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The Army Administration School Records document the presence and operation of military training programs at South Dakota State College during World War II. Materials include a written history of the Army Administration School with lists of officers and likely participants; survey reports detailing buildings and property provided to the Army by the college; and administrative or instructional materials such as course evaluations, correspondence, and enrollment statistics. A scrapbook offers contextual materials including newspaper clippings, photographs, and event programs. Additional documents relate to the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), such as geography course outlines, evaluation forms, and a summary of credit-transfer questionnaires. Notably, one unrelated artifact—a 1913 certificate for a purebred stallion—is also present, though its connection to the collection is unclear.

This collection provides insight into the integration of military training programs into land-grant college campuses during World War II. It highlights the role of South Dakota State College in supporting national defense efforts through infrastructure, instructional resources, and personnel. The records are valuable for understanding military-civilian collaboration in higher education, as well as the broader social and institutional impacts of wartime mobilization. The scrapbook materials also offer a unique visual and narrative record of military life and academic intersections during this period.

The materials in this collection were collected and donated by Dr. Charles Woodard of the South Dakota State University English Department. The collection is primarily composed of correspondence between Audrae Visser and Dr. Woodard, much of which documents her literary development and academic work. Included are many of Visser’s writings created to fulfill class assignments, such as book reports, instructional texts, and a Pioneer Humor Project undertaken for the Heritage of the Prairies Institute at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota.

In addition to extensive correspondence, the collection contains clippings, photographs, and a wide range of poetic and prose writings by Visser. These include autobiographical sketches, children's stories, fiction, speeches, and both published and unpublished poetry. Notable published works represented are Country Cousin, Honyocker Stories, Pheasant Flights, and Prairie Poetry. Also included are materials related to her awards, honors, and organizational memberships, as well as written accounts of her travel experiences and photographs she took on various trips, including one to Mexico. Writings by other authors and anonymous works are also present.

This collection consists of materials related to Blanche Avery Johnston, a member of the South Dakota State College Class of 1916. The materials provide insight into student life in the early 20th century and the experiences of Johnston and her classmates. Included are a booklet titled College Life at South Dakota State College, a news clipping featuring an interview with Johnston about the first Hobo Day celebration, a series of letters exchanged among members of the Class of 1916, and photographs documenting their time at the college. These items offer valuable documentation of campus traditions, student correspondence, and collegiate culture during the 1910s.

This collection contains photographs taken by Clav Snow during his time as a student at South Dakota State College in the early 1930s. The images document campus life and student activities, including Hobo Day celebrations, military Field Day Exercises, candid gatherings, and academic settings such as a psychology class. Also featured are photographs of the SDSC Boxing Club, campus buildings and landmarks, and fellow students. The collection offers a visual record of student experiences and campus culture during that period.

This collection documents the research, writing, and production of The College on the Hill: A Sense of South Dakota State University History, an anecdotal institutional history authored by Amy Dunkle with contributions by V. J. Smith. Materials reflect the authors’ efforts to chronicle South Dakota State University from its founding in 1881 through 2003, with particular attention to the people, events, and circumstances that shaped the institution’s development from Dakota Agricultural College into a comprehensive public university.

The collection includes research files, correspondence, interview transcripts, chapter drafts, topic files, photographs, publicity materials, and digital media used in the preparation of the book. Subjects documented include student life, campus traditions, athletics, Hobo Day, academic departments, campus buildings, notable faculty and alumni, social activities, and broader historical contexts such as wartime experiences, political visits, and student activism. Also present are draft materials and chapter concepts not included in the final publication. Together, these materials provide insight into the construction of institutional history through personal narratives, oral histories, and archival sources, and offer researchers a rich resource for studying university memory, campus culture, and the social history of South Dakota State University.

The Dakota Farmer Collection is composed primarily of printing plates, specialty publications, survey reports, correspondence, and photographs documenting the development, promotion, and influence of The Dakota Farmer, a prominent agricultural periodical in the northern Great Plains. The bulk of the collection consists of printing plates used in publication production, including column and cover mastheads, ornamental frames, and original artwork. These visual elements reflect the magazine’s branding and editorial identity during the early to mid-20th century. A detailed inventory of the plates is provided in the container list.

The publications within the collection were primarily produced for advertising and marketing purposes, aimed at demonstrating the magazine’s value to potential advertisers. The reports consist of surveys conducted among farmers, merchants, and bankers in North and South Dakota, assessing the magazine’s market reach, readership habits, and its role in shaping regional agricultural discourse.

A notable file documents the process of contracting a redesigned cover for The Dakota Farmer. This material includes correspondence between magazine staff and the contractor, critical evaluations of contemporary agricultural publications, and three proposed sample covers. The file offers a unique view into the publication’s design decisions, aesthetic considerations, and promotional strategies.

These materials illustrate The Dakota Farmer’s function not only as a journal of agricultural information but also as a tool for regional promotion and commercial engagement in the Dakotas.

South Dakota State University was established in 1881 as Dakota Agricultural College, with its first permanent building, later known as Old Central, completed in 1883. As the institution expanded in the early twentieth century, additional academic and administrative structures were constructed, including Lincoln Hall in 1927 and the Coughlin Campanile in 1929, which became a defining architectural landmark of the campus. Over subsequent decades, the university added facilities to support engineering, agriculture, research, student life, and athletics, reflecting steady institutional growth from a land grant college to a comprehensive university. Historic buildings such as Old Central, Lincoln Hall, and the Coughlin Campanile stand alongside later additions including research laboratories, residence halls, and athletic venues, illustrating successive phases of campus development.

This artificial collection consists of assembled materials related to the buildings and landmarks of South Dakota State University. Developed over time from departmental files, staff contributions, and individual donations rather than through a formal records transfer process, the collection varies in scope and completeness. Materials span from the late nineteenth century to the present and document construction, renovation, maintenance, and commemorative activities associated with campus structures. Records include architectural plans, capital outlay reports, budget data, blueprints, specifications, maintenance files, dedication programs, and anniversary materials. Buildings represented include academic halls, agricultural and research facilities, libraries, residence halls, student unions, athletic venues, and landmark structures. The collection documents the physical growth of the campus and the evolution of its infrastructure across multiple generations.

This collection documents the 1977 South Dakota Delegation trip to Cuba, which included members of the South Dakota State University basketball team. The material primarily captures the media coverage and public reception surrounding the trip. It includes national, state, and unidentified newspaper clippings; press releases; and excerpts from radio broadcasts, many of which report on the delegation’s activities and the political context of the visit. Also included are photographs, rosters of participants, and an audio tape outline titled Cuban Stories, which appears to provide a narrative or interview content related to the trip.

The collection contains correspondence that sheds light on the earliest stages of planning, including references to Fidel Castro and U.S. Senator George McGovern, whose 1975 trip to Cuba helped catalyze this exchange. Though much of the formal planning documentation is missing, the surviving memoranda and letters illustrate efforts to coordinate the trip under challenging diplomatic conditions. Additional items include material from the Cuban newspaper Granma and various internal and external communications concerning the delegation.

The collection is a resource documenting a rare Cold War-era cultural exchange between a U.S. university delegation and Cuba. It offers insight into the role of sports diplomacy, the influence of political figures such as George McGovern, and the broader media and public perception of such initiatives during the late 1970s.