SDSU students name 2008 Teachers of the Year

The recent Students’ Association election at SDSU recognized outstanding teachers in four of the school’s colleges.

Nearly 2,000 students voted in an election for Student Senate leaders and also selected 2008 Teachers of the Year Feb. 27-28.

Those recognized faculty included Distinguished Professor of Political Science Robert Burns in the College of Arts and Sciences; Assistant Dean of Engineering Richard Reid in the College of Engineering; Instructor and Academic Advisor Amy Pedersen in the College of General Studies; and Instructor and Semester III Coordinator Venita Winterboer in the College of Nursing.

Burns will retire June 30 and has been named Teacher of the Year six other times in the College of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of his 38 years teaching and mentoring SDSU students, the Students’ Association declared March 5 "Dr. Robert Burns Day" on campus.

In addition to his duties as assistant dean, Reid is professor of civil and environmental engineering and teaches a number of classes. Reid was also named educator of the year in 2000 by the Brookings Chamber of Commerce.

Pedersen teaches courses for students with undeclared majors in classes that deal with academic and career transition and mastering lifetime learning skills.

Winterboer teaches between 70 and 80 students per class in two different beginning nursing classes. She co-teaches a beginning class for accelerated nursing students in Sioux Falls. She also advises approximately 35 undergraduate nursing students.

Clockwise from left: Robert Burns; Richard Reid; Venita Winterboer; Amy Pedersen

New director for state Cooperative Extension Service

Latif Lighari has been named director of the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at SDSU.

Pending approval from the South Dakota Board of Regents, the appointment is effective May 1, according to Gary Lemme, dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences.

“Dr. Lighari brings a strong history of leadership in Extension administration, community engagement, team building and entrepreneurship,” Lemme said. “We are fortunate to be able to welcome an experienced leader with a strong background in Cooperative Extension at the county, regional and state level.”

During the past 20 years, Lighari has held positions in Connecticut and Tennessee. He currently serves as the associate director/associate administrator of the Cooperative Extension Program at Tennessee State University.

“SDSU and the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service have an excellent history of good programs and impact on communities,” Lighari said. “I want to build on that.”

Lighari earned his Ph.D. in agricultural education from the University of Missouri in 1979. He earned a bachelor of science in general agriculture from the University of Missouri in 1977, a master of science in agricultural Extension from Sindh Agricultural University in Pakistan in 1972, and a bachelor of science in agricultural engineering in Pakistan in 1969.

Latif Lighari

Board of Regents honors SDSU student organizations

The Union and the Student Affairs Organization Subcommittee have announced the winners of the Board of Regents Awards for student organizations at South Dakota State University.

The Board of Regents will honor the SDSU winners when they meet on the SDSU campus June 27. The winners were:
• Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity—award for Academic Excellence.
• Academy of Student Pharmacists—award for Organizational Leadership.
• FarmHouse Fraternity—award for Community Service.

The Student Affairs Organization Subcommittee recommended the following groups for honorable mention:
• Ceres Women’s Fraternity—Academic Excellence.
• Colleges Against Cancer—Organizational Leadership.
• American Society of Civil Engineers—Community Service.

The following student groups also competed for awards: Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Xi Delta, Honors College Student Organization, Kappa Epsilon, and American Fisheries Society.

Daschle on campus to discuss health care issues

Former Sen. Tom Daschle will present the annual Griffith Honors Forum Lecture March 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Larson Memorial Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center on campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Daschle’s talk, “Confronting America’s Health Care Crisis,” will examine national challenges to accessible, quality and affordable health care. After the lecture, he will sign copies of his newly released book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis.”

The Griffith Honors Forum Lecture was established in 1999 to support the highest quality enrichment experiences for SDSU Honors College students and the community.

Instruction Design to offer D2L training

Instructional Design Services will offer five two-hour classes in Desire 2 Learn from 9 to 11 a.m. the week of March 10-14. The curriculum includes: Monday, introduction; Tuesday, communication; Wednesday, assessment; Thursday, content; and Friday, grading. There are 10 seats available in the classroom. Participants are urged to register for the class. Online access to the classes is not planned, but can be added on request.

Other offerings of the five classes are: March 31-April 4, 2-4 p.m.; April 7-11, 9-11 a.m.; April 14-18, 2-4 p.m., (no online session); April 21-25, 9-11 a.m.; and April 28-May 2, 2-4 p.m.

Register and sign up at http://ids.sdstate.edu/Training/schedule.cfm. For more information, contact Instructional Design Services, 688-6340.

Next Tech Transfer Workshop series is Wednesday

Department heads, faculty, active investigators and graduate students are urged to attend the Tech Transfer Workshop Series at The Union in room 153 from 3-5 p.m. March 12, April 9, and April 30. Much of the subject matter of the workshops will be the domain expertise of the tech transfer professional.

For more information on the workshops, contact Bob Otterson, 688-4165, Robert.Otterson@sdstate.edu; or Kevin Kephart, 688-4181, Kevin.Kephart@sdstate.edu.

Brown Bag Lecture focuses on Quill Work of Sioux Indians

The final discussion in the annual Brown Bag Lecture Series will deal with Quill Work of South Dakota’s Sioux Indians. The lecture is March 12 at the Agricultural Heritage Museum at 12 p.m.

Humanities Scholar Joanita Kant will present a program that shows how beads were used from the time of Christopher Columbus to the present to create clothing and art works. She will bring a trunk of bead and quillwork to illustrate her talk.

For more information, contact the museum, 688-6226.

Bundt cake talk rescheduled at Ag Museum

The presentation “Bundt Cake Bliss,” a look at the Midwestern dessert delicacy with author Susanna Short, has been rescheduled for March 17 a 12 p.m., as part of the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum’s Brown Bag Lecture Series. The talk was originally scheduled Feb. 12.

The Bundt pan was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist for his Minnesota company Nordic Ware.

The Hadassah Society’s Minneapolis chapter wanted a pan to make kuglehof, a popular German cake served at a bund, or gathering, and asked Dalquist and his wife Dorothy if their company could make one.

Since it was introduced, nearly 60 million Bundt pans have been sold by Nordic Ware, which markets its own line of Gourmet Bundt Cake Mixes.

For more information, contact Carrie Van Buren, 688-4436.

Art exhibits use different mediums to address social issues

The art of bead worker Joy Crane and printmaker Andrew Kosten are part of a new exhibition in the South Dakota Art Museum opening March 12. The artists’ work will be on display in the museum until June 15.

Known for creating sculpture from glass beads, Crane began changing her medium to larger “beaded-beads” in 2004, thus distancing herself from the notion that beadwork is solely for jewelry.

While her attention originally centered on humankind’s need for change, the focus of her work has shifted to more social issues, such as women’s issues, science and the environment.

The themes within Kosten’s work attempt to shed light on the mundane mishaps due to social apathy and complacency within public consciousness.

An artist’s reception will be held at the museum April 25 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. with Crane speaking at 5:30 p.m.

Both the exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call 688-5423 or 866-805-7590.

Left: Joy Crane’s beaded artwork called “DNA Specimen No. 107: Wild-caught Human; June 16, 2050,” on display at the South Dakota Art Museum, shows beadwork as an art medium to create 3-dimensional work.

Right: Andrew Kosten’s lithograph called “Land of Filth and Sunshine” provides commentary on life through his whimsical subject matter.

SDSU Calendar of Events

This calendar is prepared by the Office of University Relations. For more information, to have campus events included in the next calendar, or to make address corrections, please contact April Clarin at University Relations, SCM 105, Box 2230, (605) 688-6161, or by email at april.clarin@sdstate.edu. Thank you.

Campus Kudos

Suellin Lutterman, program assistant in the office of Engineering Extension, has been named the March Career Service Employee of the Month.

A reception is planned for Monday, March 24, at 2:30 p.m. in the Student Commons Area of Crothers Engineering Hall. A presentation will be made at 3 p.m.

Twenty-five letters of support accompanied her nomination for the award. Those letters came because Lutterman has worked for Engineering Extension for 35 years and has interacted with numerous faculty, staff, students and federal and state offices in the organization’s work with South Dakota industry.

Her work with people on and off campus brought words like “knowledgeable, insightful, professional and highly organized” according to a grants analyst at the OSHA Denver Regional office.

The comments were backed up routinely in letters that came not only from businesses, but also from current and former staff members and from people in other departments across campus who called her the “go-to” person for questions and help with issues.

Their words were echoed in a variety of ways for her helpfulness saying she has also been a source of encouragement and kindness to others through a broad range of experience.

The Students’ Association declared March 5 “Dr. Robert Burns Day” in recognition of his 38 years of service to students at SDSU. He will retire from SDSU June 30.

During his tenure, Burns has served in a variety of roles, including as head of the Political Science, History, and Philosophy and Religion departments. He has also served as director and dean of the Honors College.

Burns received his bachelor of science degree in political science from SDSU in 1964. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He has received several teaching honors, including being named “Teacher of the Year” six times for the College of Arts and Sciences, most recently in 2008. The award is voted on by students from within the college.

After his retirement, Burns will be designated “Distinguished Professor Emeritus.”

Deborah Pravecek, assistant professor of chemistry, was named the 2007 Member of the Year for the South Dakota chapter of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS).

She will travel to Washington, D.C., this summer to compete with her counterparts from across the country for the title of National Member of the Year of the organization.

The ASCLS Member of the Year Award is sponsored each year to recognize a member of the organization who has contributed significantly to the field of clinical laboratory science and to the society by inspiring others.

Pravecek teaches beginning chemistry laboratories as well as the upper level courses in chemistry and techniques of clinical laboratories.

The South Dakota chapter of the ASCLS is a member of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. Their mission is to promote the profession of clinical laboratory science and to provide beneficial services to those who practice it.

Deborah Pravecek

Kent Jensen, of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, has been invited to join the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Grouse Specialist Group (GSG) for the conservation of the world’s grouse species in their natural habitats.

This invitation was based on his accomplishments as a researcher on prairie grouse species in North America as well as the recommendation of other GSG members. The IUCN is the world’s largest and most important conservation network. It has members from 110 government agencies, more than 800 nongovernmental organizations and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries.

At the North Dakota chapter of The Wildlife Society in Grand Forks, N.D., January 17-19, SDSU graduate students delivering oral presentations were Ryan Williamson, Christopher Swanson, Nicholas Kaczor and Brent Haase. Faculty member Kent Jensen was also involved in oral presentations.

Jensen recently gave a presentation to the annual National Wild Turkey Federation Conference in Atlanta, Ga., February 20-23. In addition, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lester Flake along with graduate student Daniel Thompson were awarded the Making Tracks Award for their publication “The Wild Turkey in South Dakota,” which was co-authored by Mark Rumble of the U.S. Forest Service, Rapid City, and Chad Lehman, wildlife biologist at Custer State Park. Rumble and Lehman are alumni of the SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department.

The Visual Arts Department has announced that a solo exhibition of a well-known alumna will be held May 8 through June 7 at the Ramis Barquet Gallery in New York City.

Carol Hepper, a native of McLaughlin, earned a studio art degree from SDSU in 1975. In 1997, she received the Distinguished Alumna award from the SDSU Alumni Association. She was awarded Van Zante Visiting Artist from the Visual Arts Department in 1998.

Currently living in New York City, world-renowned museums that have collected Hepper’s work, include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Metropolitan Art Museum, New York; New York Public Library; The New School for Social Research, New York; South Dakota Art Museum; Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; Portland Art Museum, Portland, Ore.; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

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