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Four electrical engineering students at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ students earned scholarships from a national organization for the current school year. The recipients are seniors Kalen Meyer and Luke Rasmussen, both of Rock Rapids, Iowa; and juniors Nicholas Erickson of Pierce, Nebraska, and Drake Rogers of Milbank.

For pharmacist Dean Schmiedt, it was right time at the right place. Shortly after graduation from ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, the federal government enacted new regulations requiring that skilled nursing homes have a pharmacist review patients’ medications monthly. . His boss at Lovdahl’s Drug, in Little Falls, Minnesota, wasn’t interested in doing that task. Schmiedt, a 1973 ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ grad, picked up the work as a side job. He ended up becoming a full-time independent consultant pharmacist and a leader in the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Earlier this fall, Schmiedt, of Fort Ripley, Minnesota, was honored by ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ’s College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions as its 2024 Distinguished Alumnus.

Looking at slides of blood cells, fecal matter and urine has taken on an entirely different perspective this school year thanks to new state-of-the-art equipment in the medical laboratory science lab at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ. In July, the program received 28 microscopes and an innovative slide scanner as part of a $750,000 award from the South Dakota Department of Health, which was handling workforce development funds from the Centers for Disease Control, according to April Nelsen, the medical lab science clinical coordinator who put a proposal together for the health department.

ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ President Barry Dunn has bestowed presidential medallions upon three ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ Foundation leaders for their contributions to the university. The recipients were Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ Foundation; Keith Mahlum, vice president for development; and Tim Dwire, vice president for finance and operations.

As a Davis-Bahcall Scholar, current ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ freshman Mackenzie Hollenbeck traveled more than 5,000 miles this summer going to some of the top science centers in the world. But the one that really grabbed her heart was only a little more than 100 miles from her family’s Edgemont ranch. The biology major was among eight South Dakota students who were chosen to participate in the Davis-Bahcall Scholars Program, which is designed to help rising university freshmen and sophomores entering science, technology, engineering and math fields develop an understanding of where their passions could take them.

Two retired ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ nursing professors were honored by their college for lifetime achievements at a scholarship celebration on campus Oct. 25. Carol J. Peterson, 85, of Brookings, was the inaugural recipient of the College of Nursing's Living Legacy Award. She served as the dean of the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ College of Nursing from 1977 to 1987, when she became the vice president for academic affairs, a position she held for 22 years. Lois Tschetter, 72, of Brookings, was honored with the College of Nursing’s annual Distinguished Service Award. Tschetter retired in 2019 after a 36-year career at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ.

South Dakota Pharmacists Association has selected ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ pharmacy educator Emily Van Klompenburg, of Bruce, as its Distinguished Young Pharmacist. Van Klompenburg, a 2015 Pharm.D. graduate from ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, received the award at the association’s annual conference in Brookings Sept. 13. The award goes to a pharmacist less than 10 years in the practice who has participated in professional programs and community service.

Longtime ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ pharmacist Jodi Heins of Sioux Falls has been named pharmacist of the year by the South Dakota Pharmacists Association. Heins, a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions at ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ, received the Hustead Award at the association’s annual gathering in Brookings Sept. 13.

Two ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ students in the landscape architecture program competed in an international competition in Istanbul, Turkey. Jake Pytleski and Miranda Peck represented the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ School of Design in the International Federation of Landscape Architects conference Sept. 4-6. Pytleski’s team placed third in the conference competition.

The Thompson Center, South Dakota’s most comprehensive counseling education center, and its supporters were celebrated at a grand opening event on the ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ campus Oct. 11.