Cathy Vander Wal-Rounds honored by SDSU Foundation with Lohr Award for Volunteer Leadership

Cathy Vander Wal-Rounds was honored with the Jerome J. Lohr Award for Volunteer Leadership in recognition of her involvement and support of the South Dakota State University Foundation. 

The award was announced Oct. 11 in conjunction with the SDSU Foundation’s fall Council of Trustees meeting. The announcement was made by Jerry Lohr, one of SDSU’s largest benefactors and a member of the SDSU Foundation board since 1988.  

The SDSU Foundation created the Lohr Award in 1999 to honor an individual “who demonstrates exemplary volunteer leadership on behalf of the Foundation and outstanding philanthropic support of SDSU.” The award speaks to not only financial contributions, but to significant contributions of time and expertise to advance the mission and priorities of the university. 

Lohr personally selects the winner of the award each year, in conjunction with SDSU Foundation staff and leadership. In a video in which Lohr told meeting attendees he was there with them in spirit, Lohr described Vander Wal-Rounds’ quiet leadership and unwavering service across many projects at SDSU and spanning several years. 

Vander Wal-Rounds is a Brookings native and 1977 psychology graduate of SDSU, going on to receive her master’s in education and counseling from State in 1980. She has served on the SDSU Foundation’s Council of Trustees since 2008 and was active on the organization’s Board of Governors from 2014 to 2022. 

Vander Wal-Rounds and her husband, Keith Rounds, serve as chairs of the SDSU Foundation’s giving society, the Sylvan Circle. The couple were named the Foundation’s 2018 Philanthropic Family of the Year, in light of their instrumental role in conceptualizing the Alumni Green and bringing the project to fruition through their transformational generosity. 

The Rounds family founded Rounds Construction in 1992, building a successful and well-known earth moving and snow removal company that spearheaded efforts during the construction of the Alumni Green. 

Vander Wal-Rounds and her husband remain longtime supporters of SDSU, particularly passionate about funding athletics, scholarships and McCrory Gardens. Their philanthropy extends beyond the university, and the couple prioritize several charitable organizations, among them Habitat for Humanity. 

At the announcement of the Lohr Award, Vander Wal-Rounds was honored by another surprise recognition: her husband, Keith, established the Cathy Vander Wal-Rounds Scholarship in Special Education as a tribute to her career and passion for the field.  

Vander Wal-Rounds is the 21st recipient of the prestigious award. Other past recipients include:

• Anson Yeager, former editor of the Argus Leader and lead donor of Yeager Hall who passed away in 2005. 
• Roland Jensen, a former energy industry leader who served on the board until his death in 2006. 
• Dr. Charles “Scotty” Roberts, a physician and local philanthropist until his death in 2004. 
• Bill Larson, a Colorado rancher who earned three degrees at SDSU in the 1960s. 
• Aelred J. Kurtenbach of Brookings, a co-founder of Daktronics. 
• Duane Sander of Brookings, a co-founder of Daktronics. 
• Errol EerNisse of Salt Lake City, an electrical engineering graduate and founder of multiple research-based companies. 
• Barbara B. Fishback of Brookings, a home economics graduate who is active in local, regional and statewide organizations. 
• Dana Dykhouse, an agricultural business graduate and CEO of First PREMIER Bank in Sioux Falls. 
• Duane Harms, an agricultural business graduate and owner and president of Harms Oil Co. in Brookings. 
• Paul Moriarty, a homebuilder, developer and apartment owner in Brookings. 
• Bill Folkerts, real estate investor and owner in Watertown. 
• Keith Bartels, former vice president of The Martin Group in Mitchell. 
• Cathy Voelzke, former nutrition marketing program manager for Midwest Dairy Association in Brookings. 
• John “Jack” Marshman, former president of Sioux Falls Construction who passed away in 2018. 
• Jim Woster, an animal science graduate, South Dakota Hall of Fame inductee, and volunteer at countless organizations across the state, including the SDSU Foundation. 
• David Anderson, a senior research scientist at Elanco Animal Health and creator of SDSU’s Weary Wil and Dirty Lil statues outside the University Student Union. 
• Steve Stahly, an agricultural and resource economics graduate and principal of Stahly Investments of west Des Moines, Iowa. 
• Jim Morgan, a 1969 electrical engineering graduate who built a decades-long career with Daktronics and was responsible for the design of the company’s first scoreboard in 1971. 
• Frank Kurtenbach, a 1961 health sciences graduate who went on to a longstanding career with Daktronics and who provided key funding to create the Frank J. Kurtenbach Family Wrestling Center at SDSU.