The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (South Dakota Mines, SD Mines, or SDSM&T) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western S ...

. It is governed by the

South Dakota Board of Regents The South Dakota Board of Regents (also known as SDBOR) is a governing board that controls six public universities in the U.S. state of South Dakota. These include Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, So ...

and was founded in 1885. South Dakota Mines offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

History

The cornerstone of the first School of Mines (then known as the Dakota School of Mines) building was dedicated on August 19, 1885, with the first classes being held February 21, 1887. John W. Hancher received the first bachelor of science degree at the first commencement on May 31, 1888. The school became known as the South Dakota School of Mines in 1889 after admission of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

as a state to the United States. The School of Mines presented exhibits during the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...

and the first licensed radio station in the state of South Dakota was established on campus in December 1911, a full decade before WCAT (the precursor the current campus station KTEQ-FM). The first "M-Day" homecoming celebration occurred on October 5, 1912 with the construction of th
"M" on M-Hill
the school's mountain monogram. The school's

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in al ...

battalion was formed in 1918 in response to World War I. The football stadium began construction in 1931, and was completed as "O'Harra Field" in 1938. The school formally became the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in February 1943. In September 2012, South Dakota Mines made national news when

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

announced that it had passed

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the category of starting salaries for graduates. On September 19, Tech President Dr. Robert A. Wharton died due to complications of cancer treatments. During the presidential search, Duane C. Hrncir was the interim president. On April 25, 2013, the School of Mines announced that Heather Wilson will become the first female president in the school's 128-year history, starting in June 2013. She resigned in 2017 after being appointed to the office of Secretary of the United States Air Force. In October 2017, the School of Mines announced that the next president would be James (Jim) Rankin, Ph.D.

Academics

South Dakota Mines offers degrees in 20 engineering and science fields, as well as 18 master's degree programs and 9 Doctorate programs. The South Dakota Mines placement rate for graduates with a bachelor’s degree is 96 percent, with an average starting salary of more than $66,500.

Campus

The campus is located in the center of Rapid City, on the northern slope of small foothills of the Black Hills. The APEX Gallery is located in Classroom Building 211, and hosts a new exhibit every four to six weeks. The gallery hosts contemporary works of artists and scientists, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized.

Museum of Geology

Digenite-pyrite, Butte Mining District, Montana

Opening the same year as the school, the Museum of Geology collects, conserves, curates, interprets, and exhibits paleontologically, mineralogically, and geologically significant objects and serves as the repository for such objects from South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains. The public exhibits of the museum have been housed since 1944 in the second floor of the then newly completed O'Harra Building, while the preparation laboratories and collections are held in the James E. Martin Paleontology Center, constructed in 2009.

Student organizations

Active fraternities on campus include

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternity consisting of active chapters (known as "Alphas") at 33 American colleges and universities. The mission of Chi Psi is to create and maintain an enduring society which encourages the sharing of traditions and values, res ...

Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Chi Sigma () is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 70,000 me ...

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of th ...

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

Theta Tau Theta Tau () is a professional engineering fraternity. The fraternity has programs to promote the social, academic, and professional development of its members. Today, Theta Tau is the oldest and largest professional engineering fraternity and h ...

, and

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

. Sororities include

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a memb ...

and Beta Delta Mu. Student government organizations include the Student Association Senate. Student media organizations include KTEQ-FM (the campus radio station) and "the Aurum" (the campus newspaper, formerly known as "the Tech" and then "the Raver"). "The Aurum" is the original name of the school newspaper, first published in November 1901. The newspaper changed its name back to "The Aurum" in January 2010. The campus radio station, KTEQ, was started in 1922 as a low-powered AM station, left the air in 1955, and returned as the FM-station KTEQ in 1971 and airs a freeform programming format. Amplify College Ministries,

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...

, Lutheran Campus Ministry, the

Newman Center Newman Centers, Newman Houses, Newman Clubs, or Newman Communities are Catholic campus ministry centers at secular universities. The movement was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman encouraging societies for Catholic stude ...

, and United Campus Ministries are some of the many Christian and religious groups operating on campus. Service organizations on campus include

Circle K Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian chain of convenience stores headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It is owned by the multinational company Couche-Tard. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in ...

and Gamers for Service.

Athletics

South Dakota Mines athletic teams are called the Hardrockers, coming from its mining background. The history of the athletic programs stretch back to 1895 when the first school football team formed, originally named the "Longhairs". The school host a variety of college sports which include: football, basketball, volleyball, track, cross country, golf, and men's soccer. The athletic mascot name is Grubby the Miner. The school is a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) and competes at the Division II level. The school joined the Division II

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

in January 2014 for the majority of its sports (effective beginning the 2014–15 school year), except for men's soccer which joined the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but ...

(GNAC) for men's soccer in 2013 and football beginning in 2014. The Hardrockers formerly competed as members of the

Dakota Athletic Conference The Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) was a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As the name implies, member teams were located in the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. T ...

(DAC) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 2000–01 to 2010–11, and were former members of the

South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference The South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) was an NAIA-associated collegiate athletic conference that ceased operations following the 1999–2000 academic school year when it merged with the North Dakota College Athletic Conference to form ...

(SDIC) (also from the NAIA) until after the 1999–2000 school year. South Dakota Mines completed the transition form the NAIA to the NCAA in July 2013.

Notable staff

Prior to 1897, the head of SDSM&T held the title of Dean rather than president. Earl D. Dake served as acting president from 1947–1948 and 1953–1954. Dr. Duane C. Hrncir served as acting president from 2012–2013 following the death of Dr. Robert A. Wharton.

Deans

# Dr. Franklin R. Carpenter (1886–1889) # George F. Duck (1889–1890) # Samuel Cushman (1890–1891) # Dr. William P. Headden (1891–1893) # Dr. (Hon.) Walter P. Jenney (1893) # Dr. Valentine T. McGillycuddy (1893–1897)

Presidents

# Dr. Robert L. Slagle (1898–1905) # Dr. Charles H. Fulton (1905–1911) # Dr. Cleophas C. O'Harra (1911–1935) # Dr. Joseph P. Connolly (1935–1947) # Dr. Warren E. Wilson (1948–1953) # Fay L. Partlo (1954–1966) # Dr. Harvey R. Fraser (1966–1975) # Dr. Richard A. Schleusener (1975–1987) # Dr. Richard J. Gowen (1987–2003) # Dr. Charles P. Ruch (2003–2008) # Dr. Robert A. Wharton (2008–2012) # Dr. Heather A. Wilson (2013–2017) # Dr. James M. Rankin (2017–present)

Other notable staff

* Ernest Allmendinger, football head coach (1914) * William Arbegast, director of the Advanced Materials Processing and Joining Center (2001–2009) * Dr.

Philip R. Bjork Philip Reese Bjork is an American geologist and paleontology, paleontologist known for his work in unearthing dinosaur species in United States, America. Career Bjork received his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan. Bjork's Master ...

, geology and paleontology professor (1975–2000) *

William Phipps Blake William Phipps Blake (June 1, 1826 – May 22, 1910) was an American geologist, mining consultant, and educator. Among his best known contributions include being the first college trained chemist to work full-time for a United States chemical m ...

, accepted and then turned down position as the first dean - donated books started school library *

Gary Boner Gary L. Boner (October 31, 1940 – May 16, 2005) was an American football player and coach. He was the longest-tenured head football coach for South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T) in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving from 1971 to ...

, longest-serving (1971–1989) and winningest football head coach at SDSM&T *

Josh Boyer Josh Boyer (born January 21, 1977) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Boyer previously coached with the New England Patriots and multiple college footba ...

, football defensive coordinator (2005) now NFL coach * Dr. Wendell E. Dunn, Jr., adjunct professor of metallurgy (?–2007) *

Ray D. Hahn Ray Dreyer Hahn (November 19, 1897 – November 8, 1989) was an American football and basketball player and coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the South Dakota School of Mines—now known as South Dak ...

, men's basketball head coach (1930–1935) and football head coach (1929–1934) *

Dan Kratzer Daniel Leon Kratzer (born July 7, 1949) is a former American football player and coach. Kratzer served as the head football coach at Ohio Northern Polar Bears, Ohio Northern (1984–1985), Hastings Broncos, Hastings (1990–1994), Lindenwood Lions ...

, football head coach (2005–2011) *

Erv Mondt Ervin Mondt (born October 2, 1938) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa from 1983 to 1988 and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota ...

, football head coach (1990–1994) * Dr. Walter A. Rosenblith, physics professor (1943–1947) * Dave Strong, football head coach (1941) and men's basketball head coach (1941–1942) * Dr.

Jack Weyland Jack Arnold Weyland (born 1940) is a retired professor of physics at Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a prolific and well-known author of fiction for LDS audie ...

, author and physics professor (?–1971)

Notable alumni

James Abourezk James George Abourezk (born February 24, 1931) is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a United States senator and United States representative from South Dakota. He did not seek re-election to the US Senate in 1978. He w ...

, former U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from

, and the first Arab-American to serve in the U.S. Senate. *D. Sherwin Artus, Director & Former CEO, of Whiting Petroleum Corp. *Richard H. Frank, President and CEO of Darby Emerging Markets Fund. Former Managing Director at the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...

. *

Marty Jackley Martin J. Jackley (born October 13, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who is currently serving as the Attorney General of South Dakota since 2023, having previously served from 2009 to 2019. He assumed office as Attorney General again ...

, 30th

Attorney General of South Dakota The Attorney General of South Dakota is the state attorney general of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The attorney general is elected by popular vote to a four-year term and holds an executive position as the state's chief legal officer. In 1992, ...

. *Tony Jensen, President and CEO of

Royal Gold Royal Gold is one of the world's leading precious metals streaming and royalty companies engaged in the acquisition and management of precious metal streams, royalties and similar production-based interests. Royal Gold owns a large portfolio of pr ...

. *Kurt Kost, President, Alpha Natural Resources. Past President of Society of Mining Engineers. *

Al Kurtenbach Aelred J. (Al) Kurtenbach (born January 3, 1934) is an American electrical engineer. He was also briefly member of the South Dakota State Senate in 2004. Kurtenbach is the founder of Daktronics, Inc., based in Brookings, South Dakota. He attended ...

, founder of

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

* Walter Dale Miller, 34th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota and 29th Governor of South Dakota *Cmdr. George Philip Jr., posthumous winner of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for actions as commander of and namesake of . *Susan Opp, President of L-3 Communications Systems – West *Dr. Tim Osswald, professor of mechanical engineering at

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Dean M. Peterson Dean McCormack Peterson (1931–2004) was an American inventor, responsible for two of consumer photography's largest revolutions: the Kodak Instamatic camera, introduced in 1963, and the panoply of "point-and-shoot" cameras introduced in the la ...

, inventor of the Kodak

Instamatic : ''For the film formats associated with the ''Instamatic'' and ''Pocket Instamatic'' camera ranges, see 126 film and 110 film respectively.'' The Instamatic is a series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning ...

camera and the "point-and-shoot" camera *Dr.

Marcus R. Ross Marcus R. Ross (born 1976) is an American Young Earth creationism, young earth creationist and Vertebrate paleontology, vertebrate paleontologist. Ross was featured in a February 2007 ''The New York Times, New York Times'' article about the confli ...

, paleontologist,

young earth creationist Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespre ...

, and professor of geology at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

Ajmal Shams Ajmal Shams is an Afghan politician and former civil engineer. Shams has been president of the Afghan Social Democratic Party since October 2005. He served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in the Afghan Governm ...

, current president of the Afghan Social Democratic Party. *

Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen Anne-Grete Hjelle Strøm-Erichsen (born 21 October 1949 in Bergen) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She served as Minister of Defence from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2012 to 2013. She also served as Minister of Health and Care Se ...

, former Norwegian

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and

Minister of Health and Care Services The Minister of Health and Care Services ( no, Helse- og omsorgsministeren) is a councilor of state and chief of the Norway's Ministry of Health and Care Services. Since 14 October 2021 the position has been held by Ingvild Kjerkol of the Labou ...

. Former mayor of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

. * Jim Shaw, former mayor of

*Emery Stephans, President and CEO of Enterprise Analysis Corporation. *Gary R. Veurink, Vice President Manufacturing and Engineering of

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

International Justice Mission International Justice Mission is an international, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization focused on human rights, law and law enforcement. Founded in 1997 by lawyer Gary Haugen of the United States, it is based in Washington, D.C. All IJM emp ...

*Chinedu Ositadinma Nebo, former Nigerian Minister of Power and Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Nigeria Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

, and Federal University Oye-Ekiti * James Zimmerman, Physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology,

References

External links

*
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Athletics
* {{authority control Schools of mines in the United States Engineering universities and colleges in South Dakota Technological universities in the United States Public universities and colleges in South Dakota Black Hills Buildings and structures in Rapid City, South Dakota Education in Rapid City, South Dakota Educational institutions established in 1885 1885 establishments in Dakota Territory