The cornerstone of the first School of Mines (then known as the Dakota School of Mines) building was dedicated on August 19, 1885, with the first classes being held February 21, 1887. John W. Hancher received the first bachelor of science degree at the first commencement on May 31, 1888.[9] The school became known as the South Dakota School of Mines in 1889 after admission of South Dakota as a state to the United States.[10]
The School of Mines presented exhibits during the 1904 World's Fair[11] and the first licensed radio station in the state of South Dakota was established on campus in December 1911, a full decade before WCAT (the precursor the current campus station KTEQ-FM). The first "M-Day" homecoming celebration occurred on October 5, 1912 with the construction of the "M" on M-Hill, the school's mountain monogram.[12] The school's ROTC battalion was formed in 1918 in response to World War I. The football stadium began construction in 1931, and was completed as "O'Harra Field" in 1938.[13]
The school formally became the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in February 1943.[14]
In September 2012, South Dakota Mines made national news when Bloomberg announced that it had passed Harvard in the category of starting salaries for graduates.[15] On September 19, Tech President Robert A. Wharton died due to complications of cancer treatments. During the presidential search, Duane C. Hrncir was the interim president.[16]
On April 25, 2013, the School of Mines announced that Heather Wilson would become the first female president in the school's 128-year history, starting in June 2013.[17] She resigned in 2017 after being appointed to the office of Secretary of the United States Air Force.[18]
In October 2017, the School of Mines announced that the next president would be James (Jim) Rankin, Ph.D.[19]
Academics
South Dakota Mines offers degrees in 20 engineering and science fields, as well as 18 master's degree programs and 9 Doctorate programs.[20] Its most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were:[21]
Mechanical Engineering (64)
Computer and Information Sciences (47)
Civil Engineering (47)
Industrial Engineering (41)
Chemical Engineering (31)
Electrical and Electronics Engineering (23)
The South Dakota Mines placement rate for graduates with a bachelor’s degree is 97 percent, with an average starting salary of more than $66,500.[22]
Campus
The campus is located in the center of Rapid City, on the northern slope of small foothills of the Black Hills.
The APEX Gallery is located in Classroom Building 211, and hosts a new exhibit every four to six weeks.[23] The gallery hosts contemporary works of artists and scientists, many of whom are nationally and internationally recognized.
Opening the same year as the school, the Museum of Geology collects, conserves, curates, interprets, and exhibits paleontologically, mineralogically, and geologically significant objects and serves as the repository for such objects from South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains. The public exhibits of the museum have been housed since 1944 in the second floor of the then newly completed O'Harra Building, while the preparation laboratories and collections are held in the James E. Martin Paleontology Center, constructed in 2009.
Student media organizations include KTEQ-FM (the campus radio station) and "the Aurum" (the campus newspaper, formerly known as "the Tech" and then "the Raver"). "The Aurum" is the original name of the school newspaper, first published in November 1901. The newspaper changed its name back to "The Aurum" in January 2010. The campus radio station, KTEQ, was started in 1922 as a low-powered AM station, left the air in 1955, and returned as the FM-station KTEQ in 1971 and airs a freeform programming format.[24]
South Dakota Mines athletic teams are called the Hardrockers, coming from its mining background. The history of the athletic programs stretch back to 1895 when the first school football team formed, originally named the "Longhairs".[25] The school host a variety of college sports which include: football, basketball, volleyball, track, cross country, golf, and men's soccer. The athletic mascot name is Grubby the Miner. The school is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and competes at the Division II level.[26] The school joined the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in January 2014 for the majority of its sports (effective beginning the 2014–15 school year), except for men's soccer which joined the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) for men's soccer in 2013 and football beginning in 2014.[27]
Prior to 1897, the head of SDSM&T held the title of Dean rather than President.[29] Earl D. Dake served as acting president from 1947–1948 and 1953–1954.[30] Duane C. Hrncir served as acting president from 2012–2013 following the death of Robert A. Wharton.[31]
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