May 18, 2007

Article Body: Dear Friends,

As the academic year ends, we celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students, and look forward to the many activities planned for the summer.

The School of Mines held its 155th commencement on Saturday, May 12th at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena. Two-hundred and thirty-two undergraduate and graduate students received degrees. Jennifer E. Baker (ChemE07) from Broomfield, Colorado was the student speaker. Gaurdie E. Banister, Jr. (MetE80), VP Technical—Shell EP Asia Pacific, was the guest speaker and was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service degree. Twenty-two alumni from the class of 1957 attended the ceremony and received certificates commemorating the anniversary of their graduation. George F. Dunham (ME56) and Nancy Ward Dunham (EE57) were each presented with the Guy E. March Medal.

That afternoon, School of Mines students in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program were commissioned at Mount Rushmore. The Mount Rushmore Battalion commissioned four cadets as second lieutenants. Two of those cadets were School of Mines’ students: Beau Fochtman (CEE07) and Gregory Ornelaz (IS07). Congratulations to these outstanding young men.

Members of the School of Mines chapter of Engineers and Scientists Abroad (ESA) left this week for Vicuña, Chile, to work for two weeks with Vocations for Orphans (VFO), an organization that encourages and helps orphanages set up vocational training programs and assists in the development of life skills. ESA will assist in the development of the orphanages' energy sources.

On May 23-26, 2007, more than 100 teams will join the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology mini baja team in Rapid City to compete in the 2007 Baja SAE Competition. Teams will travel from as close as North Dakota and Iowa to as far away as South Korea, France, Brazil, Mexico, and Africa. For more information visit: http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/pressreleases/2007April/mini-baja.

Amery Kuhl, a mechanical engineering and physics major at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, has been awarded the Marlin R. Scarborough Scholarship by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The $1,500 scholarship honors the late Marlin R. Scarborough, who was president of the Board of Regents at the time of his death. The Scarborough Endowment Fund annually provides a scholarship to a student at a South Dakota public university. Applicants must have a 3.5 grade point average, demonstrate leadership potential, and be nominated by their university. Amery has a cumulative GPA of 4.0 after completing three semesters at SDSMT. Congratulations Amery!

A summer fixture on the School of Mines campus, the Honors Program, currently funded through SD GEAR UP, will return for the 15th consecutive year. The purpose of this program is to prepare American Indian students to be successful in the college setting. This six-week residential program will welcome more than 200 students to campus.

High school students interested in math and science have the opportunity to learn about engineering and related careers at Youth Engineering Adventure (YEA) programs. YEA will be hosted by the School of Mines June 3-8 and June 17-22. Students will participate in group and hands-on projects and demonstrations.

We are offering quite a variety of day classes and summer camps, plus residential camps which help kids learn science in fun ways. For a complete class listing and to register, visit http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/learn.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website for undergraduate prospective students and admissions. The new site is user-friendly and easy to navigate, and is designed to give prospective students all of the information they need to choose the School of Mines. Please visit the site at http://www.GoToMines.com. We welcome any comments or feedback you may have.

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

Charles Ruch

Posted by Vickie Bender on 5/18/2007 3:50:00 PM

May 18, 2007

May 18, 2007

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