Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Nursing education at South Dakota State College began in 1935, when the institution established a Department of Nursing under the Division of Pharmacy at the request of the South Dakota Nurses’ Association. Leila Given served as the first director, and the first nursing degree was awarded in 1936 to Rachel Hasle. Under the leadership of Martha Krause from 1939 to 1943 and R. Esther Erickson from 1943 to 1954, the program expanded but continued as a five year course that relied on a cooperative arrangement with Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls for clinical training.
A four year nursing program was introduced in 1952, while clinical education continued at Sioux Valley Hospital under joint oversight with Augustana College. Public Health and Rural Nursing components were added in 1954. In 1955, Helen Gilkey was appointed director, contractual relationships with Sioux Valley Hospital were ended, and new clinical sites were developed throughout South Dakota and Minnesota. The following year, the Department of Nursing was elevated to divisional status, becoming the Division of Nursing with Gilkey as its first dean. In 1957, the division relocated to Solberg Hall, the former Engineering Building.
The Division of Nursing received national accreditation from the National League for Nursing in May 1960 and has maintained continuous accreditation since that time. When South Dakota State College became South Dakota State University in 1964, the division was redesignated as the College of Nursing. The Board of Regents subsequently authorized the creation of three departments within the college: Nursing, Health Science, and Continuing Education. In 1969, the college moved into the newly constructed Home Economics Nursing Building, which provided expanded instructional and laboratory space. The Department of Health Science offered majors and minors in areas such as public health and environmental health, while Continuing Education supported professional development through workshops for healthcare practitioners.
In 1977, clinical education was consolidated entirely within South Dakota following a review of clinical placements. That same year, the Board of Regents approved the development of a Master of Science in Nursing and an extended baccalaureate program for registered nurses in western South Dakota. Between 1978 and 1980, the college secured legislative and federal funding to support the implementation of graduate education, including a grant from the Advanced Nurse Training Program. By the late 1990s, the College of Nursing was organized into four departments: Undergraduate Nursing, Graduate Nursing, Research and Special Services, and West River Nursing. Academic offerings included Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Nursing, with an optional Health Science minor, and programs were approved by the South Dakota Board of Nursing and accredited by the National League for Nursing.