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In 1964, the University of South Dakota (USD) student newspaper, the Volante and the Vermillion Plain Talk mentioned USD Rodeo Club activities several times. That March the club signed a contract for livestock for the upcoming fourth annual intercollegiate rodeo held in Vermillion on May 2nd and 3rd. Events those two days included a parade, […]

These are in the Archives and Special Collections. In the I.D. Weeks Library are the reports of the South Dakota Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The earliest one in the library is dated March 1963 and is about discrimination against Black airmen (especially with housing, restaurants, and bars) in Rapid […]

I would eat a cake decorated to look like concrete letters surrounded by green bushes. How about you? Click here for the location and history of the University of South Dakota hillside letters, This year marks the 162nd anniversary of the establishment of the University by the first Dakota Territory Legislature in 1862, 141th anniversary […]

La Chirurgie: Codex Sloane 1977 is a full color facsimile of a unique 13th century illuminated French medical atlas. At first glance, it looks like a medieval graphic novel. Many of its 28 pages contain a three panel by three panel grid of framed scenes with human figures on alternating blue and red background.. The […]

In 2026, the United States of America will observe its 250th anniversary. We will be searching our Archives and Special Collections for material to highlight the creation of the USA. So far, we have found material related to the Bicentennial. Contact us if you have suggestions. Follow this link for more information about Buell’s map.

Constructed in 1954, the Danforth Meditation Chapel at the University of South Dakota (USD) is one of 15 university chapels funded in part by Danforth Foundation founded by William H. Danforth, owner of the Ralston Purina Company, and his wife. According to Danforth files in Buildings (USD Archives, USD Archives and Special Collections), a Corporation […]

The archivist and the staff of the Archives and Special Collections write guides to our collections, papers, and records called finding aids. These are the finding aids we finished during October, November, and December 2023: Cathy Beard Correspondence with Linda Hasselstrom Beresford Train Depot records Tom Brokaw papers Bulow House records John Davidson Missouri River […]

Our bugs are symbols of a US presidential campaign and/or a federal monetary policy. Do you know which one? Check out the political ephemera in papers we have from various politicians. They often highlight issues important at that time.

The experiences and education offered by University of South Dakota (USD) provided springboards for hundreds of students to achieve world class accomplishments. One such student who took full advantage of USD was Ken Adlam Bode, from Hawarden, Iowa. According to the Coyote yearbook Bode attended USD majored in political science and philosophy, and graduated in […]

Bobby Penn graduated with a BFA from the University of South Dakota in 1974. While at USD and after his graduation, Penn worked as an art instructor and illustrator. Beginning in 1986, he pursued his painting career full-time. Penn lived and worked in Vermillion, South Dakota until his death in 1999. Penn’s work is in […]

In the summer of 1959, the W. H. Over Museum, founded in 1883, was situated in the basement of Slagle Hall., Dr. Wesley Hurt, director of the museum was also an associate professor of anthropology at the University of South Dakota. In 1957, according to the newsletter: Museum News (Vol 18 #7, part of the Chilson […]

If you have wondered what it is like to work in an archive, here is an opportunity to do one of our common tasks, which is researching for dates of undated material. Help us research when the attached maps were made. One way to assign dates to the maps would be to read an USD […]

One of DP’s favorite items in the Archives and Special Collections is this oblique map of South Dakota. It is a favorite because geographical information expressed in this slanted or skewed method is less common than a vertical overhead view, especially before computer mapping software. The map title is Physical Features State of South Dakota. […]

The University of South Dakota (USD) Photography Collections contains hundreds of images depicting floats, bands, celebrities, politicians, and USD presidents during Dakota Day parades. In the 1950s elaborate Dakota Day floats constructed by fraternities, sororities, independent student groups, and clubs took considerable effort to build and used that year’s theme to convey a message, usually […]

Contact the Archives and Special Collections to read this entire poem about a hummingbird by Milford E. Shields in Lakota (translation by Wallace Little Finger), English, and an unidentified language. Poem from collection Milford E. Shields, “The Hummingbird”.

Some events are listed in this flyer from the Archives and Special Collection’s folder on the South Dakota State Fair.

The Archives and Special Collections recently received buttons (or pins) related to this event. For the full story of how Southern State College became the University of South Dakota/Springfield, and then a state minimum-security prison, consult the William J. Janklow papers at the Archives and Special Collections and read “Closing Time: A Twenty-Five-Year Retrospective On […]

Is the figure chemistry related? The building was finished in 1915 and in 1957-1958, the building was repaired after a fire. It is now called the Pardee Estee Laboratory, and its current entrance features a chemistry-themed tile mural on the wall above the door. USD Photograph Collection contains many images of buildings on campus. These […]

“This book was created by the participants of the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute held at the University of South Dakota in June 2004. This is number 17 of an edition of 24.” It contains fourteen b&w 14 x 14 cm linoleum prints. Its call number is SPECIAL BOOKS N7433.35 .U6 2004.