October 19, 2007

Article Body: Dear Friends,

The South Dakota Board of Regents met on the School of Mines campus yesterday and today. I am pleased to share with you several items of interest from that meeting.

Building and Laboratory Upgrades

In their budget request to Governor Rounds, the regents are asking for $74.5 million in State funding for these improvements, to be bonded over time through the South Dakota Building Authority. Another $42.7 million federal and private dollars would be needed to complete all the projects. The Board of Regents approved a plan calling for new construction and/or upgrades to science facilities and laboratories across the public university system. The School of Mines portion of this request is $8,000,000 from state funds for a Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Replacement and Research Building ($10,000,000 additional would be required from other funding) and $7,000,000 for a paleontology building. The request will be considered by the South Dakota Legislature during their next session.

Student Groups from the School of Mines Honored

The following student organizations from the School of Mines were honored at the Board of Regents meeting yesterday:

Award for Academic Excellence – Material Advantage is a joint chapter of the Materials Information Society and the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society. The group is devoted to the professional development of materials and metallurgical engineering students by promoting excellence and professionalism.
Community Service Award – The Paleontology Club has introduced young people to the wonders of paleontology through its many presentations.
Award for Organizational Leadership –Drill and Crucible/Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration members and advisors help each other find internships, host bi-monthly meetings, and plan mining tours.

Presidential Search and Screen Committee Selected

The Board of Regents named a group of 11 people to assist them in the search for the next president of the School of Mines. Representing the Board of Regents will be: Regents Randy Morris (Chair), Richard Belatti, Kathy Johnson and Harvey Jewett. Also named to the committee are:

• Community-Randy Hamburg, senior vice president at Wells Fargo Bank and vice chair of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce

• SDSMT Foundation-Randy L. Parcel, SDSMT graduate in mining engineering and semi-retired from the practice of natural resources law, living in Westminster, Colorado

• Alumni-Larry V. Pearson, president and CEO of Tenaska Inc.’s Operations Group, Omaha, Nebraska

• Executive Staff-Julie Smoragiewicz, vice president for university and public relations

• Career Service Employees-Richard J. MacDonald, computer support analyst

• Non-Faculty Exempt Employees-Terry H. Lauritsen, controller and director of administrative services

• Faculty-Sid Goss, professor of sociology; Jon Kellar, chair and professor of materials and metallurgical engineering

• Students-Melanie Satchell, Student Association president; Brady Wiesner, civil engineering major

• Institutional Collaboration-Kay Schallenkamp, president of Black Hills State University

Working with the search committee will be Robert T. Tad Perry, executive director of the Board of Regents, and Mary Turman, the board’s executive assistant. Elaine H. Hairston of Academic Search Consultation Service is a consultant to the committee and regents in the search process.

Admissions Website Receives National Recognition

Last week, the School of Mines Admission Website www.GoToMines.com was recognized as among the most highly rated in the country by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions’ (NRCCUA) 9th Annual Enrollment Power Index® (EPI), an analysis of the admissions websites of more than 3,000 post-secondary institutions. The research-based study rates how well the functionality and design of college and university admissions Web sites provide information to potential students and move them from prospect to applicant. The study graded the sites for each institution on 100-point scale. The School of Mines was one of only 140 institutions to earn an ‘A’ and ranked 111 out or more than 3,000 colleges and universities.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. I can be reached at charles.ruch@sdsmt.edu.

Charles Ruch

Posted by Vickie Bender on 10/19/2007 3:40:00 PM

October 19, 2007

October 19, 2007

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