FACULTY & STAFF E-UPDATE
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit recycled artwork as a part of BHSU’s Earth Day celebration! Display of artwork and community voting for winners of the art competition will take place Saturday April 18th from 11am to 2pm. First place and runner-up awards for students and first place and runner-up awards for faculty/staff.
Artwork should be made primarily of repurposed /recycled/found materials. All work must be dropped off by April 15th to Woodburn, Rm 302-A. Tags to attach to artwork with artist and artwork information will be available upon drop-off. Artwork pick-up Saturday April 18th at 2pm.
The BHSU Alumni Association is sponsoring the 35th annual Spirit of BH Award and is requesting nominations for this year's recipient. This award will be presented during the Student Volunteer Awards Celebration on Monday, April 20th.
On behalf of the Alumni Association, I am requesting your help to identify a student who has demonstrated an enthusiasm for learning while making significant contributions that reflect favorably on the university and larger community. The selection committee is made up of faculty, staff, and board members.
Please use this nomination form. Deadline to submit an entry for the Spirit of BH Award is Tuesday, March 10th.
Midterm grades are due by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 12. As a reminder, the DEF grade is no longer used. Faculty should record each student’s letter grade as of midterm (A, B, C, D, or F). Please do not assign I or IP grades at midterm. Classes with S/U grading should be graded S or U.
ALL undergraduate courses with the following instructional method types should be graded:
Graduate courses are exempt.
Block courses are exempt. Only full-term courses (Jan 12 – May 8) require midterm grades.
You can enter midterm grades via D2L or Banner Self-Service. Instructions for D2L grading can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Na9ni73gvLhQoyltPu6iwueErLqHJhbTfdqNEv6NjCY/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.kk1966kbedef. Questions related to D2L grading should be referred to Anne.Stevens@bhsu.edu. Instructions for Banner Self-Service grading were sent via email and questions can be referred to April.Meeker@bhsu.edu.
The Send-a-Thanks platform was developed for employees to be able to send a special thank you, or kudos, to one of their colleagues across campus. Employees who receive a send-a-thanks are entered in to a monthly drawing for either a Bookstore gift card or a mug and gift card courtesy of Einstein's. We would like to give a shout out to the recipients who have received a kudos! January recipients were:
| Landscape/Grounds Crew | ||
| Ellie | Battest | Student Technician Trainee |
| Haden | Goodwin | Sr Programmer/Analyst |
| Ryan | Delzer | Database/Systems Engineer |
| Prasanthi | Pallapu | Instructional Designer |
| Kellie | Hatch | Program Assistant I |
| Richard | Woodworth | Database/Systems Administrator |
| Pamela | Carriveau | Provost/VP Academic Affairs |
| Kellie | Hatch | Program Assistant I |
| Fred | Nelson | Director, Network & Computing Systems |
| Ven | Thompson | Director, Administrative Information Systems |
| Jin | Kim | Director, Career Development |
| Scott | Hanson | Asst Director, Facilities Maintenance & Energy |
| Taylor | Phillips | Asst Director, Admissions |
February recipients were:
| Tirzah | Knight | Director, Financial Aid |
| Tom | Wheaton | Director, Alumni Affairs |
| Steve | Meeker | VP for University Advancement |
| Laura | Prosser | Assistant Professor, Accounting |
| Scott | Thornburg | Media Production Coordinator |
| Michael | Whitley | Director, Institutional Research |
| Ryan | Delzer | Database/Systems Engineer |
| Ryan | Delzer | Database/Systems Engineer |
| Don | Coble | Director of Budget |
| Nicky | Winterstein | Asst Director, Events & Internal Operations |
| Rhyse | Naylor | Grounds Supervisor |
| Kellie | Hatch | Program Assistant I |
| Nicole | Keller | SODEXO |
If you would like to send a special recognition to someone please click the quick link on the main e-Update email.
Thank you all for everything you do!
Application forms for students to apply for Summer Host positions with BHSU Summer Conferences are now available on Jacket Connect (select Knowledge Base, then Residence LIfe, and then Summer Conference Employment Applications). Students can email Nancy Shuck, BHSU Conferences Coordinator, at Nancy.Shuck@bhsu.edu for either a link to access the forms or with any questions. Applications with a current resume are due by 5pm on March 25, 2026. These student positions are full-time, on-campus, and receive free housing for the summer. They begin immediately after the graduation ceremony in early May and end in mid-August. Please share this information with any student looking for a summer position.
BHSU welcomes Dr. Eric Kirby to campus for a day of presentations. Dr. Eric M. Kirby is a distinguished award-winning educator, mentor, attorney, and thought leader in the fields of leadership, management, and student success. An expert in fostering generational engagement, providing strategic innovation, and creating organizational success. A prolific consultant and sought-after speaker, Dr. Kirby delivers keynotes, workshops, and corporate training nationwide. His expertise in generational nuances, and student success has made him a trusted advisor to organizations navigating the complexities of the twenty-first century.
We hope that the whole campus will join in this professional development opportunity.
DATE: March 9, 2026
LOCATION: Jacket Legacy Room, Student Union
|
TIME |
AUDIENCE |
|
8:00am |
Marketing & Communications |
|
9:00am |
Athletics Department |
|
10:00am |
Enrollment Management & Student Affairs |
|
11:30am – 12:50pm |
BREAK |
|
1:00pm |
Academic Affairs |
|
2:30pm |
Campus Forum |
|
3:30pm |
Student Forum |
Any questions should be directed to John Allred at john.allred@bhsu.edu.
The HR office is pleased to offer another employee benefits fair! The Employee Benefits Trail - Mapping Out What Matters Most will take place on April 1 in the Jacket Legacy Room from 10AM - 1PM.
The South Dakota Retirement System, benefit providers, financial planners, and local community health and wellness providers will be available in the Jacket Legacy Room from 10AM - 1PM to meet with you regarding their products and services. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Dakota and flex plan benefit providers will be available to discuss insurance options. There will also be opportunities to attend an SDRS presentation. This event is a great way to learn from the experts. A drawing is planned for attending various booths and we have some exciting door prizes; you won’t want to miss out! Stay tuned for more information about our Benefits Fair!!
SDRS will have retirement planners available for one-on-one appointments. If you are considering retirement in the next 5 years, are new to the system, or have other questions about your SDRS benefits, you are encouraged to meet with the Retirement Planners. Please email BHSUHumanResources@bhsu.edu, stop by in person, or call Human Resources at 642-6549 to schedule an appointment with a Retirement Planner. Seating is limited.
This event is open to all Black Hills State University and State of South Dakota employees, their spouses, and students.
Don't miss out! There’s just one week left to register for our culinary adventure on March 10th from 6-8 PM at the CTE Center in Spearfish High School! Join Head Chef Mark Larson and Sous Chef Ashley Schultz from Buffalo Jump Saloon & Steakhouse to learn delicious recipes and enhance your cooking skills while connecting with fellow young professionals.
Limited spots are available! Secure your place by March 9th for only $15 at 
https://tr.ee/1bcY-ZbBe_
Want to make some art with recycled materials but need a little help coming up with an idea? Or have a few cool items that are repurposed and need some hot glue to stick them together? Join art professor Bridget Beck in the library Wednesday March 18th from 11-12 or Wednesday April 1st from 11-12. The library has some awesome items that are waiting for someone to make into a piece of recycled art.
The Lakota Omniciye Indian Taco Fundraiser on 03/04/2026 has been rescheduled to the following Wednesday 03/11/2026.
Join us for the premiere of Welcome to the BHUC, a 9‑minute documentary short highlighting the research taking place at the BHSU Underground Campus (BHUC) and the opportunities BHSU faculty and students have to contribute to underground science and the search for dark matter.
The screening will be held on Wednesday, March 11 from 4:00–5:00 p.m. in the Joy Center, followed by a Q&A session with two scientists featured in the film: Dr. Brianna Mount and Katie Pednau.
Discover how BHSU faculty and students contribute to world‑class research nearly a mile beneath the Black Hills.
This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Please join us on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. in Jonas 110.
(We're also looking for Geek Speakers for fall 2026, too, so please send a note my way if you're interested.
March 9: Rosalie Aslesen and Katherine Kemp: “Transitioning the Meier House and Property into the Spearfish Museum”
This Geek Speak presents the dream for a community-run Spearfish Museum and will introduce you to the people fundraising for the project. Hear about their vision for how this museum can contribute to the city of Spearfish and why it matters now.
The Spearfish Museum is an emerging project that will transform the historic Meier House and its property into a museum celebrating the stories, people, and ingenuity that shaped the Spearfish area. Its mission is to acquire, preserve, and share the historic, cultural, and innovative spirit of Spearfish. The goal is to create a museum that feels engaging, memorable, and meaningful for residents, students, and visitors.
The Museum Board’s fundraising mission is to build on the $1.5M+ bequest from Johanna Meier Della Vecchia by rallying community support and raising the matching funds needed to open the museum within the next 4–6 years.
Ultimately, the vision is simple: a museum built by the community, for the community—one that tells Spearfish’s story and strengthens its future.
March 23: Dr. Tina Van Kley:“Hitler's British Fangirl: Unity Mitford and the Appeals of Fascism”
Unity Mitford was an English debutante in the 1930s, the youngest daughter of a minor British aristocrat. Her name is not one that most Americans are likely to know, unless you’ve seen the recent UK tv series Outrageous (2025). Her story is wild, however, and she is infamous for her commitment to fascism and, most notably, her obsession with Adolf Hitler. At one point, she was rumored to be his fiancée and is thought to have met with him more often than any other British person. Her diaries from 1935-1939 were published in January 2025 in The Daily Mail, and offer new insights into her pursuit of “the dear Fuhrer,” as she referred to Hitler. More broadly, her diaries and letters shed light on the appeal of fascism to young women at the time, and can help us better understand the resilience of this ideology, even after WWII.
March 30: Greg Strobel: “Slow Tourism and Human Powered Travel”
This Geek Speak will discuss the concept of 'Slow Tourism' and emphasize human powered travel as the method for the concept. It will provide insight into understanding the mindset, introduce different methods of travel, and highlight some fun examples from personal experience.
April 13: Dr. Courtney Huse Wika (Please note the change in date): “A Poet’s Guide to Foraging: Creating Found Poetry”
In honor of National Poetry Month, this hands-on workshop will introduce the art of Found Poetry. Together, we’ll practice two distinct approaches, foraging from texts that already exist: the overheard, the discarded, the official and the everyday, and the overlooked. We will test how meaning shifts when language is lifted, reordered, and reframed. No prior experience is required. Bring yourself (and maybe a friend!)—and a desire to create.
Questions? Contact Courtney.HuseWika@BHSU.edu
No policy updates at this time.