Monday Message, May 5
SDSU Community,
A beautiful Monday starts a special week on campus as we prepare to celebrate one of the most meaningful traditions in higher education 鈥 commencement. After a week of finals, we will hold three commencement ceremonies Saturday, marking a pivotal milestone in the lives of more than 2,000 graduates. For me, this is truly one of the most inspiring and fulfilling moments of the year. It鈥檚 a time when I get to personally congratulate each graduate and share in that special moment when academic and professional dreams come together.
Commencement is a celebration of years of hard work, personal growth and dedication and represents the culmination of a journey not just for our students, but for their families, friends and all of us who have supported them along the way. Each diploma reflects the impact our faculty, staff, mentors and peers had on our students and how they helped shape these students鈥 success.
South 啵啵直播秀 State University continues to award more than 40% of the undergraduate degrees granted within the state鈥檚 public university system. We lead the way in graduating students in health sciences, engineering, agricultural science, and biological and biomedical sciences 鈥 producing more graduates in these key areas than any other public university in South 啵啵直播秀. We also graduate the most educators and nurses in the state, which means SDSU is responsible for the largest number of board-certified teachers and registered nurses in South 啵啵直播秀.
This year, our pharmacy students achieved a 100% first-time pass rate on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination, ranking No. 1 in the nation and far exceeding the national average of 77.5%. This is a phenomenal achievement and a testament to the exceptional quality of our academic programs and the dedication of our faculty. We welcomed the next major milestone for the Ness School of Management and Economics at it earned accreditation from the highest business school accrediting body in the country.
There are many more honors, but this level of success is only possible because of our collective effort and shared commitment to excellence.
This week, I hope each of you will take a moment to reflect on the importance of what we do. Commencement is not only a celebration of our students鈥 accomplishments, but also a tribute to you. Every advisor, instructor, support staff member, researcher and administrator has played a role in helping these students reach their goals. The work you do matters, and your impact is lasting.
Following up on the communication in last week鈥檚 Monday Message where I discussed the need to update our core value to Opportunity for All. My office will be sending more information tomorrow pertaining to the update, but I want to share that I have met with several groups on campus the past couple of weeks to discuss, including the Students' Association, Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Professional Staff Advisory Council, Civil Service Advisory Council and others. The conversations have been open, honest and productive and I thank everyone who has been involved.
Thank you for all you do to make SDSU the incredible institution it is today. Let鈥檚 enjoy this special week together.
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 employees, faculty and students for individual and team efforts that go Above and Beyond to make the campus community a better place. This week we recognize everyone involved in making the 2025 Jackrabbits Athletic Scholarship Auction a success.
The auction set a record for the fourth consecutive year, raising more than $2.55 million to support scholarships for our student-athletes.
More than 500 items were up for bid between the online silent auction and live auction. In addition, a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered for the April 26 event at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex on the SDSU campus.
The final total of $2,552,557 includes a 2-for-1 matching gift from an anonymous donor. That total bettered last year's record amount by nearly $164,000 and marks the third consecutive year the amount raised has surpassed $2 million. The event has topped the $1 million mark each of the last nine years.
Thank you for the efforts of the 2025 scholarship auction committee, which includes Rachael Anello, Jordon Boe, Ryan Christy, Jordyn Cranny, Kathy Heylens, Jeff Holm, Billy Hunter, Ben Jenkins, Slade Larscheid, Tammy Loban, Tyler Merriam, Terry Nemitz, Maggan Schultz, Jonathan Treiber and Christi Williams.
Also, thank you to the vendors, the sponsors and, most importantly, the SDSU student-athletes and coaches for their efforts in helping to make the 2025 Jackrabbits Athletic Scholarship Auction an extraordinary success.
This achievement speaks volumes about the passion and loyalty of the Jackrabbits family and underscores our shared commitment to student success both on and off the field. Thank you to everyone who made this remarkable evening possible.
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.
Arts at the Oscar: A Night of Stars
The inaugural Arts at The Oscar, a community arts celebration, is designed to engage, recognize and showcase performing and visual artists, patrons and art enthusiasts, showcasing local artists of all ages.
The final entertainment of the evening will feature the stars of 鈥淗amilton: The Musical鈥 and The Glenn Miller Orchestra 鈥 The Kings of Soul & Swing.
When: Thursday, May 15, 2025
Where: Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center
5:15 p.m. 鈥 Social hour (Appetizers and soft drinks included. Cash bar available.)
6 p.m. 鈥 Opening ceremony
6:30 p.m. 鈥 Local talent showcases
8:30 p.m. 鈥 The Kings of Soul & Swing (Dancing will be encouraged.)
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.
Prairie Repertory Theatre Season Tickets
. This year marks PRT鈥檚 54th season.
SDSU faculty and staff receive a discount on all tickets purchased.
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.
