The news continues at SDSU, even when most students are away on summer break. A few items to catch you up:

 

Indoor facility to break ground

The official groundbreaking for SDSU’s new indoor athletic facility will take place Saturday at 3 p.m., prior to the Jackrabbit football team’s season opener against Butler (Ind.) at 6 p.m. The event will be held directly north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium and the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center.

Officially to be called the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex with a scheduled completion next fall, the building will include an eight-lane, 300-meter competition track and 100 yards of synthetic turf. It will also have space for sports medicine, athletic training, strength and conditioning, physical therapy and hydrotherapy.

 The construction will be funded privately, with $29 million raised, including gifts from the Dale and Pat Larson family, First Bank and Trust, Sanford Health, Larson Manufacturing and anonymous donors.

 

Eight alums honored

Each year, SDSU honors distinguished alumni. Earlier this summer, the university announced its eight honorees in 2013.  

Three are current or former faculty members, another directed the SDSU Foundation and another coordinated numerous partnerships between his current school and SDSU. 

Those chosen to be honored:

• Robert Gunsalus, class of 1969, Los Angeles;

• Merl Hackbart, class of 1963, Lexington, Ky.;

• Dan Hansen, class of 2003/’05, Brookings;

• Brian Kaatz, class of 1974, Sioux Falls; 

•David Marquardt, class of 1964, Sioux Falls;

• Jane McKee Smith, class of 1983, Vicksburg, Miss.;

• Roberta Olson, class of 1964, Brookings; and 

• Hugh Smeltekop, class of 1999, La Paz, Bolivia.

The distinguished alumni banquet is 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, the evening before Hobo Day, at the Swiftel Center.

 

Raven to set up shop 

Raven Industries, the Sioux Falls-based company specializing in precision agriculture and advanced technologies has entered a partnership with SDSU and will operate a research and development center out of the Research Park at SDSU, located northeast of campus.  

Supporters say it will provide a prime opportunity for students – particularly engineers – to receive hands-on experience through internships and other learning opportunities. Precision agriculture includes the use of satellite technology, computerized steering, advanced planter control systems and variable rate seeders to help farmers become more efficient. 

“With precision agriculture, you’re really farming by the square meter, rather than quarter sections,” Barry Dunn, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, said in a statement. “That’s going to make us better stewards of the land and increase profitability for growers.”Dunn said the partnership should be helpful to ongoing work in plant and soil sciences, geographical information science, computer science and decision analytics being done at SDSU. In addition, the university is adding a new field of study to support precision agriculture.

 

Union pay lot reopens

After being out of commission for the 2012-13 school year, the Union hourly parking lot is back in service. 

The first 40 minutes in the lot are free during regular business hours. Parking in the lot any longer will be charged at $1 per hour and a maximum of $8 per day. The lot is free after 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. 

Users pay with a credit card or Hobo Dough when they enter the lotbut should swipe the same card when they enter and exit. For any questions, contact parking services at 688-7275.

 

SDSU student groups honored

Delta Chi fraternity, Kappa Epsilon Pharmacy fraternity and the American Fisheries Society chapter at SDSU were honored over the summer for their work as student organizations. The awards were announced during the May Board of Regents meetings in Brookings. 

Delta Chi received the award for academic excellence. Commended for their effort to advance their members professionally, the chapter also plans an annual retreat, plans community lunches and provides leadership development sessions for its members. 

Kappa Epsilon received the SDSU award for community service. The chapter’s primary community service focus breast cancer awareness. Kappa Epsilon donated yogurt lids to the Susan G. Komen foundation, prepared gift baskets and blankets for cancer patients and helped with the Brookings Backpack Project.  

The SDSU chapter of AFS received its award for organizational leadership. In addition to hosting a National Resources Management job fair, the group worked with local youth to teach aquatic resource conservation through events such as a Fisheries Research Fun Day and the Cub Scout Fishing Derby.