Station State Funds $12,958,651 32% Federal Funds $11,517,344 29% Other / Local Funds $15,596,428 39% Total $40,072,423 100% 
South Dakota Board of Regents
- Board of Regents
- Paul B. Beran, Executive Director
- Kevin V. Schieffer, President
- John W. Bastian, Vice President
- Jim Morgan, Secretary
- David Mickelson
- Pam Roberts
- Randy Schaefer
- Jim Thares
- Joan Wink
- Lucas Lund, Student Regent
SDSU Executive Officers
- Executive Officers
- Barry H. Dunn, Ph.D., President
- Dennis Hedge, Pharm.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Vacant, Vice President for Finance and Administration
- Michaela Willis, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Affairs
- Daniel Scholl, Ph.D., Vice President for Research and Economic Development
- Michael Adelaine, Ph.D., Vice President for Information Technology and Safety
- Tracy Greene, University Legal Counsel
- Karyn Weber, Chief of Staff