National touring company Rhythmic Circus will roll into Brookings on Friday, September 10, for its performance of “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now.” But before its evening show, the performance troupe will kick off the day at 4 p.m. with a master class for intermediate and advanced tap dancers in the community. 

The class will be 75 minutes long and will include a focus on warm-ups, rudiments of tap, and introduction to combinations that are designed to affirm a dancer’s talent and push him to the next level of technique. The class is limited to 25 dancers. Call the SDSU Music Department at 688-5187 to reserve a spot. While the master class is limited to 25 dancers, up to 20 others may observe the class. 

Tickets for the evening performance by Rhythmic Circus are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available by calling the SDSU Music Department at 688-5187. 

Lead dancer and instructor Nick Bowman recently explained the goals of the class and how it fits into Rhythmic Circus’ performance scheduled at the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10.

“I’m very excited to work with dancers in Brookings, because you’re almost like our neighbors… just down the road from my home in the Twin Cities,” Bowman said. “Sometimes I teach a private studio class of five or six dancers and sometimes I’m teaching 500 dancers in a huge ballroom at a national convention… in Brookings, we’ll be able to work with 25 dancers at the PAC in the dance rehearsal room. I require that dancers come prepared to learn, have fun, and bring an attitude that ‘anything is possible!’ ”

Bowman began his own dance career when he was 9 years old, thanks to a buddy who dared him to sign up for dance class. “I went just to prove that I could take that dare… and I was hooked! “ That dare helped Bowman channel his love of music and rhythms and combine that with his athletic talent and boundless energy.

“I danced all through my teenage years and at 17, I moved to L.A. and spent five years in the big city learning a lot about life and even more about dance.” 

Returning home to the Minneapolis area, Bowman opened his own studio and began connecting with other dancers and musicians in the Twin Cities. “A lot of folks in the Midwest think of the Cities as home of the Vikings, Twins, Ikea and Mall of America … what they might not realize is that we have an amazing depth of culture and talent in the area and the rest of the country is really starting to notice. We have musicians, dancers, and visual artists, and it’s a happening place.”

Rhythmic Circus is an unusual synergy of 10 musicians and four dancers who have been friends for more than 10 years and as Bowman explains, “We just took this idea that had been rolling around in our heads for a couple years and decided to just go for it.”

The show is an integration of musicians and dancers and Bowman hopes the audience will realize that they are a group of best friends having a great time. 

When asked to describe the show and how it all came together, Bowman laughs out loud. “It’s a great conundrum of whether the dancers are following the musicians or if the musicians are following the dancers!  The artistic director has an idea and the dancers work on steps and then we take it to the band.  The band develops a musical theme around the rhythm and then it comes back to the dancers for choreography, and it’s a constant evolution.” 

Bowman never stops smiling and his enthusiasm and energy is matched by his fellow members of Rhythmic Circus.  Just starting a national tour, the members concur that they’ve made a leap of faith with this show and that no one is going to do it for them unless they just go for it.  Bowman says, “We all share the motto, ‘We, not Me!’ ” 

Bowman’s main advice for young dancers and musicians who have dreams of making it to the big time includes: “One, keep your head on straight.  Two, work with a sense of purpose. Three, don’t give up!”  

The performance by Rhythmic Circus is offered by Woodbine Productions, a project of the SDSU Foundation and is generously underwritten by an anonymous benefactor who is committed to bringing great entertainers and entertainment to Brookings and South Dakota and helping the next generation of musicians.  All ticket proceeds directly support the coveted Woodbine Music Scholarships at South Dakota State University.

Avera Health and South Dakota State University will dedicate the new Avera Health and Science Center on the SDSU campus on Thursday, Sept. 9. Dr. Julie Gerberding, a public health expert with South Dakota ties, will deliver the keynote address at the dedication ceremony.

The dedication is scheduled for 1 p.m. on the university’s historic College Green, just west of the Avera Health and Science Center. The ceremony will include comments from SDSU President David L. Chicoine and Avera Health President and CEO John Porter prior to Gerberding’s address. An outdoor ice cream social and self-guided tours of the new facility will follow the ceremony.

The $51.4 million center provides dedicated teaching and research facilities for the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. More than 50 percent of all SDSU students will have at least one course in the 144,600-square-foot building.

The university already has realized the benefits of the building and the partnership with Avera Health, according to Chicoine.

“The levels of research in pharmaceutical sciences have grown leaps and bounds in the past three years, and these new facilities will enable both greater capacity for research and modern facilities for teaching in both pharmacy and chemistry,” Chicoine said. “This facility, as reviewers noted in the reaccreditation report for the College of Pharmacy, will provide a first-class learning environment for thousands of South Dakota State students each year.”

The Avera president and CEO also cited the importance of the collaborative work between the health care system and the university.

“This historic partnership will benefit everyone across the region,” Porter said. “Through the research conducted and the education of pharmacists, nurses and other health care professionals, this partnership will touch hospitals and clinics. The end result will be the impact on the lives and health of people in every community.”

Gerberding understands value of teaching and research in health sciences

The keynote speaker also understands the value of teaching and research in the health sciences. Gerberding, who grew up in nearby Estelline, is recognized for her six years as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She guided the nation’s leading health protection agency through an era of rapid growth, globalization and innovative transformation. As director of the CDC, Gerberding was responsible for the agency’s $10 billion budget and 15,000 employees. During her tenure, CDC staff implemented a $1.6 billion capital improvement program, developed national scientific centers for research, emphasized preparedness programs and responded to bioterrorism and pandemic health threats.

Pioneering research on occupational HIV transmission at the University of California at San Francisco built Gerberding’s reputation in health sciences and infectious diseases. She joined CDC in 1998 as director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and was appointed the agency’s director in 2002. In 2005, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world for her leadership in modernizing CDC in the face of unprecedented health threats like bioterrorism and SARS. Forbes magazine listed her among the 100 Most Powerful Women in the world each year from 2005 to 2008, a testament to her leadership of CDC’s global expansion. She also received the Surgeon General’s Medallion, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Public Health Service, for actions of exceptional achievement for the cause of public health and medicine. Today, Gerberding is president of the Merck and Company Global Vaccines division.

While on campus, Gerberding also will participate in forums with students in the health sciences and with area health care leaders.

Avera Health and South Dakota State in November 2007 announced the formation of a partnership designed to enhance the education of health professionals and advance research into the treatment and cure of diseases. That announcement included a $15 million pledge over 10 years from Avera to support health sciences research and education. Avera’s pledge represents the largest single gift ever made to the state’s largest and most comprehensive university.

 About Avera Health

Avera Health is the largest health system in South Dakota providing high-quality care close to home at over 300 locations in 97 communities. Avera’s unique partnership model makes possible a wide range of medical services through the expertise of specialists, sophisticated technology and cutting-edge research to meet the health care needs of local communities and providers.

About South Dakota State University

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and options. The institution also offers 23 master’s degree programs and 12 Ph.D. programs. The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.

Friends and alumni of South Dakota State University have an unprecedented opportunity to fund Jackrabbit Guarantee scholarships, thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor. 

The $500,000 anonymous gift, together with the most-generous matching gift terms ever offered by the SDSU Foundation, provide an extraordinary incentive for donors to support the Jackrabbit Guarantee scholarship program. The funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

 Donors have two options:

1. Start a Scholarship. A $500 gift will provide $1,000 in scholarship support to an SDSU student this fall.
2. Create an Endowment. A $7,500 incentive is available for donors who want to make their scholarship award permanent with an endowment.

To learn how you can take the Jackrabbit Guarantee CHALLENGE,
contact Hank McCall, Development Director for Student Affairs,
at 1-888-747-7378 or at Hank.McCall@sdsufoundation.org.

 A similar match program in 2006 created more than 480 scholarships. The opportunity to create an endowment is new this time and the level of the match is unprecedented, says Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the SDSU Foundation.

 “The Foundation has been able to offer matches that allow donors to double their money, but we never before had the occasion to provide donors with such a lucrative matching amount,” he says.

 The renewable scholarship program is funded through private gifts, and alumni and supporters have stepped up to help meet the demand of one of the most successful initiatives ever launched at SDSU.

 Forty percent of this fall’s freshmen will qualify for the Jackrabbit Guarantee based on their academic performance (an ACT score of 24 or higher). 

 Enrollment at SDSU has increased every year since the Jackrabbit Guarantee was created in 2002. During that time, the overall ACT score of all incoming freshmen has climbed to nearly two points higher than the national average.

 “Our promise to donors is that their scholarship dollars will support students with proven academic ability who have chosen to pursue their higher-education aspirations at South Dakota State University,” says Marysz Rames, vice president for Student Affairs.

How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit donors?

Your financial investment provides students with an opportunity for a brighter future – educated and emerging from college with a lower debt burden, proud and ready to show the world what they’re got. But you benefit, too.

 Through your tax-deductible gift, you gain an instant connection to a new generation of Jackrabbits. And by keeping in touch with SDSU, you’re putting your pride in this great university to work.

Al Baker and Joan Hegerfeld-Baker are among the hundreds of individuals who annually fund a named scholarship in support of the Jackrabbit Guarantee. They started in 2006 when the first challenge match was offered.

“The opportunity to meet and connect with the recipients has been a very rewarding experience for us both,” says Joan, an SDSU faculty member.

How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit SDSU?

The direct benefit to a student, of course, is a guarantee of at least $1,000 a year in scholarship support for four years. The added benefit to our university is even larger. Since the Jackrabbit Guarantee began:

• The percentage of incoming freshmen with an ACT of 24 or higher has risen from 33 percent to 45 percent;
• Jackrabbit Guarantee recipients graduate at a rate of nearly 12 percent higher than non-scholarship students;
• Overall enrollment at SDSU has increased by 25 percent and has accelerated our competitive edge in recruiting in both South Dakota and the region.

How does the Jackrabbit Guarantee benefit students?

The Jackrabbit Guarantee promises at least $1,000 in scholarship assistance to incoming freshmen with an ACT score of 24 or higher. The scholarship is renewable for three more years for students who maintain a grade point average of 2.8 or higher their freshman year and a 3.0 or higher in their next two years.

 To learn how you can take the Jackrabbit Guarantee CHALLENGE,
contact Hank McCall, Development Director for Student Affairs,
at 1-888-747-7378 or at Hank.McCall@sdsufoundation.org.

South Dakota State University and its seed industry partners will celebrate the new Seed Technology Laboratory with a dedication ceremony on Sept. 18. The event, including tours, will begin at 1:30 p.m.

The dedication and tours will be followed by the Cereal Bowl pregame barbecue and the 6 p.m. kickoff of the Jackrabbits first home football game.

The Seed Technology Laboratory is the second building on the South Dakota State University Innovation Campus, the only university-affiliated research park in South Dakota.

Sue Blodgett, head of the SDSU Plant Science Department, said the Seed Technology Laboratory is unique in bringing under one roof the South Dakota Crop Improvement Association, the SDSU Seed Testing Lab, the Seed Certification Service, the Crop Quality Lab, and molecular biology/genomics and biocontainment laboratories.

Researchers at the Seed Technology Laboratory will develop, enhance, and coordinate discovery, teaching, extension/outreach, and technical service in seed and crop science, technology and biotechnology at SDSU.