SDSU No. 2 in Forbes’ Best-in-State Employers for 2019

Story written by: Matthew Schmidt

South Dakota State University has been named to the inaugural Forbes list of America’s Best-in-State Employers. South Dakota State University was ranked No. 2 in the state. The ranking included companies that employ at least 500 people in their U.S. operations.

“This is a tremendous recognition for South Dakota State University, but more importantly it’s a reflection of the dedicated people who work here and are part of the Jackrabbit family,” said President Barry Dunn. “I’m honored to be president of this great university and have the opportunity to work with thousands of employees throughout the state who are dedicated to SDSU being a premier land-grant university.”

The university employs approximately 3,900 individuals during the academic year throughout South Dakota. Employees are primarily located in Brookings and at other locations that include Aberdeen, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, eight Extension offices, six Agricultural Experiment Station research sites and 4-H offices throughout South Dakota.

“SDSU’s land-grant mission is to positively impact all corners of South Dakota and to do that requires dedicated and empowered employees working as a unified team,” Dunn added. “The ranking is a reflection of our employees living our core values each and every day, especially those that include being people-centered and achieving excellence in everything we do. It is a powerful force when all employees, from faculty to a custodial staff member to an office manager, are working together for the betterment of the university in service to the citizens of South Dakota.”

On average, employees of the university are at SDSU for more than 10 years regardless of role and the highest percentage of faculty are between 36 and 45 years old. Faculty turnover ranks among the lowest at around 1.3 percent per year.

According to Forbes, America’s Best-in-State Employers were identified based on an independent survey from a vast sample of approximately 80,000 U.S. employees. They were consulted anonymously through several online panels with open-ended questions. The survey has been conducted on companies from all industry sectors and is based on direct and indirect recommendations for each organization. It ran from October 2018 to February 2019.

The Forbes rankings for South Dakota.