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During their first seminar, the 22 members of the South Dakota Agricultural and Rural Leadership Class XIII cohort visited the �ձ�av��Ƶ College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences last week to learn about the wide-reaching impact of the college, and the university, on agriculture in the state of South Dakota.

The South Dakota Board of Regents approved a request by �ձ�av��Ƶ on Thursday to add a new academic program in finance. Starting in fall 2026, pending approval from the Higher Learning Commission, the Ness School of Management and Economics will offer Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in finance.

Six electrical engineering students at �ձ�av��Ƶ are among 244 students nationwide to have been selected for a prestigious scholarship in the power and energy field. Students selected to receive the Power and Energy Society Scholarship Plus Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers are described as “high achievers with strong GPAs with distinctive extracurricular commitments and are committed to exploring the power and energy field.” The awards are for $3,000, except three-time recipients receive $4,000. The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization with 500,000 members in more than 190 nations and 189,000 student members. The �ձ�av��Ƶ selections are Nick Erickson, Nick Ankrum, Cole Brown, Cyrus Nelson, Jaxon Lohnes and Connor Delehant.

Four �ձ�av��Ƶ students in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences have been awarded national bison industry scholarships from the Throlson American Bison Foundation and the Rich Zahringer Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Subash Thapa, a doctoral student in the �ձ�av��Ƶ Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, has distinguished himself with several recent recognitions for his research and academic achievements.

Carie Green, �ձ�av��Ƶ's Profilet and DeJong Family Endowed Director of Early Childhood Education, designed a project to expand the experiences of early childhood and elementary education teacher candidates.

�ձ�av��Ƶ is expanding its graduate offerings with the launch of a new social science Ph.D. program, an interdisciplinary program designed to address complex challenges facing rural communities and society at large.

Elizabeth Fox, government documents librarian at �ձ�av��Ƶ Hilton M. Briggs Library, has been named the 2025 South Dakota Librarian of the Year by the South Dakota Library Association.

A controlled feeding study led by Moul Dey, professor in the School of Health and Human Sciences at �ձ�av��Ƶ, shows that older adults who ate fewer ultra-processed foods naturally consumed fewer calories and lost weight and abdominal fat. They also showed improvements in insulin, nutrient-sensing hormones and inflammation.

More than 125 scholarships totaling more than $650,000 were awarded last week as part of the �ձ�av��Ƶ College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Scholarship and Recognition Banquet. The annual celebration of student achievement honored students representing every department within the college.