Please join us in welcoming Jordan Cooper to BHSU! Jordan just began his role as a Senior Buiilding Maintenance Worker on December 15, 2025. We’re excited to have him on board and look forward to the positive impact he will bring to our students and campus community!

Final grades are due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 22 and can be entered via D2L or Banner Self-Service.  Instructions for both options have been sent directly to all faculty email.  Questions about D2L grading should be referred to Anne.Stevens@bhsu.edu.  Questions about Banner Self-Service grading should be referrred to April.Meeker@bhsu.edu. 

Submissions are now open! Every year, BHSU hosts the Bellman Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing. Any writing from any class can be submitted to the competition under the following categories:

1. Composition I and II (any type of essay from these classes)
2. Literature (a literary analysis from any course)
3. General Academic Writing (any discipline and type of essay)

Only one essay per category is allowed. The same essay may not be submitted to multiple categories. The essays must have been turned in for a class from between March 1, 2025, and March 1, 2026.The submission period will remain open until March 6.

Uploaded essays must include a title, but all other identifying information (names, courses, running headers) must be removed from the document.

Judging will commence following the March 6 deadline. For more information and to submit your work, visit https://www.bhsu.edu/academics/programs/english.html. For any questions, please email Matthew.Bauman@bhsu.edu.

Check out these BHSU job openings! Please share with anyone you know that might be interested!

• Student Transition Program Coordinator
• Admissions Counselor
• Assistant Director, Facilities Planning & Management
• Assistant Director, West River Health Science Center
• Program Coordinator, SDCEO East
• Building Maintenance Specialist
• Financial Aid Assistant
• Program Assistant I, Sim Civics Grant
• Academic & Event Technology Analyst
• Adjunct Instructor - Studio Art
• Assistant Professor, Physics

Staff and Faculty job listings can be found here: https://www.bhsu.edu/About-BHSU/Employment-Opportunities.

🎉 Raffle Winner Announcement!

Congratulations to Amy Fuqua for winning the Staff Senate 50/50 raffle! The winning ticket was drawn on December 9th by Justin Nauta.

Amy’s share of the pot was $116.50, but in a generous turn of events, she has chosen to donate the full amount back to the Staff Senate to support our future initiatives!

Please join us in congratulating Amy and thanking her for her support!

Please join the College of Education's faculty and staff December 16 from 1:00-3:00 in Jonas 204 to wish Dawn well on her move and new job! Everyone on campus is invited and light refreshments will be served. 

Kickstart your tourism career at the South Dakota Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Jan 20–22, 2026 in Pierre. $75 student registration includes a free mentor pairing with an industry pro—1 in 4 students leaves with an internship or job offer. Visit www.southdakotatourismconference.com for more.

📢 Staff Senate Announcement

Mark your calendars for December 17 at 10:00 AM for our December meeting!

Join us in the Trump Room or on Teams with the link below.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZGNhMjIwNDYtYTJjOS00MDk3LWJiZjAtNmU5MzAxMGZjZGI3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%229bfcf28b-3a11-4fd7-a813-8f519cdb0db2%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%220fce668e-e6d5-45bb-8303-5fc95c14bb4c%22%7d

✨We will be joined by special guest President Elliott. All staff are encouraged to attend!✨

Dive into FREE professional development classes from prestigious universities and gain professional certifications through the Skill Forward program. By registering for the platform and completing one course before December 31st, you will automatically be entered to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card. 10 winners will be chosen! 

Sample Courses & Certificates include these and more:  

• Resume, Networking & Interviewing Skills  

• Self-Assessment: Developing your Strengths  

• Personal Financial Planning  

• AI for Beginners or Prompt Engineering 

• Career Networking: Build a Social Media Presence 

• Public Speaking 

• Communication Skills and Teamwork 

• Self-Assessment: Developing your Strengths 

• Business Communication 

• Excel for Beginners or Analyzing Data with Excel 

• More! 

Three easy steps to access the platform: 

1. Visit http://www.BHSU.edu/sdceo/SkillForward and register (this redirects to a Verizon branded page) before December 31 

1. Watch for an activation email (sent by a real person, so it may minutes … or could take a day or two) 

1. Click the link to activate and start exploring the platform. Once activated, you’ll have free access to the platform for one full year and may take as many courses or certificates as you wish. 

If you have questions, reach out to Ashley Wingert at Ashley.Wingert@bhsu.edu or Elizabeth Freer at Elizabeth.Freer@bhsu.edu.  

Dear colleagues,

Our campus community thrives on curiosity, and so the Geek Speak lecture series is looking for you, our faculty and staff: the quietly brilliant, the joyfully eccentric, the holders of niche and geek knowledge and bold ideas.

Have a Geekdom passion project that your friends are tired of hearing about?
Perfect. We’ll listen enthusiastically.

Working on conference papers, research (past or present), or that long-simmering idea?
Bring it. Messy, polished, experimental—we love it all.

Want to assemble a lively discussion panel?
We adore a good debate

If you’ve ever said to yourself, “I wish more people knew how to do this because it would bring them joy/improve their lives/save them time or money,” consider it a sign. Bring us the thrill of learning-by-doing. Think: zine-making, small-scale experiments, craft demos, improv exercises, coding puzzles, game design, Excel magic, beadwork, watercolor…

Your brilliance deserves an audience…and we’re not above begging.

Interested? Have questions or ideas?  Drop me a note:  Courtney.HuseWika@BHSU.edu 

With 2025 nearing an end, HR is thinking about tax season!  You have the capability to receive your tax documents electronically and get them much quicker than through the mail. This process provides a secure and efficient method of delivery eliminating delays and errors from the traditional postal system, earlier access to W-2 and 1095-C information, and access to print additional copies at your convenience.

Signing Up is Easy!

1. Log into the Experience Portal: Home - Ellucian Experience.
2. Go to your Employee Dashboard: Employee Dashboard.
3. Find the Electronic Regulatory Consent located in Taxes under the Pay Information.
4. Read the Electronic Regulatory Consent information and click the box under My Choice>Consent to receive W-2 electronically and Consent to receive 1095-C electronically.
5. Click the Submit button.
6. Upon successful completion, a green check mark and the statement "Electronic Statement consent was submitted successfully" indicate you’re finished.

If you have any questions on how to sign up don't hesitate to contact your Human Resources office at 605-642-6549.

Thank you!