Monday Message, April 22
SDSU Community,
Welcome back to a short but busy week on campus. I hope everyone enjoyed the extended weekend with your family and friends.
On Friday, we shared some exciting news: Jacks Bash 3 is set for Aug. 28 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium! This year鈥檚 concert will feature Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett, along with special guests Ty Myers and DJ Blake Horstmann. It promises to be an incredible event that brings our community and region together. We鈥檙e incredibly grateful to First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard for their generous support in making this event possible once again.
As a token of appreciation, we are offering faculty and staff an exclusive opportunity to purchase discounted tickets this week. Information on ticket availability and how to purchase them is included below. We hope many of you can join us for what is sure to be a fun night.
We are excited to host the SDSU Foundation Board of Governors and Council of Trustees on campus this week Thursday and Friday for meetings. On Thursday at 7 p.m. we will gather for the annual Celebration of Philanthropy event to honor nearly 500 donors that have achieved status in one of the Foundation's lifetime giving categories. We look forward to celebrating the generosity that propels our university to new heights. You can
Commencement is less than three weeks away and we are excited to host three in-person ceremonies in the newly renovated First Bank & Trust Arena. This marks the first time in three years that commencement will return to campus. This is a meaningful milestone not only for our graduating students, but also for the entire university community.
To ensure a smooth and welcoming experience for our graduates, their families and honored guests, we are seeking volunteers from across campus. Earlier today, the Office of Academic Affairs sent an email inviting faculty and staff to help out. If you are able, and be part of this special day. Your presence and support make a real difference.
Thank you, once again, for all that you do for South 啵啵直播秀 State University. These next few weeks will be filled with energy, achievements and celebrations as students wrap up the semester. And before we know it, we鈥檒l shift our attention to summer and begin welcoming the next generation of Jackrabbits, first with New Student Orientation and eventually Meet State and the start of another academic year.
It鈥檚 an exciting time to be part of SDSU.
Go Jacks!
Barry H. Dunn
President, South 啵啵直播秀 State University
Above and Beyond recognizes individuals and groups of South 啵啵直播秀 State University faculty, staff and students for individual and team efforts that go Above and Beyond to make the campus community a better place. This week we recognize three groups of SDSU engineering students who have qualified as finalists for two NASA contests.
Both SDSU rover entries in NASA鈥檚 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concept-Academic Linkage space design contest were recently selected in the small lunar servicing and maintenance robot division. A total of 14 teams will compete in the RASC-AL finals at Cocoa Beach, Florida, June 2-4.
SDSU鈥檚 senior design team, 鈥淢ANTIS: Maintenance and Navigation for Technical Infrastructure Support,鈥 is composed of Cameron Belair, Mike Gross and Quentin Strohm.
The group of younger SDSU students, team 鈥淣OVA: Next-gen Operations and Versatile Assistant,鈥 is comprised of: Bryson Love, Channing Bloedel, Tyler Iverson, Addison Walz, Evan Lauters, Noah Larson, Aiden DeWit, Gavin Neu and Noah Richardson.
SDSU has had past RASC-AL success, but this is the first time SDSU has had two entries and two finalists in the contest, said Todd Letcher, an associate professor in mechanical engineering who is faculty adviser for both teams.
Another SDSU student-engineering team was one of eight schools chosen to compete in the finals of the NASA Gateways to Blue Skies competition at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, May 20-21.
This year鈥檚 Blue Skies theme is 鈥淎gAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture,鈥 which asked students to research new or improved aviation solutions to support agriculture.
The SDSU team of Nathan Kuehl, Laura Peterson, Keegan Visher and Nick Wolles created a drone with sensors allowing it to take soil samples and snip off a leaf to bring it back to the lab for analysis. The concept will help producers understand their land and crops better to help with precision application of necessary fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The team was guided by graduate student Alex Schaar with assistance from graduate student Liam Murray.
While this is the first time SDSU has competed in this NASA contest, the selection continues a run of success that the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering has had in NASA contests in recent years.
Thank you to all the students for their hard work both in and out of the classroom and for representing SDSU well at the national level, and to everyone who is guiding these teams to success.
The Monday Message appears weekly during the academic year and less frequently during the summer months and holiday breaks.
Information for the Monday Message, including nominations for Above and Beyond, can be submitted online.
Jacks Bash 3
Faculty and Staff will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to Jacks Bash 3 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, Aug. 28. The concert will feature Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett with special guests Ty Myers and DJ Blake Horstmann. The concert is sponsored by First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard.
Faculty and staff members can purchase tickets at a discounted rate of only $59/ticket or $89/ticket, depending on location. Ticket locations will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
- The ticket presale for SDSU faculty and staff begins Wednesday, April 23, at 12 p.m. CT and ends on Thursday, April 24, at 10 p.m. CT.
- Individual may purchase up to four concert tickets by using the special promo code, JB3FACSTAFF.
- Anyone who purchases tickets will receive a ticket purchase confirmation email with your tickets. It is recommended to add the tickets to your mobile wallet when you receive your confirmation email.
- Jacks Bash 3 is a 16-and-older event.
Purchases can only be made online at (code = JB3FACSTAFF).
Energy Conservation Project
Facilities and Services is launching a strategic energy conservation project through SitelogIQ, an Energy Service Company. The company will conduct a campuswide energy audit, highlighting potential energy savings projects, which would in turn reduce university utility costs.
The cost savings will then be leveraged to fund approved energy projects over a 15-year period. In addition to saving energy, the effort also provides an additional funding source to upgrade older equipment.
Facilities and Services engineers and the SitelogIQ team will thoroughly canvass campus to identify viable projects starting as early as this week. The team will be around campus checking light fixtures, doors, windows, the building envelope, HVAC equipment and more.
Wokini Challenge Grant
The Wokini Challenge Grant is now open for applications. The grant supports innovative projects and/or research that align with the goals and mission of the Wokini Initiative.
It is an opportunity to develop leadership opportunities for Indigenous students, develop relationships with Indigenous staff and faculty at SDSU, and enhance cultural understanding and community engagement through projects that uplift Indigenous perspectives and knowledge.
Important dates:
- Application deadline: May 30 by 5 p.m. CST
We look forward to receiving your applications and supporting impactful projects 鈥 .
SPARC RFP
The Division of Research and Economic Development invites applications for Seeding Partnerships to Advance Research Collaborations, an internal competitive planning grant to support the development of large, complex project proposals for external funding.
Proposing teams must represent at least two substantively different disciplines, and projects must align with one of SDSU鈥檚 priority research themes.
Applications may request up to $15,000 and must be submitted via InfoReady by May 30.
Lightning Talk: Course Deliver Methods
Join Continuing and Distance Education, Academic Affairs and Records and Registration as we highlight course delivery methods in a short 30-minute lightning talk.
The discussion on 鈥淥nline Synchronous vs. Asynchronous鈥 will be held Thursday from 10-10:30 a.m. .
Prairie Repertory Theatre Season Tickets
. This year marks PRT鈥檚 54th season.
SDSU faculty and staff receive a discount on all tickets purchased.
Additional information about each performance, including dates and times, is available on sdstate.edu.
2025 Distinguished Alumni Nominations
The SDSU Alumni Association is seeking nominations for the 2025 Distinguished Alumni awards.
Information about the awards and the nominating process can be found on the .
Summer IDS eLearning Academies
Instructional Design will host 2025 Summer eLearning Academy in May. The academy will focus on empowering faculty to leverage the potential of generative artificial intelligence within the D2L learning environment.
Additional information and how to register is available on sdstate.edu.
Professional Staff Annual Celebration
The Professional Staff Advisory Council will host its annual celebration and award ceremony May 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Woster Celebration Hall at the SDSU Alumni Center. A social will begin at 2:30 p.m., followed by the awards at 3 p.m.
The Rising Star and Presidential 啵啵直播秀 of Excellence recipients will be announced, and those in attendance will have a chance at door prizes.
A Zoom link will be made available for those who cannot attend in person.
IDS Spring 2025 Training Schedule
Instructional Design Services will host training seminars during the spring 2025 semester.
The trainings will include online community building, accessible eLearning and teaching in the generative AI era. Some featured workshops include the D2L accessibility checker (Panorama) and the newly added D2L gradebook feature allowing instructors to publish grades directly to Banner.
These workshops, eLearning applications, weekly webinars and the Online Teaching Certification Program will help prepare for successful teaching in spring 2025.
All SDSU faculty, academic staff and graduate teaching assistants are encouraged to attend these training sessions. .
Updated Policies
New and updated university policies continue to be adopted and published. For the most recent updates, visit New and Recently Revised Policies.
