Stenvig closes a 53-year nursing career

After 53 years as a nurse and more than 30 as a nurse educator, Tom Stenvig is ready to retire and nurse nothing more than the vegetables in his garden — at least for now. 

Stenvig, who has been a well-known persona and leader  in  South Dakota nursing since 1979, retired May 21 from the College of Nursing at South Dakota State University as associate professor and Ph.D. program director. He began work here in August 2001, but his connection to SDSU dates back to 1980, when the Detroit area native was a U.S. Public Health Service commissioned officer with the Indian Health Service in Aberdeen. 

He would arrange for continuing education classes for his staff through the college. That gave Stenvig the opportunity to build relationships with College of Nursing icons such as Marge Hegge, Linda Kropenske, Alice Gehrke and Lois Tschetter. 

Stenvig’s roots trace to Romeo, Michigan, a town of 3,000 just outside of Detroit. His dad was a security guard at a large Ford Motor Co. plant. In the mid-1960s, security guards also served as EMTs. So when there was a need for an EMT, the security guard would take the patient to the plant’s infirmary. 

“My dad must have seen something in me that made him think I would be a good nurse. Dad said, ‘Why don’t you be a nurse?’” 

From nursing school to Nurse Corps 

Stenvig had to think about that for a while. There weren’t many men  going to nursing school when Stenvig graduated from Romeo  High School in 1966. But in fall 1966, Stenvig enrolled at Wayne State University in Detroit with the aim of becoming a nurse, and he said he never regretted his career choice. 

There were nine men  in his 90-student nursing class. He was the only one  who hadn’t previously served as a medic in Vietnam. 

While in college, he joined the Army Nurse Corps Student Nurse Program, which paid for part of his education. “That was a difficult time (as far as how the society looked on the military). I remember being in places in uniform and getting spat upon. America was in upheaval” with violent protests centered on the Vietnam War and civil rights, Stenvig said. 

IHS brings Stenvig to South Dakota 

After five years as an Army nurse, he joined the Indian Health Service through the U.S. Public Health Service. “IHS was running an ad in the American Journal of Nursing. Somewhere in the back of my head, I said I wanted to do that,” Stenvig said. 

With the Indian Health Service, he spent one year in Shiprock, New Mexico, and one year in Rapid City. From 1979 to 1993, he was in Aberdeen. He did direct hands-on care and then became a consultant for the Aberdeen area and program manager for “ the agency’s community-based programs serving Indian people in a  four-state region.” 

Part of the job entailed collaboration with local IHS and tribal health offices, providing advice on best practices and helping them problem solve, hire staff and adhere to federal standards. 

“I consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with the original Americans. That whole experience imparted a better understanding of cultures in me. I was able to see what we share across cultures, how we are different and how we can work through things with respect for everyone,” Stenvig said. 

A doctorate and a new job 

By 1993, he had 22 years of federal nursing experience. He “retired” and went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue a doctorate. 

Why a doctorate? 

“Some people just have that itch. It was ingrained in me to appreciate education. I saw how people with advanced education are able to advance things in ways others don’t. That was a bucket list item,” said Stenvig, whose family — his wife and three school-aged daughters — stayed in Aberdeen as he commuted back and forth to Wisconsin. 

Stenvig went to school for two years, returned to Aberdeen in 1995 to chair the nursing department at Presentation College for four years and went back to Madison for two years to finish his doctorate. He also  served as a lecturer in the UW School of Nursing. The opportunity to come to SDSU arrived in August  2001, when he was at an American Nurses Association meeting. 

Roberta Olson, then dean, was also at the meeting and told him of an opening. Stenvig had the credentials needed for the position in community health and found himself a new home. 

Continued working with Native population 

He wasn’t long at his new home before he found himself working with a familiar culture — the Native American population. 

Stenvig helped SDSU prepare and apply for an Indian Health Service grant to support baccalaureate nursing education for Native Americans in the region. He directed the Wokunze Nursing Scholarship Program from 2003 to 2008. The $1.5 million award provided mentoring, financial, tutorial and emotional support for selected nursing students. 

A total of 14 students earned degrees through the program and then went to work with Indian Health Service or tribal health offices as the grant required. 

In 2020, a new IHS grant was received with the same objective. That $1.4 million award goes through this year with Stenvig being Wicozani project director. That program has seen nine  graduates with another six in the queue, Stenvig said. Like the previous program, graduates must work in Native American health for a minimum of two years plus one year for each additional year of funding. 

“There’s people who can be nurses and can make a contribution. They just need a little something extra (mentoring, finances and encouragement),” Stenvig said. 

Helped start Ph.D. program at State 

Another key part of Stenvig’s SDSU career has been his work with the graduate programs. 

“When I started here in 2001, there was no Ph.D. program. I never dreamed I would be teaching in a Ph.D. program, much less the director of one. I was part of the team that applied for a HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) grant in 2005” that funded the program’s start in fall 2005. It was billed as an executive model with in-person, weekend classes. 

“We picked the low-hanging fruit and then transitioned to online,” Stenvig said. The program went fully online in 2022. 

Initial class members were nursing clinicians, educators, leaders and executives who lived within a close drive of Sioux Falls, where classes were held. It is a 60-credit program designed to take three to five  years; however, students could  extend the time based on their circumstances. The initial plan was to have cohorts of 12 admitted every other year. 

Sandra Bunkers, then head of graduate nursing, was the initial director. Stenvig has directed it since 2017. There are a total of 46 doctoral graduates. 

Another milestone in graduate education occurred in 2015, when Stenvig was part of the team to launch the joint USD/SDSU master of public health program. “It was another opportunity the Ph.D. enabled that I never envisioned as among the possibilities.” 

Teaching the importance of advocacy 

Some of his favorite SDSU memories center on students who advocated for refugee  populations in Sioux Falls. 

Since 2001, Stenvig led a senior-semester nursing student clinical  that connects them with the refugee resettlement program  through Lutheran Social Services Center for New Americans. He recalls asking a nursing  student to accompany a  a non-English speaking refugee to a clinic appointment . “The way this person was treated (by the health care provider) was terrible,” Stenvig shared. 

With encouragement from Stenvig, “the student  met with the clinic boss to talk about the poor treatment and how things could be improved. I was so proud of her!” 

Stenvig also tells the story of Margaret Aylward, a nursing student  who made arrangements for a pregnant teenage refugee to sign up for the Women, Infants and Children program. Margaret made transportation arrangements and met the girl at the WIC office at 4:30 p.m. They were told, “‘We close in a half-hour. You will have to come back another day.’” 

“‘No way,’” Margaret  responded and made sure the girl got processed that day, Stenvig shared. “This girl would have walked home if the nursing student hadn’t been there with her. The role of the nurse in advocacy is an important part of what we teach.” 

Aylward, a 2007 grad who now works at Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital, said, “I was actually shocked when after arriving during regular stated hours, that the refugee I was working with was told to come back a different day. I couldn’t even imagine someone saying that to me, and it wasn’t right that the young girl I was working with was being treated that way. 

“This clinical not only taught me so much about the refugee population but also the importance of treating patients as individuals and the nurse’s role in being an advocate for patients regardless of their background. I have used this so much throughout my years as a nurse and am thankful Tom gave us the experiences he did.” 

Another student who took Stenvig’s cultural nursing class was 2009 graduate Alyssa Studer. 

“I appreciated getting to know a refugee family and how they were so similar to me — having dreams, struggles, wanting to feel included and loved. My compassion as a student and empathy changed forever. Ever since, I have tried to live my life by not taking things at face value.”’ 

She added, “I will forever be grateful for Dr. Stenvig and the time I was able to learn from him as a student. I am currently finishing up my Masters of Nursing in Education and one of the reasons I chose this path is because of Dr. Stenvig and his lasting effect on students.” 

Awards, relationships and gardening 

Stenvig’s emphasis on advocacy, encouragement and excellence hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

He has a long list of awards to his credit, including honors bestowed for contributions to national and state professional organizations. Public Health Service career acknowledgements include the PHS Commissioned Officers Achievement Medal, Commendation Medal, Outstanding Service Medal, and the PHS Chief Nurse Award. 

Among the myriad of awards he has received while at SDSU are the College of Nursing Faculty Award for Excellence (2009), a nomination for SDSU’s Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring (2014), Faculty Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement (2016) and the President’s Award (2017) and Nurse Educator Award from the South Dakota Nurses Association (2023). 

He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy on Nursing in 2015. 

But as he looks back on 53 years of nursing and 23 years at SDSU, it is relationships he most treasures — interesting speakers he met through chairing the Harding Distinguished Lecture Series, caring colleagues he worked with on multiple projects, and timid students who grew wings of confidence while earning a degree. 

“I was in the company of some very visionary women when I earned my baccalaureate degree over 50 years ago. To the extent I’ve been able to be in that role for someone else, I’m very grateful.” 

His position as Ph.D. program director will be filled by Sarah Mollman, associate dean for research. 

In retirement, Stenvig will continue to live in Nunda, about 25 miles southwest of Brookings, where he will pursue his goal of having a weed-free garden. He also plans to travel to Arizona, where his daughter Kari, an SDSU  nursing program grad, lives. He also has two daughters in Aberdeen. Alexa  is also a nurse and Annie is a  middle-school science teacher. His wife Marianne died in 2010. 

Nursing Dean Mary Anne Krogh, who had Stenvig as  her doctoral  committee adviser in 2011, said, “Dr. Stenvig’s ability to get students excited about nursing research and the nursing profession has impacted many student careers and trajectories." 

Although retiring from SDSU, Stenvig acknowledges his enduring passion and drive to be involved in the profession of nursing. His continuing activities will include serving as president of the South Dakota Nurses Foundation, a position he has held since 1999, and as president of the Northeast South Dakota Area Health Education Center. 

“Who knows, maybe I will be back at SDSU teaching a community clinical before too long!” he quipped.