I want to personally thank you for your continued efforts and the commitment you have made these past several weeks to your educational opportunities at South Dakota State University. Today marks the halfway point of the semester. We will have completed 35 days of on-campus instruction and have 35 more to go in order to reach our goal of being in the classrooms until Thanksgiving.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us, and it is something that has not been easy at times. We all recognize the impact it has had to the traditional college experience, but the commitment you are making to your educational journey will be remembered for years.

We want to be the university that finished both the fall and spring semesters in the classroom and not one of the many universities throughout the country that needed to go fully online due to the pandemic.

All of us have experienced various levels of anxiety, stress and frustration toward COVID-19. I understand. But your commitment to your education and the ability of the university to provide the best educational opportunities in these unprecedented times is what is going to help our state, region and even the country recover. The recovery will need to occur with our economy, the social well-being of our communities and even within our own families and groups of friends.

As future graduates of SDSU, you will have an important role in the post-pandemic world. You will be the next generation of teachers, health care providers, engineers, journalists, artists, performers, elected officials, counselors, nutritionists, agricultural experts and many more professions we help train and educate at SDSU. You will look back at this experience and hopefully understand what you are experiencing will define what the “new normal” looks like in the future.

Along with our faculty and staff, you have found new ways and methods to fulfill your educational opportunities, create events that meet our COVID-19 protocols and make the connections that are part of the college experience. Those are the connections that will last a lifetime and your legacy will be remembered as one that overcame the challenges of the pandemic. I congratulate you on your willingness and desire to explore new ways to learn, communicate, build communities and accomplish your goals.

I wish you all the very best for the remainder of this fall semester. Please continue to protect yourself and the health and safety of others. Our JacksRBack Task Force is turning its attention to the spring semester and the continued planning that will be required. While many things will continue to be the same for now, I encourage you to explore even more innovative opportunities to learn and grow.

Thank you for being Jackrabbits. I am proud to be a part of this university with so many tremendous students, faculty and staff