South Dakota State honors newest endowment holders

South Dakota State University recently paid tribute to the university’s newest endowment holders. 

The third annual University Leadership Honors investiture ceremony — honoring six holders of endowed positions across three different colleges and SDSU Athletics — was held Sept. 19 in Founders Recital Hall in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center. 

Through the generosity of donors, SDSU now has commitments in place for 58 endowed leadership positions. A central part of SDSU’s Bold & Blue comprehensive campaign was growth in endowed positions. There were commitments for 13 at the start of the campaign in 2017, SDSU President Barry Dunn said. 

“One of the measures of success as we journey to be a premier university is to have endowed positions throughout our academic ranks and university programs,” Dunn said, thanking donors for their investment and trust in SDSU. 

“To the holders, congratulations. This is an incredible honor to be given. It is the highest honor we can bestow upon a faculty or staff member. It is both an honor to the named holder, and it serves as a lasting tribute to the donor,” Dunn said. “This new title will expand opportunities, and I am so excited to see the impact these endowments make to the careers of these individuals, their colleges, departments and programs.” 

The University Leadership Honors ceremony recognized the following most recent individuals to occupy endowed positions at SDSU, and the donors who made them possible: 

• Rodney DeHaven: Bargmann Endowed Head Coach for Track and Field/Cross Country 

DeHaven’s recognition is the first endowed athletic position at SDSU and just the 12th endowed head coach in track and field/cross country in the United States. After graduating from SDSU with a computer science degree, DeHaven ran professionally for 14 years while working as a computer programmer. He’s won five U.S. championship events and qualified for the 2000 Olympic marathon. He’s served as director of track and field and cross country at SDSU for 20 years, leading the Jackrabbits to 18 league or conference championships and coaching numerous student-athletes to Summit League and NCAA Division I honors.  

The position is funded by a lead gift from Brent Bargmann, along with friends of track and field and cross country. Bargmann, a 1987 SDSU electrical engineering graduate and a former track and field teammate of DeHaven, spent 20 years in hard disk drive engineering and manufacturing before becoming co-owner of Sioux Falls-based EarthBend. 

• Dan Hansen: J. Bruce Laughrey Endowed Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions 

Hansen earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from South Dakota State University in 2005 and, after working in the private sector, returned to SDSU as a faculty member. He was named dean of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions in April 2021. In his time as dean, the college has seen growth in research funding, new academic programs added, and a significant investment in the college’s strategic plan, thanks to donors. Hansen has extensive experience as a public servant and community volunteer. 

The position is funded by Bruce Laughrey, a 1963 SDSU pharmacy graduate and a leader, innovator and entrepreneur in the pharmacy industry. He was inspired to endow this deanship to do his part in addressing an imminent shortage of pharmacists in the country. 

• John Jaeger: Calvin and Mary Hayenga Endowed Department Head of Animal Science 

Jaeger has served as head of the Department of Animal Science at SDSU since August 2023. He earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Oregon State University and served 17 years as the beef cattle scientist at the Kansas State University – Western Kansas Agricultural Research Center, where he led an innovative beef cattle systems research program. Overseeing SDSU livestock units, the meat lab, a feed mill and multiple research labs, he’s committed to increasing undergraduate enrollment and enhancing mentoring opportunities through undergraduate research. 

The position is funded by Cal and Mary Hayenga, who met at the Wesley Methodist Student Center as students at SDSU. Cal studied agriculture while Mary studied sociology. The couple joined Cal’s family farm in Andover following graduation. They later gifted 1,100 acres to the university, sponsoring scholarships and the endowed position. 

• Londa Nwadike: David A. Thompson Endowed Department Head of Dairy and Food Science 

Nwadike returned to her alma mater when she joined her position at SDSU in June. She grew up on a family crop and livestock farm near Bruce and earned B.S. degrees in animal science and food science from SDSU, an M.S. degree in food science from Kansas State, and a Ph.D. in agricultural health and safety from Iowa. Her work in food safety has taken her across the globe through the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, dissertation research in Africa, and Extension posts in Vermont, Kansas and Missouri. 

The position is funded by David Thompson, a 1964 dairy manufacturing graduate who managed the SDSU Dairy Plant as a student. He had a 31-year career with Abbott Laboratories, which introduced the first licensed test to detect HIV in blood. He then joined Exact Sciences Corp., which developed the first noninvasive test for colon cancer. 

• Cheryl Reese: Klingbeil Endowed Educator in Precision Agriculture 

Reese, serving as the second Klingbeil Endowed Educator in SDSU’s precision agriculture program, has been instrumental in the evolution and growth of the program. She obtained her B.S. in biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and her master’s degree in horticulture at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul. At South Dakota State, she earned her Ph.D. in agronomy in 2009. She has now taught and conducted research at the university for 20 years. 

This endowed position is the fourth overall funded by the late Maynard Klingbeil. Klingbeil, valedictorian of his high school class at Onida, never attended SDSU or any other institution of higher education, yet he gifted all 2,683 acres of his farmland in Sully County to support agronomy and related areas of study at SDSU. His is the largest estate gift in university history. 

• Biying Yang: Nies Endowed Early Career Faculty Scholar 

Yang earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and economics and a Ph.D. in leadership and organizational sciences, all at Binghamton University. Her research areas include organizational performance dynamics through the CEO seasons model, and leader emergence in virtual context using dynamic social network analysis. She teaches courses in organizational behavior, strategic management, leadership and statistics for South Dakota State’s Ness School of Management and Economics. 

This endowed position is funded through the Milton Nies Endowment, established in 2006 through the Milton Nies estate. Nies graduated from SDSU in 1950 with a degree in economics and had a career with United Accountants Inc., ultimately becoming a partner and owner of the company.