David Pearson earned a law degree from the University of South Dakota and returned to South Dakota State University in 1957 as an Assistant Professor of Economics. In 1959, President Briggs appointed him Special Assistant to the President, a role in which he continued to teach and was promoted to Professor in July 1965. In 1973, he was named Vice President for Administration, formalizing responsibilities he had largely been fulfilling since 1959. Pearson also led the Greater State Fund, which later evolved into the SDSU Foundation. He retired in August 1980 and passed away on July 10, 1990.
William Sigurd Opdahl was born on April 19, 1894, in South Dakota to Hogen and Mathilda Opdahl. He married Goldie Clare Burgeson on February 28, 1920, in Watertown, South Dakota. The couple initially farmed the Opdahl homestead before relocating to the Byron Sour farm near Hayti. In 1929, they moved into the town of Hayti. Sigurd farmed in Hayti and Opdahl Townships, worked as a school bus driver, briefly worked for the railroad, was employed at a California factory during World War II, and later worked for the Hamlin County Co-op Oil until retirement. He died on May 10, 1975.
Goldie Clare Burgeson, born October 20, 1901, taught in rural schools near Bryant and Hayti, drove a school bus, and worked at the Hayti Post Office and local grocery stores. The couple had two daughters: Lou Ellen (Mrs. Floyd Johnson) and Nona (Mrs. James Amerson). Goldie died on May 6, 1996.
Mary Elaine DeVries O’Neill was born on June 13, 1950, in Armour, South Dakota, to Ray and Ruby DeVries. She graduated from Corsica High School in 1968 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1972 and a Master of Science in Geography in 1994, both from South Dakota State University. In 1993, she married Douglas O’Neill.
O’Neill devoted more than four decades to South Dakota State University, building a distinguished career in remote sensing and geospatial science. She began her professional work in 1972 with the Remote Sensing Institute at SDSU, holding various positions until 1989. She subsequently served as Manager of the Office of Remote Sensing in the Engineering Resource Center (1989–2010) and as Program Manager for Remote Sensing at the Water Resources Institute (2010–2013). From 2014 until her retirement in 2013, she was SDView Coordinator with the Water Resources Institute, where she advanced statewide access to geospatial data and satellite imagery.
In addition to her administrative and research leadership, O’Neill was a dedicated educator, serving as an adjunct instructor in geography, engineering technology and management, mathematics, and computer science at SDSU over several decades. She was also a visiting scientist at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls in 1993.
O’Neill served as principal investigator for the USGS-funded AmericaView project in South Dakota from 2002 to 2014, strengthening partnerships and infrastructure to support the distribution and use of remote sensing and geospatial technologies. Her work extended internationally and nationally through projects with NASA, the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium, USAID’s Feed the Future Program in Uganda, and collaborative research initiatives in Poland and Israel. She also coordinated South Dakota’s Education Public Access Resource Center (EdPARC) and organized numerous geospatial technology workshops for K–12 educators across the state.
An active participant in international scientific exchange, O’Neill contributed to remote sensing workshops in Nepal, Sudan, Senegal, India, and Bangladesh between 1978 and 1985. Beyond her technical and academic accomplishments, she was instrumental in organizing the Professional Staff Advisory Council at SDSU, establishing representation for non-faculty exempt staff members.
Mary Elaine DeVries O’Neill retired in 2013, leaving a lasting legacy in the advancement of remote sensing, geospatial education, and professional staff leadership at South Dakota State University and beyond.
Roberta K. Olson served as dean of the College of Nursing at South Dakota State University from 1994 to 2013. During her tenure, the college experienced significant growth in enrollment and academic programming. The number of entering undergraduate students increased from 136 to 304, and graduate student enrollment more than doubled. Under her leadership, the College of Nursing expanded its degree offerings to include an online master’s degree program in 2002, a Ph.D. program in nursing in 2005, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in 2009, reflecting broader changes in nursing education and professional practice.
Olson earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from South Dakota State University and completed a doctorate in organization and administration of higher education at Saint Louis University. Prior to her appointment as dean at SDSU, she held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Kansas and the University of Texas–Houston schools of nursing. In recognition of her contributions to nursing education, she received the Sr. Bernadette Armiger Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and was inducted into the South Dakota Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2017. Following her retirement as dean, she returned to the university to serve as interim dean in 2018.
The Oak Lake Writers’ Society was founded in the early 1990s in Brookings, South Dakota, through the efforts of Dakota scholar and writer Elizabeth Cook-Lynn and colleagues at South Dakota State University. The organization emerged from a series of writers’ gatherings and retreats held at the university’s Oak Lake Field Station, located north of Brookings. These gatherings brought together Indigenous writers from across the Northern Plains to share work, discuss literary traditions, and address issues related to Native representation in literature and scholarship.
The society was established to support and promote the work of Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota writers and to encourage the development of Indigenous literary voices in the region. Through workshops, readings, and collaborative discussion, the group created a forum where writers could explore topics such as tribal history, cultural identity, sovereignty, and the preservation of oral traditions through written forms. The Oak Lake retreats provided an important space for mentorship and professional development, connecting established writers with emerging authors from tribal communities throughout South Dakota and neighboring states.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the Oak Lake Writers’ Society organized annual writers’ retreats and related programs that emphasized Indigenous perspectives in literature and scholarship. Participants included poets, fiction writers, historians, and scholars whose work addressed the cultural, political, and historical experiences of Native nations in the Northern Plains. The organization contributed to the broader development of Native literary studies and helped strengthen networks among Indigenous writers and intellectuals.
Over time, the society’s mission expanded to reflect the collective identity of the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota peoples, known collectively as the Oceti Šakówiŋ, or Seven Council Fires. The organization eventually adopted the name Oceti Sakowin Writers Society, continuing its work of supporting Indigenous writers and promoting literature grounded in the histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences of the Oceti Šakówiŋ nations. Today, the organization continues to sponsor writers’ retreats and literary initiatives that encourage the preservation and advancement of Indigenous storytelling and scholarship.
Kathleen Norris was born July 27, 1947 to John Heyword Norris and Lois Totten Norris. She graduated from Punahou Preparatory School, Hawaii in 1965, and from Bennington College in Vermont in 1969. After college Norris worked as arts administrator for Betty Kray, Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, who became her good friend and mentor.
“Falling Off,†Kathleen Norris’ first book of poetry, was published in 1971 and won the Big Table Younger Poets Award that same year. Soon after, she settled down in her maternal grandparents' home in Lemmon, South Dakota, where she lived with her husband, the poet David Dwyer, for over twenty-five years. Since the death of her husband in 2003, she has transferred her place of residence to Hawaii.
The move to Lemmon was the inspiration for the first of her nonfiction books, the award-winning bestseller "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography." It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and was selected as one of the best books of the year by Library Journal.
In 1986 Norris became an oblate, or associate, of a Benedictine monastery, Assumption Abbey in North Dakota and spent extended periods at Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.
For many years Kathleen Norris was the poetry editor of Spirituality & Health magazine. She continues to make numerous appearances, including lectures, symposia, workshops, and retreats. Norris was the Randall Distinguished Professor of Christian Culture at Providence, Rhode Island from 2014 to 2015, and is currently the nonfiction editor of the Saint Katherine Review. She also serves as an editorial advisor to Give Us This Day.
Joseph “George” Norby was born on February 24, 1924, in Paulina, Iowa, to Joe and Amy (Shook) Norby. He began his career as a typesetter for advertisements at the Ireton Ledger in Iowa and later worked for the Hawarden Independent in Iowa and the Wishek Star in North Dakota. Prior to moving to Brookings, South Dakota, in 1952, Norby was employed at a commercial printing shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After relocating to Brookings, Norby worked at Harold’s Printing and Advertiser and at Hauff Printing. He began employment with the Brookings Register in September 1970, where he served as a pressman, cameraman, and news compositor until his retirement in February 1986. He continued to work part time at the Register for an additional five years.
On May 29, 1953, Norby married Evelyn Marie Pederson in Sinai, South Dakota. They had two children, Diana Norby Munger and David Norby. Evelyn Norby was born on August 6, 1932, in Sinai, South Dakota, to John and Emma (Thompson) Pederson. She graduated from Sinai High School in 1950 and worked for many years at the Brookings Laundry and as a motel housekeeper from 1955 to 1982. From 1982 to 1986, she was employed as a custodian at the Brookings Register.
Beginning around 1965, when the old Brookings Register building was demolished, George and Evelyn Norby began collecting photographs and newspapers, some dating back to 1890. Over time, the collection expanded significantly and became widely known within the community.
Both George and Evelyn Norby were active members of numerous Brookings area organizations and clubs. George was a member of the Odd Fellows and served on the County Museum Board of Directors. Evelyn was actively involved with First Lutheran Church, including the First Lutheran Church Women, the Church Library Committee, and the quilting group. She was also a member of the Brookings Genealogical Society and volunteered at the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum at South Dakota State University. Together, the Norbys participated in the Rebekah Lodge, the Brookings Area CB Club, the Brookings County Historical Society, and First Lutheran Church. In 1998, they were jointly awarded the South Dakota Preservationist of the Year.
Evelyn Norby died on May 8, 2002, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. George Norby died on September 11, 2003, at the age of seventy-nine.
Bill Nibbelink received his journalism degree from South Dakota State University in 1975 and began his career at the Moody County Enterprise newspaper. He met Tom Daschle through the SDSU Democrats and supported Daschle during his first two campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives. With limited campaign funds, Nibbelink designed brochures and posters for the grassroots “Door-to-Door” campaign. He also served as Daschle’s representative on the Moody County recount board during the contested 1978 election.
After Daschle was elected to Congress, Nibbelink worked in his Mobile Service Office, providing constituent services across 22 counties in eastern South Dakota. Each month, Daschle returned to South Dakota for two weekends, during which Nibbelink handled all the driving using the Mobile Service Office — a van outfitted as a mobile office.
Nibbelink also played a key role in Daschle’s early efforts to promote alcohol fuel development. He helped create pamphlets and books on the topic and collaborated with Dave Billion in Sioux Falls to convert a Pontiac station wagon to run on pure ethanol.
Following his time with Daschle, Nibbelink became active in Native American housing and tribal affairs. He served for 15 years as Executive Director of the Santee Housing Authority. In 1996, he founded his own firm, Bill Nibbelink & Associates, focusing on grant writing and administration for American Indian housing. He also served as an advocate in Washington, D.C.
Nibbelink was appointed to the Native American & Alaska Native Housing Commission, where he played an instrumental role in the passage of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996.
Morris Nellermoe was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and graduated from Watertown High School in 1944. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 and earned a B.A. (1950) and M.A. (1952) from the University of South Dakota. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Internationale Musik Akademie in Salzburg, Austria. Nellermoe worked as a translator for various organizations, including the United Nations, and later taught foreign languages at Colorado State University. He acquired the illuminated manuscript leaves from Ferdinand Roten Galleries in Baltimore.