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Donna Merkt, who is currently the director of museum experience at Oklahoma City’s Gaylord-Pickens Museum and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, has been named the director of the South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã Art Museum following a national search. Merkt replaces Lynn Verschoor, who retired after 20 years in the position.

South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University’s Professional Staff Advisory Council recently honored four of its members at its annual meeting. Rebecca Peterson received the Rising Star à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã, which goes to an employee within three years of initial hire, while Tianna Beare, Matt Halvorson and Jeff Holm were selected as Outstanding Professional à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã recipients.

Tonkoski, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, began teaching at State in 2012 after earning his doctorate in electrical engineering from Concordia University in Montreal late 2011. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees were earned in his native Brazil.

South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University senior Hattie Seten became the university's second recipient of the Rhodes scholarship, announced Saturday. SDSU's first Rhodes scholar, Maj. Gen. Alan A. Nord ’52, earned a master’s degree in general chemistry from Oxford.

Joshua Westwick ’01/M.S. ’03, associate director of South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University’s School of Communication and Journalism, recently received the Don Yoder Distinguished Faculty à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã at the National Communication Association’s annual Basic Course Division business meeting.

When COVID-19 had Nicole Carlson quarantined at her Sioux Falls home, the South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University nursing instructor didn’t have to miss watching her students perform basic skills in the college’s simulation lab in Brookings. Thanks to a telepresence robot purchased through funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, Carlson was right there with the students.

Cody Christensen, an associate professor at South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University, received the V.L. Laursen à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã at the University Aviation Association’s 73rd Annual Education Conference held virtually in October. Christensen, who has led the SDSU aviation program since 2014, is the first one from SDSU to receive an award from the UAA.

Nicholas Uilk, an instructor in South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, has been named a recipient of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities national teaching awards in recognizing excellence in agricultural sciences teaching and student engagement.

South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University has been named to The Princeton Review’s 2021 Guide to Green Schools list. According to The Princeton Review, the schools on the list share superb sustainability practices, a strong foundation in sustainability education and a healthy quality of life for students on campus.

South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University, in partnership with Sinte Gleska University, has received $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Igluwiyeya (Prepare oneself): Pathways from Preparation to Graduation at Land-Grant Institutions. Igluwiyeya is Lakota for prepare oneself.