A record first-year class and record retention moved enrollment at South Dakota State University to 12,065 students for the fall 2024 semester, the highest enrollment at SDSU since 2018. Enrollment figures were released earlier today by the South Dakota Board of Regents. 

“We are very pleased with this year’s enrollment numbers and the fact that SDSU is a university of choice for so many students,” SDSU President Barry Dunn said. “We continue to strategically expand and grow our university in ways that support the workforce of our state while continuing to serve our land-grant mission of providing the benefits of higher education to the people and communities of South Dakota.”

The incoming first-year student class of 2,449 is the largest in the history of SDSU, breaking the previous mark of 2,306 set in 2013 and surpassing last year’s class by 7.6%. Additionally, retention of students from their first year to their second year stood at 83.8%, breaking last year’s record by almost one percentage point and marking the fourth time in five years retention at SDSU has been at 80% or higher. Overall enrollment at SDSU is up 4.9%, with 560 more students than last year.

Marina Hendricks, assistant professor and graduate program coordinator for the online Master of Mass Communication in South Dakota State University’s School of Communication and Journalism, has been recognized as the David Adams Scholastic Journalism Division Educator of the Year. 

"No one exemplifies the ideals of the division more than Marina. She is a role model for students and scores of academics across the discipline," Bradley Wilson, division head, said. 

Roughly 50 South Dakota State University students spent time on Sept. 3 and 5 helping the Minnehaha Country Club and Pro Links Sports prepare for the PGA Tour Champions event.

The students are part of the facilities management course offered in the sport and recreation management program at SDSU. An aspect of the class is getting out of the classroom and seeing what it really takes to put on these large sporting events.

These types of experiences are a “cornerstone” of the program, according to Riley Northrup, instructor in SDSU’s School of Health and Human Sciences.

The volunteer opportunity presented mutually beneficial experiences. The students gained hands-on practice in facilities and event management, and the tournament staff gained over 50 eager volunteers to help with tasks that would have otherwise taken hours.

South Dakota State University might look a lot different if Peggy Miller had been three inches taller.

“When I was about 16, I wanted to be a stewardess, but they turned me down because I was too short,” Miller shared in an interview much earlier in her career. Miller would stretch both her feet and the truth to declare she was 5-foot-2. Her diminutive stature may have kept her out of the airline industry, but it’s not keeping her out of the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

Miller, who served as SDSU’s 18^th president from Jan. 1, 1998, to Dec. 31, 2006, became only the third out of the land-grant university’s 20 presidents to be inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, joining Robert Wagner (1998) and Hilton Briggs (1980).

The South Dakota State University Foundation’s eighth annual giving day celebrated all things SDSU and the impact that can be made through private gifts. Jackrabbits in all 50 states and across 15 countries united to tackle historic philanthropy on Sept. 5 during One Day for STATE. 

In 24 hours, 6,068 donors united to raise $2,757,790 from 7,172 gifts to transform lives at SDSU, supporting funds for over 110 different causes, including scholarships, research, academic programming, athletics and many more. 

One Day for STATE aimed to rally alumni, faculty, staff, parents, current students and friends in support of SDSU. Of the 6,068 donors, 655 identified as faculty and 555 as students, demonstrating the One Day for STATE excitement that starts right on campus.