📣 Staff Professional Development Funds Available!

Are you looking to grow professionally, attend a conference, take a course, or enhance your skills? The Staff Senate is excited to offer Professional Development Funds to support staff in their continued learning and career advancement.

Who Can Apply?
All benefits-eligible staff members are encouraged to apply.

What Can the Funds Be Used For?
Funds may be used for:

• Conference registration or travel
• Workshops or training sessions
• Certification programs
• Educational materials
• Other professional development opportunities

How to Apply:
Ask one of the Staff Senate Senators for more information or use the link below to complete the online application:

https://forms.microsoft.com/r/f0WJ545rSX

Questions?
Reach out to Dawn Hunter, Staff Senate President, for more information or assistance with your application.

📣Let Staff Senate help you invest in your future!

BHSU faculty and staff are invited to celebrate the partnership between Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University College of Nursing, and Monument Health at BHSU – Rapid City on September 30.

Grand Opening Ceremony: 3 p.m.

• The ceremony will feature several speakers, including Presidents and representatives from BHSU and SDSU, the South Dakota Board of Regents, and Monument Health. Legislators, local government officials, healthcare executives, and project contractors/architects will also be in attendance, along with appearances by Sting and Jack.

Open House/Reception: 5–7 p.m.

• This is an opportunity for community members, alumni, supporters, and faculty/staff to get an inside look at the addition and renovation of BHSU – Rapid City. 

BHSU – Rapid City is located at 4300 Cheyenne Blvd, Box Elder, SD, 57719.

For more information, contact Kathy.Johnson@BHSU.edu.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a state of awareness, where you stop to take notice of your thoughts, and feelings without judgement. It’s the practice of purposely bringing attention to the present moment. Mindfulness has many possible benefits such as lowering your overall stress, improving your ability to manage your emotions, strengthening your relationships by allowing yourself to be a better listener and enabling you to take pause to think before responding. Practicing being mindful is a great way to give us a sense of inner calmness and stability throughout our workday.

Tips to practice mindfulness:

1. Practicing mindfulness requires that you purchase nothing! All you need is quiet space.
2. Remember the goal is not to clear your mind of all thoughts. There’s no superior alternative state of mind that we are seeking. Your mind WILL wander and that’s o.k. Just keep bringing yourself back to the present moment. Use a deep breathe anchor yourself back and to keep coming back again and again if need be.
3. As you practice mindfulness, remember to observe your thoughts without judging yourself. This can be the trick part for most of us. Just take notice of your thought and return back to the present moment.

How do you implement mindfulness into your daily life? Implementing a new skill always takes time and practice. You can practice being mindful wherever you are. Try walking slowly from your car into your office. As you walk, focus on feeling the ground beneath your feet, feel the air against your skin, listen to the cars driving by, birds chirping or the leaves rustling.  Take notice of your specific surroundings using your sight, smell, and other senses. As you sit down at your desk for the day, slowly take a drink of your coffee or morning beverage, savoring the taste.  Take a few minutes throughout your day to slow down, observe your thoughts without judging, breathe and feel your body.  Practicing mindfulness can be an effective way of managing your overall stress and can help us to enjoy the present moment rather than mindlessly pushing through our day.

Self-Care Tip, Courtesy of BHSU Student Health and Counseling Services

Our mission

We strive to create better writers. Rather than offering editing services, we work with students to strengthen all aspects of their writing process to help them gain confidence in writing and in the texts that they produce. With that in mind, we begin where they do: from the beginning stages of writing to final polishing.

Through collaborative dialogue, we aim to help students gain necessary writing skills that they can utilize in the classroom and beyond. Writing is a part of our daily lives, and we believe that writing, combined with critical thinking, is an essential skill in all professional fields as well as in personal interactions. Effective writing fosters clarity of thought, strength of conviction, and engaged citizenship. Therefore, we work with writers at all levels to increase their access and ability to contribute to the larger global community.

Services for faculty

• In-class visits: Let us introduce our services to your students every semester.
• Client Reports: following every appointment, the consultant composes a brief narrative of the session.
  • Students can indicate on their appointment to have the client report sent to the instructor as evidence of their attendance. The client report also provides the instructor valuable information about what was discussed and the students level of participation.
• Guest lectures: in-class workshops on writing skills and conventions: Grammar, sentence construction, paragraphs, thesis, topic sentences, incorporating outside sources, documenting sources, MLA, APA, Chicago Style. We can accommodate your needs for other writing issues too.
  • Excellent alternative to cancelling classes if you’re going to a conference or have any planned absence. We can fill in and use the class time productively.

For any questions or to schedule a visit or lecture, please contact Matthew.Bauman@BHSU.edu. 

JacketHub attendance reports are due by 10:59 PM tomorrow (Wednesday, September 10th). 

For students for whom you do have a concern, please leave a comment. Mark all other students "no" or not at risk. Although there is an area to mark grades and absences, this information is not required.

These reports are a vital. They:

• Communicate your expectations early to students who are underperforming
• Allow for withdrawal of absentee students, minimizing student and institutional financial impacts
• Help advisors intervene with struggling students before it's too late

The Registrar will begin withdrawing students reported on Wednesday, but we've already had multiple successes identifying students who need help or left the University without notice - thank you!

Please email Janette Hettick-Waltz, Director of the Student Success Center, if you have questions or need help – Janette.Hettick@bhsu.edu.

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

• Admissions Counselor
• Assistant Track & Cross Country Coach
• Professional Advisor
• Student Transition Program Coordinator
• Financial Aid Advisor
• TRIO Professional Advisor
• Senior Secretary
• Adjunct Instructor - Studio Art
• Adjunct Instructor - Business

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

Human Resources recently sent out conflict of interest emails to NFE and Faculty employees.  Please be watching for an email from HR@SDBOR.EDU with a subject line of "Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form."  This email is not spam and you will continue to get reminders until you have clicked on the link and completed it.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to Cassie Maser at cassie.maser@bhsu.edu if you have any questions.

Thanks!

List of Upcoming Events:

Sept. 10th

• 9:30AM-12:30PM Free Student Headshot Event, E.Y Berry Library Photo Studio (Basement of E.Y. Berry Library
• 4-5PM Calligraphy Workshop, International Office (Woodburn Hall 115)

Sept. 11th

• 5-6PM Nihongo Camp, Online/Virtual

Sept. 14th

• 2-3PM Faculty Flute Recital, Clare and Josef Meier Hall (Recital Hall)

Sept. 15th

• 4-5:30PM Geek Speak: "The Special Meaning of Kinship: Grandmothers of the Lakota Community: In Honor of Jace DeCory", Jonas Academic 110

Sept. 16th

• 1-4PM 2025 BHSU Accounting Fair, Jacket Legacy Room (Student Union)

Sept. 20th

• 9AM-1PM Northern Hills Marching Exhibition, Lyle Hare Stadium Field House

Sept. 23rd

• 5-6PM Nihongo Camp, Online/Virtual

Please join us Mondays at 4:00 p.m. in Jonas 110 for Geek Speak: a lecture series for the geek in all of us.  These lectures are free and open to all students, staff, faculty, and community members.

• Monday, Sept 15: Liz Fayer

The Special Meaning of Kinship: Grandmothers of the Lakota Community: In Honor of Jace DeCory
Historically, the Lakota concept of kinship has been misunderstood. For elders specifically, constraining their role as a grandparent within a Western framing diminishes the wealth of strengths and resources of intergenerational caring that occurs in Indigenous communities. The importance of this kinship concept will be explored along with the cross-cultural communication used to present this information and other cultural information about the Lakota People.  

• Monday, Sept 22: Antawn Knight:

The Power of Leadership with Antawn Knight
Have you ever wanted to be a leader that people follow because they genuinely want to, rather than having to follow? Join award-winning leadership instructor and best-selling author Antawn Knight for an engaging session designed to empower leaders at every stage.

You’ll discover:

• The L.E.A.D. Model: A field-tested leadership framework that delivers results, rooted in real-world military, business, and professional experience.
• The Power of Clarity: How clear communication fuels decisive leadership and inspires teams.
• Leaving a Leadership Legacy: Transform Your Impact into a Legacy That Outlives You at Work, School, and Beyond.

You will walk away with practical strategies and confidence to lead out loud in your daily life and future career.

• Monday, Sept 29: PrasanthiPallapu:

Languages of South India
India is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. Hundreds of languages and dialects are spoken throughout India. This presentation will explore the four Dravidian languages of South India. By the end of the talk, participants will be able to understand the differences/similarities in the script and sound. The presentation will also share different types of clothing and other cultural elements.

• Monday, October 6: Yukari Tadano

The Portrayal of War in Japanese Animation
We will explore how Japanese animation portrays war, using several notable anime works as reference points. The Geek Speak will focus on the distinctive emphasis on personal loss, moral ambiguity, and the destruction of innocence, rather than solely on battlefield brutality.

• Monday, October 20: Dr. Andrey Reznikov:

English has been declared the official language of the United States. What does this mean?
The vast majority of countries in the world have an official language (or languages). Up until recently (March 1, 2025) United States was one of the few countries that did not have an official language. This presentation will analyze the concept of official language and arguments both for and against it.

• Monday, October 27: Dr. Kyle Kopplin:

Who Benefits and Who Loses from Property Tax Changes?
Property taxes have been in the news a lot for South Dakota residents lately. There have been several attempts to limit, reduce, or eliminate property taxes as a funding source for South Dakota’s local fiscal districts, and there are more of these discussions on the horizon. But how much do we know about property taxes in South Dakota? How do they work, what do they do, and where does the money go? Who benefits and who loses from property tax changes? In this talk, we’ll try to consider all points of view on hypothetical restrictions of property taxes, both in the short and long term, for some recent and potential legislative bills. 

• Monday, November 3: Jason McConnell:
  Can or Should? School Responses to Unsavory Student Speech
  How do we strike a balance between encouraging student expression of their own ideas and providing a safe and orderly learning environment? While students do have rights to free expression under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, schools also have legal obligations that may lead them to curtail student expression. This presentation explores the history and future of the delicate balance between student speech and school policy.
  
  
• Monday, November 17: Dr. Symeon Waseen:
  Generating Music with Markov Chains
  This talk will explore stochastic music composition using “Markov Chains”, a method which uses pre-existing content to create new content with similar qualities.  Examples will include text generation, a “new” cello piece in the style of Bach, and ideas for further application.

• Monday, December 1: Professor Gina Gibson

Gravitational Waves, Particle Colliders, Dark Matter and More: A Sabbatical Story
Gina Gibson, Professor of Graphic Design at BHSU, will share her experience as a visiting professor and the first artist-in-residence at the University of Zürich Physics Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Collegium Helveticum, Swiss Institute for Advanced Study.

Spearfish will host the South Dakota Fesitval of Books on September 26th and 27th. Sessions wll be held at BHSU. Attendance is free for campus events. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend.  https://sdhumanities.org/festival-of-books/

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!  Recent recipients were:

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!