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Jack the Jackrabbit wasn’t in the delivery room when Dave and Elaine Gullickson’s three children were born, but that was about the only time they weren’t surrounded by a Yellow and Blue influence. Between going to sporting events, watching the Hobo Day parade, visiting the Dairy Bar and climbing Coughlin Campanile, the Gullickson children were frequently experiencing �ձ�av��Ƶ. So, when it came time for Michele, Lori and Jeff to choose a college, it’s not surprising they stayed in Brookings and chose Jackrabbits for spouses. Fast forward a generation and eight of Dave and Elaine’s grandchildren also have become �ձ�av��Ƶ graduates or are attending �ձ�av��Ƶ. That’s why when it came time for the �ձ�av��Ƶ Alumni Association to choose its 2025 Family of the Year, the Gullicksons' nomination was impossible to ignore. The family will be honored at a March 1 awards luncheon at the Alumni Center and then at the women’s basketball game versus St. Thomas that afternoon.

The South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum and the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association will present “The Future of Hemp,” a program about industrial hemp production in South Dakota, at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6.

feel for what it would be like to live on Mars are encouraged to participate in the South Dakota Space Design Competition at �ձ�av��Ƶ March 8-9. The contest is part of an international event sponsored by Industry Simulation Education, which has been designing aerospace engineering contests since 1984, and is being hosted in South Dakota by �ձ�av��Ƶ’s Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.

The 2025 Lamb Bonanza at �ձ�av��Ƶ featured the traditional auction of lamb pelts, this year raising $6,700 for student scholarships.

American musician, writer and speaker Dessa will share her inspiration as a multi-disciplinary artist when she delivers the Harding Distinguished Lecture on Jan. 23 at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. The artist will also share her appreciation for the far-reaching impact of the liberal arts, humanities and social sciences at the 6 p.m. event in Founders Recital Hall on the �ձ�av��Ƶ campus.

�ձ�av��Ƶ Theatre and Dance’s fall 2024 production of “Fuddy Meers” by David Lindsay-Abaire has been selected to be presented at the 57th annual Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 21. To help defray the costs of taking the production to Des Moines, a one-night-only fundraising performance of the show will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Oscar Larson Theatre in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on the �ձ�av��Ƶ campus.

The 33rd annual Lamb Bonanza will showcase the integral role of the lamb and wool industry in South Dakota while supporting the �ձ�av��Ƶ Jackrabbits with an afternoon of basketball.

Each winter, a special corner of �ձ�av��Ƶ’s campus comes alive with light and cheer. It feels like something straight out of a holiday film — twinkling lights, festive music, crisp winter air and families and friends coming together to celebrate. The magical scene is set at McCrory Gardens, where Garden Glow transforms the landscape into a winter wonderland, with thousands of sparkling lights illuminating the path.

The Child and Family Resource Network at �ձ�av��Ƶ is hosting its next “Common-Sense Parenting” class series starting Jan. 7. The free, six-class series is designed for parents and individuals who engage with school-age children, kindergarten through 12th grade.

The �ձ�av��Ƶ School of Design is hosting a new alumni gallery exhibit, “Now and Then,” in the Ritz Gallery in Grove Hall on the �ձ�av��Ƶ campus. The solo exhibition features the work of art educator Michael Aasness, who is the grades 6-12 art instructor at Sioux Valley School District in Volga.