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It happened a little over 100 years ago. On October 15, 1918, through November 10, 1918, the University of South Dakota suspended classes and sent the students home in a effort to stop the spread of the Spanish flu. No regular students, staff, or faculty died. Seven soldiers on campus for SATC training were not […]

What is more embarrassing than a Belch in the library? In the library a Belch rumbles through the corridors. It booms in the shocked silence. It echoes extra loudly. It startles the people and everybody looks at you, some disapproving, over the tops of their glasses and some laughing, behind their books, at […]

Dr. Frances Kelsey. In 1960, while at the Food and Drug Administration, she refused to approve release of thalidomide in the United States due to inadequate testing. For a portrait of Dr. Kelsey at the University of South Dakota, see the Digital Library of South Dakota.

In January 1920, the University of South Dakota’s winter term began one week later than scheduled because of a coal shortage and the uncertainty of future coal supply. The shortage and uncertainty were due to a coal miners’ strike. Sources: Information from The Alumni Quarterly, January 1920, page 134. Image from the leather cover […]

Did you feel like a penguin this last week? Penguins are in my favorite research project logo. USD zoology professor Raymond Dillon and two grad students participated in an United States Antarctica research program for 10 weeks in 1969, collecting fresh water and soil protozoa samples. For more information on the research project, please see […]

List from Knutson, Wayne S. “A story of faith and endurance: The University of South Dakota.” In From idea to institution: higher education in South Dakota, edited by Herbert T. Hoover et al, page 32. Vermillion, SD: University of South Dakota Press, 1989, call number LA364.5 .F76 1989. name date of initial appointment academic areas […]

E.O. Lawrence won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1939 for his work on the cyclotron, which uses an electric field to accelerate charge particles. Most cyclotrons are utilized in medicine and physics research. He also has an element on the periodic table named after him, Lawrencium. The Archives and Special Collections at the University […]

In September 1952, fans at an USD football game and some residents of southeast South Dakota saw an amazing light show in the sky. It was described in the Vermillion Plain Talk: FIREBALL IN SKY FLOODS AREA WITH LIGHT ON SATURDAY NIGHT. Alert residents in the Vermillion area got an opportunity to see one of […]

maps from: Illustrated Historical Atlas of Clay County, South Dakota : Including a Brief History of Clay County by E. Frank Peterson, 1901. Standard Atlas of Clay County, South Dakota : Including a Plat Book of the Villages, Cities and Townships of the County, Map of the State United States and World, Patrons Directory, Reference […]

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, I present an University of South Dakota / outer space connection: USD alumnus Carl Q. Christol (1913-2012) was a pioneer in space law. He wrote The International Law of Outer Space (1966) and helped negotiate the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in […]

East Hall was built 130 years ago in 1877. It was the third building constructed on our campus. This image and description of the East Hall appeared on the cover of the 1981 commencement program. During the 1980s and 1990s, USD commencement programs often highlighted USD buildings. The Archives and Specials has an […]

One hundred years ago last month, the Association of Collegiate Alumnae at the University of South Dakota at Vermillion was founded. The club reorganized into the Vermillion Branch of the American Association of University Women on October 23, 1924. The papers for this group can be viewed at the Archives and Special Collections. The meeting […]

On April 26, 1963, The University of South Dakota became the official name of our university here in Vermillion. It was called the State University of South Dakota in some documents and the University of South Dakota in others. The State Board of Regents of Education designated the latter. From “University of South Dakota Designated […]

I have been waiting. Image from Catalogue of the University of South Dakota for the year 1892-3.

During the 1980s and 1990s, University of South Dakota commencement program covers often presented brief descriptions of USD buildings. In 2004, this building was remodeled and renamed the Dean Belbas Center. It houses Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar.

During the 1980s and 1990s, University of South Dakota commencement program covers often presented brief descriptions of USD buildings.

Herbert S. Schell Annual Lecture in History is Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015, in Farber Hall at 7:00 pm. The presentation is “Crescent City Girls: the Jim Crow Justice System and Black Girlhood in New Orleans” by LaKisha Simmons. She is an assistant professor of global gender studies at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. The lecture […]

Have you seen the concrete USD letters? They can be found by going to lower Vermillion and turning east on Burbank Road. The letters are in the vicinity of the golf course. This project “ … was a successful effort by the Vermillion Association of Women’s Clubs (Civic Council) to construct large white USD letters on the hillside […]

Did you know that the Archives and Special Collections has a time capsule? It was filled with items related to the centennial of the University of South Dakota and is scheduled to be opened in 2082.

Preliminary List of USD Campus Projects 1997-2011 For my first project as a volunteer at the University of South Dakota archives, I compiled a list of building projects that occurred from 1997-2011. This list will be added to for use in the Buildings, Other Structures, and Utilities collection at the archives. The main resource for […]