South Dakota State University
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| Motto | You can go anywhere from here |
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| Established | 1881 |
| Type | Public |
| President | Peggy Gordon Miller |
| Staff | 660 |
| Undergraduates | 9,208 |
| Postgraduates | 1,358 |
| Location | Brookings, SD, USA |
| Campus | 260 acres (1.05 km²) |
| Athletics | 20 varsity teams, called "Jackrabbits" |
| Colors | Blue █ and Yellow █ |
| Website | South Dakota State University |
South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land grant university, SDSU continues that tradition with a special focus on academic programs in agriculture, engineering, nursing, and pharmacy, as well as the liberal arts. SDSU is a land grant university, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, and offers the programs of study required by that act.
SDSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, which governs the state's six public universities and two special schools.The current president of SDSU is Peggy Gordon Miller, who has served as president since 1998. Miller announced that she will be retiring as SDSU's president at the end of 2006, and the Board of Regents has announced that David Chicoine, an SDSU alumnus and currently the Vice President for Economic Development and Technology at the University of Illinois, will become president on January 1, 2007.
SDSU awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. Total enrollment sits at 11,000+ with a record high enrollment of 11,377 recorded in October, 2006.
The SDSU campus features the H.M. Briggs Library, the South Dakota Art Museum (featuring works by Harvey Dunn and Oscar Howe, among others), and the Coughlin Campanile. The university operates its own dairy plant, processing 10,000 lb (4.5 t) of milk weekly into cheese and ice cream, operates a cattle and sheep breeding operation, has an on-campus meat processing facility, and has a student-operated pharmacy.
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[edit] History
The university was founded in 1881 as Dakota Agriculture College. The name was changed in 1904 to South Dakota State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts. In 1964, the name was changed to South Dakota State University, reflecting the more comprehensive education offered at the university.
The first building, with funding from the territorial legislature, was built in 1883, six years before the State of South Dakota was incorporated.
Among the inventions and discoveries originating at SDSU are the Briggs and Stratton engine, invented by alumnus Stephen Foster Briggs, and cookies and cream ice cream, which was created at the university's dairy plant.
[edit] Athletics and activities
SDSU's athletic mascot is the jackrabbit. The homecoming celebration, Hobo Day, is billed as "The Biggest One-Day Event in the Dakotas."[1] The 375+ member SDSU Marching Band, "The Pride of the Dakotas," given the special name as the Millennium band in 2000 by the South Dakota State Legislature, has marched in the 1981 and 1997 Presidential Inaugural Parades in Washington DC, A Capital Fouth in 2000 in Washington DC which was broadcast on PBS, the 2002 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and the Korean War Monument Dedication at the state's capital Pierre in 2004, in the company of 2 other college bands and 60 some high school bands from across the state.
In 2003, the women's basketball team won the Division II Championship. In 2004, SDSU began a transition to NCAA Division I, ending its long association with the NCAA Division II North Central Conference and its century-old intrastate rivalry with the University of South Dakota. SDSU is now a member of the Great West Football Conference and the Western Wrestling Conference. The school was accepted into the Mid-Continent Conference on August 31, 2006 and will begin play in that conference in the fall of 2007 in all sports except football, wrestling, and equestrian, as those sports are not sponsored by the Mid-Con.[2]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Stephen Foster Briggs - inventor of the Briggs & Stratton engine
- Tom Daschle - former Majority Leader of the United States Senate
- David Gilbertson - chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court
- Sandy Johnson - chief of the Associated Press Washington Bureau
- Mike Rounds - South Dakota governor
- Theodore Schultz - winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Economics
- Adam Vinatieri - kicker for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts; formerly of New England Patriots
- Jim Langer - elected to the NFL hall of fame in 1987
[edit] Greek life
This list contains only fraternities that are a part of the Greek Council. Other fraternities and sororities exist, but are not officially recognized by the University.
- Alpha Gamma Rho(ΑΓΡ) - homepage
- Alpha Xi Delta(ΑΞΔ)
- Ceres
- Chi Omega(ΧΩ)
- Delta Chi(ΔΧ) - homepage
- FarmHouse
- Lambda Chi Alpha(ΛΧΑ)
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon(ΣΑΕ) - homepage
- Sigma Phi Delta(ΣΦΔ) - homepage
- Sigma Phi Epsilon(ΣΦΕ) - homepage
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] External links
| Great West Football Conference |
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| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo • North Dakota State • South Dakota State • Southern Utah • UC Davis |
| United Soccer Conference |
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| USC East: Delaware State • Howard • Longwood • South Carolina State USC West: IPFW • North Dakota State • South Dakota State • Utah Valley |
