Submit items to Campus Currents - Top

The Campus Currents is distributed every Friday. If you would like to include an item in the newsletter send it to Campus Currents, Unit 9512 or by e-mail to Campus Currents. Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.

Resignation - Top

SDSEO meeting set - Top

BHSU Alumni reunion is next weekend - Top

The reunion begins Thursday, June 28 at 7 p.m with a reception in the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union multi-purpose room for all attendees.

Friday, June 29 a special 25-year breakfast will be held for the Class of ’76 members. That afternoon the 11th Annual Gold Dust/Yellow Jacket Golf Classic and Sports & Leisure Auction will be held in conjunction with the reunion. The golf tournament begins at 1 p.m. Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to take part in the sports and leisure auction which begins at 7:45 p.m. at the Northern Hills Holiday Inn. Nearly 300 items ranging from autographed sports memorabilia to airline trips to art will be auctioned. Proceeds from the auction benefit student athletic scholarship programs. Other activities on Friday include a disc-golf tournament on campus, and a Spearfish Canyon/Deadwood bus tour.

A campus picnic and open mic are scheduled for Friday beginning at 5 p.m. This event will be fun for the entire family with a festive atmosphere on the campus green with food, entertainment, socializing, games and activities for all ages.

Saturday’s events begin with a reunion run at 7:30 a.m. at the Donald E. Young Sports and Fitness Center. Registration and sign in begins at 6:45 p.m. Participants are encouraged to enjoy an early one-mile run/walk around campus.

There will also a guided hike up Lookout Mountain that morning. Two seminars are planned for Saturday morning. Harvey Krautschun, Class of ’72, will team up with attorney, Jim Hood, Class of ’69, to provide information through a seminar  titled  “Leave a Legacy – Estate Planning” at 10 a.m. in the Student Union room 221.

A “Continue the Legacy” seminar will be held at the same time for children of alumni to learn what BHSU offers students today. This session will provide information on scholarships and financial aid.

The BHSU Jam in the Spearfish City Park will begin Saturday, June 30 at 11 a.m. This event is free to the public. Food booths will be available. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and enjoy the entertainment of BHSU alumni entertainers. Performing (in this order) will be Frederick Whiteface and the Swing Fantabulous Band, Gary Mule Deer, Abby SomeOne, Williams and Ree, and Kory and Fireflies. Brock Finn will appear between acts.

The final event of the reunion is the comedy improv show by Wayne Brady and Friends. Brady stars in the ABC comedy “Who’s Line Is it Anyway.” The show begins at 9 p.m. at the Northern Hills Holiday Inn. Tickets are available by calling 642-6446.

For more alumni reunion information see the web page www.bhsu.edu/alumni or call 642-6446.

 Science teachers earn credits through BLAHST program - Top

Dr. Charles Lamb, biologist, explains water site locations along Spearfish Creek where students will test for water quality. The students are taking part in a series of BLAHST workshops this summer sponsored by the university with funding from an NSF grant.

 Area K-8 teachers are on the Black Hills State campus this summer taking part in the BLAHST science project.

A series of eight BLAHST science workshops are scheduled for teachers to upgrade their teaching skills. The one- to 

four-day workshops cover topics ranging from stars and magnetism to water and fossils. Over 300 teachers in eight school districts in Western South Dakota are receiving professional development in science content and teaching strategies through the use of kit-based instructional materials.

A four-day workshop on environmental biology was just was completed. Dr. Charles Lamb, associate professor of biology and Spearfish teacher Tom Mead taught the course. Participants conducted life science experiments in the lab and in the local environment that teachers can replicate with their own students. They learned about water chemistry and how it affects the organisms.

Next week, June 25-29 two workshops will be taught. Lamb will be teaching a course about the human body, June 25-28, and Deb Jordan, McREL, and Janet Lillehaug, BLAHST Project Manager, will be teaching a workshop about teacher leadership, June 26-27.

For information or to register for a BLAHST workshop contact:  Dorothy Keller at 642-6873, or E-mail: dorothykeller@bhsu.edu.

BHSU host summer arts institute - Top

Sixty-two students participated in the third annual Art Education Institute held this June at Black Hills State University.

The five-day workshop featured three major course components: beginning visual art standards and curriculum development; elementary music standards and curriculum development and advanced visual arts standards and curriculum development.

Students had half-day mini workshops options from which to chose within the major course components ranging from songwriting for children to Raku kiln building and firing.

Instructors for the summer art institute were Jon Nelson, Brookings and Jerry Thompson, Grand Ledge, Mich., beginning visual arts, George Prisbe, Lead, beginning drawing; David Lee Brown, Coleman, songwriting for children; Richard Dubois, Spearfish, advanced watercolor; Barb Hallberg, Nemo, Raku kiln building and firing; and Kay Mateer Dubois, Rapid City, colored pencil and pastel drawing.  

The summer art institute was sponsored by South Dakotans for the Arts, South Dakota Education and Cultural Affairs, and the South Dakota Arts Council.

Rodeo booster club formed at BHSU in hopes of reviving the Yellow Jacket Stampede - Top

Members of the BHSU rodeo club have started a fund drive with a goal of once again hosting the Yellow Jacket Stampede.

The rodeo club has initiated a membership drive and fund drive for the Black Hills State Bronco Booster Club. Money raised could also be used to increase rodeo scholarships and assist competitors with traveling expenses.

Working with Steve Meeker, director of institutional advancement, Heidi Baltezore, rodeo club president, and Nancy Shuck, rodeo club co-advisor, sent a letter to alumni who had belonged to the rodeo club.  The letter outlined the establishment of the Black Hills State Bronco Booster Club and invited alumni to join for $75 a year.

The first goal is to host the Yellow Jacket Stampede which was once an annual event at BHSU.  Once it is established and close to being self-supporting, additional monies raised will be used for travel and for additional scholarships.  Bronco Booster Club members are given the option of designating their donation to the new rodeo club account to support the Stampede or to the existing rodeo scholarship account to increase the money available for scholarships. 

Currently the rodeo club offers one or two one-time-only scholarships (of approximately $250 each) each year.  Ultimately, the rodeo club hopes to be able to offer four-year scholarships to its student-athletes. With sufficient money raised, the club also plans to send a quarterly newsletter to Bronco Booster Club members and to host a breakfast or barbecue for them in conjunction with the Stampede.

The members of the rodeo club have dedicated themselves to raising money this past year. Fundraising activities included working at the Halloween Pumpkin Patch selling caramel apples and hot chocolate, selling candles, and working at area rodeos. They also hosted a chili feed in the BHSU Student Union.  Fund-raising efforts by the Rodeo Club will continue next year.

Lindsay Hins, Huron, and Heidi Baltezore, Beresford, competed in college rodeos for BHSU this year.  The rodeo club’s other eight members worked to raise money in support of the rodeo club.

So far, two memberships to the Black Hills State Bronco Booster Club have been received.  Leo Giacometto, Belle Fourche, and Joe Painter, Buffalo, are the first two members. The rodeo club estimates that if each alumnus of the rodeo club donates $75 enough money will be raised to host the rodeo. The original letter and fund-raising efforts were directed at alumni, the campaign will now be expanded to include former supporters of the Yellow Jacket Stampede and the general public.

“We believe BHSU rodeo is a worthy endeavor which encourages responsibility, hard work, and sportsmanship from its athletes,” co-advisor Shuck said. “The members have done an incredible job of fundraising this year; however, more help is needed to recruit athletes, support the team and hold our own rodeo in the future.”

For more information or for a membership form, contact Nancy Shuck, advisor, BHSU Rodeo Club, Black Hills State University, 1200 University Unit 9409, Spearfish, SD 57799-9409. Call 605/642-6082 or email <NancyShuck@bhsu.edu>. 

Postal Pete's Tip... - Top
(courtesy of Hanna Swarts, BHSU mail services) 

To find United States zip codes check out this web site:

www.usps.com

Click on "Find ZIP Codes.” Enter required information and process.  For additional information contact Hanna Swarts at university mail service.

Grant opportunities announced - Top

Below are the program materials received June 14-June 20 in the grants office, Woodburn 218. For copies of the information, contact our office at 642-6627 or e-mail requests to us at grants@bhsu.edu.  Fellowship information will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin board near the information desk.

• Department of Education.  Office of Postsecondary Education; Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers Programs.  The Talent Search Program provides grants to enable applicants to conduct projects designed to: (1) identify qualified youths with potential for education at the postsecondary level, and encourage such youths to complete secondary school and to undertake a program of postsecondary education; (2) publicize the availability of student financial assistance available to persons who pursue a program of postsecondary education; and (3) encourage persons who have not completed programs of education at the secondary or postsecondary level, but who have the ability to complete such programs, to reenter such programs.  Deadline:  Sept. 28, 2001.

• National Science Foundation.  Assessment of student achievement in undergraduate education.  Optional letters of intent due Oct. 16; applications due Nov. 20.

• National Science Foundation.  Biological information technology and systems.  Optional letters of intent due June 8; applications due July 6.

• National Science Foundation.  Focused research groups in the mathematical sciences.  Letters of intent due Aug. 21; applications due Sept. 21.

• National Science Foundation.  Research experiences for undergraduates.  REU sites due Sept. 15; REU supplement deadlines vary with the research program.

• National Center for Research Resources.  High end instrumentation program.  Letters of intent due Aug. 14; applications due Sept. 14.