FACULTY & STAFF E-UPDATE
Giving Days kicks off February 26-27 in honor of Founders Day! Hosted by the BHSU Foundation, this annual online day of giving brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the entire Yellowjacket community to support scholarships, colleges, teams, programs, clubs, organizations, and more.
Make your gift today at https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/26JGB. Students and Employees also have the chance to win prizes or money during the event.
For contest details, visit www.bhsufoundation.org/jacketsgiveback or follow along on social media at www.instagram.com/bhsu_alumni/ and www.facebook.com/bhsualumni/.
Every gift—no matter the size—makes an impact. If you’re unable to give, you can still be part of Giving Days by sharing the link on social media and spreading the word!
Check out these BHSU job openings! Please share with anyone you know that might be interested!
Staff and Faculty job listings can be found here: https://www.bhsu.edu/About-BHSU/Employment-Opportunities.
Looking for a professional space for your training, workshop, or meeting? BHSU–RC offers modern, comfortable rooms for groups of 8–99, all equipped with advanced technology and supported by on‑site technical assistance.
We Offer free parking, campus-wide Wi-Fi, and convenient access to downtown Rapid City, major hotels, restaurants, the airport, and I‑90.
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 Award Celebration on Monday, April 20th.
On behalf of the Alumni Asociation, 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.
We are looking for volunteers to assist with this years Women in Science STEM conference May 13th 8:00-3:00. Volunteers will receive a free lunch and will help with event directions, chaperoning a student group, help in the exhibit hall, or help with set up and tear down. The conference is at BHSU and will be hosting over 800 middle schoolers to explore careers in STEM. If interested contact Sydney.Haugland@bhsu.edu or call 605-642-6697.
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 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. 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!!
This event is open to all Black Hills State University and State of South Dakota employees and their spouses.
Currently seeking volunteer judges for the 34th Annual Student Volunteer Awards Celebration (SVAC) at Black Hills State University.
SVAC is a long-standing campus tradition dedicated to recognizing and honoring the incredible work of our student organizations and student leaders throughout the year. It is a meaningful opportunity to celebrate the impact our students make across campus and in the community.
Judges are needed for approximately 1–2 hours to review and evaluate student organization award applications. The applications will be sent to you electronically along with the judge sheet and no in person meetings are required for the orgaiznation category awards. Please note that if you a advise a orgaizantion that was nominatated you will not be judging that category.
Applications will be sent to you on March 4th and I will need the resutls turned in by March 13th.
If you are willing to serve as a judge, please let me know by emailing me at Jessie.Gramm@BHSU.edu . I would greatly appreciate your support in continuing this important tradition.
Faculty, please encourage your students to submit their work in the annual Bellman Writing Awards. Information below:
The Bellman Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing is a competition open to all students. Awards are given in three categories: Composition, Literature, and General Writing. All submissions must be work produced at BHSU during the specified year.
2026 Stewart Bellman Awards Submissions Due Friday, March 6 by 5:00 p.m.
Uploaded essays must include a title, but all other identifying information (names, courses, running headers) must be removed.
Submissions can be made at https://www.bhsu.edu/academics/programs/english.html. For any questions, contact Matthew.Bauman@bhsu.edu
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 2: Dr. Katelyn Kelly: “The Girl at the Edge of the World: What Miyazaki Can Offer Us on Hope”
In a world increasingly unreal and precarious, many to turn to realism or pessimism to stay grounded. However, these frames rarely help us imagine alternatives. In this talk we’ll explore what it might mean to ground ourselves in hope instead. We will look to the animator Hayao Miyazaki and his use of an active demanding hope. His movies hold beauty and violence–ruin and small acts of care–and the young as a model of hope within a damaged world.
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
Come support the Lakota Omniciye Indian Taco Sale fundraiser.
Tacos will be sold 03/04/2026 under the BHSU Student Union bookstore at 11 am until sold out.
All proceeds will support the annual Wacipi held in April 18th, 2026. Thank you!
No policy updates at this time.