The Academic Women's Equity Coalition began in 1983-84, developing out of informal discussions on equity issues among some women faculty members at South Dakota State University. Membership was open to all female faculty members at South Dakota State University and other persons, male or female, who supported the purposes of the Academic Women's Equity Coalition. The purposes of the coalition included working to identify, investigate and seek solutions related to issues of equity at South Dakota State University; to providing opportunity for the exchange of information and ideas related to academic women's issues; and to serving as support and action group for faculty women. The coalition's area of activity included the promotion of non-sexist language, equality in hiring practices, salaries and promotions and tenure, and encouraging women to move into administrative positions at South Dakota State University.
James George Abourezk was born on February 24, 1931, in Wood, South Dakota, on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. He served in the United States Navy from 1948 to 1952 during the Korean War. Following his military service, he earned a degree in civil engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1961 and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1966. He then practiced law in Rapid City.
Abourezk began his political career as a Democrat, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for South Dakota’s 2nd district from 1971 to 1973. In 1972, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1973 to 1979. He was the first Arab American to serve in the Senate and became the first chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. During his time in Congress, he authored several pieces of legislation, including the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 and the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
After completing one term in the Senate, Abourezk chose not to seek reelection. In 1980, he founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and served as its first national chairman. He returned to his law practice and published a memoir, Advise and Dissent, in 1989. Abourezk died on February 24, 2023, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on his 92nd birthday.
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James Abdnor was born on February 13, 1923, in Kennebec, South Dakota, to immigrant Lebanese parents. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1942 to 1943 before graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1945 with a degree in business administration. After his education, he returned to Kennebec to work as a teacher, coach, and farmer-rancher, eventually managing a 4,400-acre operation.
His political career in South Dakota began in the early 1950s when he served as the first assistant chief clerk of the State House of Representatives. In 1956, he was elected to the South Dakota Senate, where he served until 1968. During this time, he was the chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee for ten years and served as the President pro tempore from 1967 to 1968. In 1968, he was elected as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, serving under Governor Frank Farrar from 1969 to 1970.
Abdnor moved to the federal level in 1972 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for South Dakota's 2nd district. He held this seat until 1981, at which point he successfully challenged incumbent George McGovern for a seat in the U.S. Senate. As a senator, Abdnor focused on agricultural issues, rural water development, and fiscal policy, serving on the Appropriations and Environment and Public Works committees. After losing his 1986 re-election bid to Tom Daschle, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 1987 to 1989. Abdnor died on May 16, 2012, at the age of 89.
Cleveland Leigh Abbott was born in 1894 in Yankton, South Dakota, and graduated from South Dakota State University in 1916. During his time at SDSU, he became the school's first African American varsity athlete, earning a total of 14 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He also served as the captain of the basketball team while completing a degree in dairy science.
After serving as a First Lieutenant in the 366th Infantry Regiment during World War I, Abbott joined the staff at Tuskegee Institute. In 1923, he was appointed as the head football coach and athletic director, positions he held for 32 years. His football teams recorded 203 wins, 96 losses, and 28 ties, winning 12 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and six historically Black college national championships.
In 1937, Abbott established the women’s track and field program at Tuskegee. Under his leadership, the team won 14 national outdoor titles. He also coached several individual champions, including Alice Coachman, who became the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948. In 1946, Abbott was appointed as the first African American member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He died in 1955 and has since been inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
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