University of South Dakota: A Legacy of Notable Alumni
The University of South Dakota (USD), a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, has a rich history of producing accomplished individuals across various fields. Founded in 1862 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature, USD is the state's oldest public university and home to South Dakota's only medical and law schools. The university is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1913. USD boasts a diverse alumni network that includes 17 Truman Scholars, 12 Rhodes Scholars, and 1 Nobel Laureate (Ernest Lawrence, '1922, 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics).
Arts and Culture
USD's College of Fine Arts has been a launching pad for many successful artists and educators.
- Xu Bing: This world-renowned artist's printmaking work has been showcased in prestigious museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, all in New York. His work is featured in major art history textbooks like "Art Past, Art Present" by David Wilkins and "Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History" by Fred S. Kleiner. Xu Bing's accolades include the MacArthur Fellowship, the Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize, the Artes Mundi Prize, and a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Graphics Council. Columbia University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 2015, he received the Department of State Medal of Arts for promoting cultural understanding through his work.
- Roger Broer: An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Broer is celebrated for his expressive paintings and monotype prints. He is recognized as one of the founding figures of American Indian art in South Dakota and a founder of the Dream Catchers Guild of native artists. Broer has consistently taught workshops for the University of South Dakota's Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute.
- Mary Crandell: With 26 years of experience in instrumental music education, Crandell is an accomplished music educator. She holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in music education from the University of South Dakota and is completing doctoral work in curriculum and instruction, with an emphasis in music education, at Boise State University, where she also serves as an adjunct music professor. As a consultant and clinician, Crandell maintains an active national schedule. She co-authored "Building from the Ground Up: A Successful Blueprint for Band Programs" (C.L.Barnhouse Co.). She has presented sessions on concert and jazz rehearsal pedagogy at local, state and national conferences, including the 2021 and 2024 International Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference.
- Virginia Harrington: Harrington, originally an English major at USD, built a successful consulting business in Southern California. She has played a significant role in the USD Opera Guild and the university's ability to commission and produce an original opera in spring 2024.
- Lloyd Menard: Professor emeritus, Menard retired after 33 years at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he taught printmaking, papermaking and drawing. Menard founded Frogman's Print Workshops in 1981 and Frogman's Press & Gallery in 1994. The gallery specialized in exhibiting the work of nationally and internationally known print educators. Menard has collaborated with more than 200 artists to create editions and prints at both Frogman's Press & Gallery and the University of South Dakota.
- Craig Volk: Born and raised in Mitchell, South Dakota, Volk has made significant contributions to the arts as an educator and writer. As an educator in the South Dakota Arts Council's Writer-in-the-Schools Program, he conducted a six-year poetry workshop at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. That work resulted in two anthologies and four individual volumes of poetry published by his students. During the 1990s, he returned frequently to conduct workshops for the South Dakota Department of Education. This included the creation, with select high school students, of a readers theatre script titled At Risk that focused on teen social issues. Another project resulted in the film Porch Light, which he wrote and co-produced. Volk has held academic posts at the University of South Dakota, the University of California, Davis, and UCLA Extension. His stage dramas have been selected three times for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and produced at venues including Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Kennedy and Lincoln Centers. He was the first American playwright chosen for the National Russian Conference in Schelykova. Volk spent 12 years working in the television and film industry, including a staff position on the Emmy-winning series Northern Exposure. His writing credits include 11 screenplays and 25 aired television episodes. A published poet with four collections, he is also the author of the historical bio-drama A Dustbowl Books of Days, 1932 and the biography Dick Termes: Black Hills Artist and Visionary, both published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press.
Public Service and Leadership
USD alumni have consistently demonstrated a commitment to public service, making significant contributions to their communities and beyond.
- Dennis Duncan: A dedicated supporter of USD, Duncan received his bachelor's degree in political science in 1970 and his juris doctorate in 1973.
- Erik Muckey: Muckey was asked by his friend and fellow alumnus, the late Dennis John "DJ" Smith-Crawley (’14), to help start a group to support college students dealing with depression and suicide.
- Julie Johnson: Johnson earned three degrees from USD - her B.A. in 1974 and master’s and juris doctorate in 1976.
- David Gilbertson: Gilbertson received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University in 1972 and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1975. He worked in private practice until his appointment to the circuit court in 1986, has served on the South Dakota Supreme Court since 1995 and has been chief justice since 2001. Gilbertson also has served in leadership positions on various groups, including as a court counselor at South Dakota Boys State since 1995. He’s currently president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices and will serve as its president for the 2015-16 term.
- Tom Brokaw: An American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of The Today Show from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News for 22 years (1982-2004). In the previous decade he served as a weekend anchor for the program from 1973 to 1976. He is the only person to have hosted all three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and, briefly, Meet the Press. He formerly held a special correspondent post for NBC News.
- John Thune: An American politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he has been the Senate majority leader and Senate Republican leader since 2025. Thune is in his fourth Senate term and is the dean of South Dakota's congressional delegation.
- Dusty Johnson: representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district since 2019.
- Joe Foss: A United States Marine Corps Major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In postwar years, he was an Air National Guard Brigadier General, served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955-1959), president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the first commissioner of the American Football League. He also was a television broadcaster.
- Larry Pressler: An American lawyer and politician from South Dakota who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, and United States Senate from 1979 to 1997, as a Republican. He remained active in politics following his failed reelection campaign in 1996 and attempted to regain his former seat in 2014 as an independent, but was unsuccessful.
- Tim Johnson: An American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the state legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson is the last Democrat to hold statewide and/or congressional office in South Dakota.
- Dennis Daugaard: An American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019.
- George S. Mickelson: An American politician and Vietnam War veteran who served as the 28th governor of South Dakota from 1987 until his death in 1993 in a plane crash near Zwingle, Iowa.
- Frank Farrar: An American politician who was the 24th Governor of South Dakota. A Republican from Britton, he served as the state's attorney general from 1963 to 1969, and as governor from 1969 to 1971.
- Peter Norbeck: An American politician from South Dakota. After serving two terms as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, he was elected to three consecutive terms as a United States Senator.
Science and Technology
USD has also produced notable figures in the fields of science and technology.
- Ernest Lawrence: An American nuclear physicist and laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He is known for his work on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project, as well as for founding the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- John H. Lawrence: Was an American physicist and physician best known for pioneering the field of nuclear medicine.
- David Rumelhart: An American psychologist who made many contributions to the formal analysis of human cognition, working primarily within the frameworks of mathematical psychology, symbolic artificial intelligence, and parallel distributed processing.
Athletics
USD's athletic programs have fostered talented athletes who have achieved success at the professional level.
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- Andrew Van Ginkel: An American professional football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
- Tyler Starr: A former American football linebacker. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round (255th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.
Business and Entrepreneurship
USD alumni have also made their mark in the business world, demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit and leadership.
- Travis Rhoades: Rhoades earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a marketing emphasis from the University of South Dakota in 2007. In 2013, he and his wife, Kristen, also a 2007 USD graduate, opened their first Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru in Sioux Falls.
- Bruce Nolop: He earned law and MBA degrees from Stanford University in 1976, graduating in the top 5% of his MBA class. Over the next five decades, Nolop built a distinguished career as an investment banker, CFO, board member and audit committee chair.
- Al Neuharth: Allen Harold "Al" Neuharth was an American businessman, author, and columnist born in Eureka, South Dakota. He was the founder of USA Today, The Freedom Forum, and its Newseum.
Community Engagement and Emerging Leaders
USD fosters a sense of community and empowers its students to become leaders in their respective fields.
- Dawn Marie Johnson: A natural leader and mentor, Johnson received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from USD.
- Ciara Duffy: Was one of five Division I women's basketball players selected to the Academic All-America first team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
- Cañas: Serves as a grant writer II at the Avera Rural Health Institute.
- Ehlers: Serves as the marketing communications coordinator at The Bancorp.
- Rexwinkel: Serves as the director of corporate development at POET.
- Shaw: Serves as a mortgage loan advisor with Nexta Mortgage.
- Swier: Serves as the director of SD CEO East Women’s Business Center.
- Tordsen: An enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, currently serves as the associate director of alumni engagement at the USD Foundation & Alumni Association.
- Westra: Serves as the director of real estate for Midwest Fidelity Partners (MFP).
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