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Greetings, Jackrabbits! 

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. On campus, we experience the excitement of the students returning to school to continue their studies. The trees prepare for their winter slumber. Amid all of these changes, I ponder all of the ways I am grateful to serve as the Roberta K. Olson Endowed Dean for Nursing. 

We have a top-rate faculty and staff, who seek new and innovative ways to promote learning among our students and to establish interdisciplinary research trajectories that will serve our state for years to come. Added to this mix are our students who show up every day to learn and grow into their professional identity as nurses. Students are our very best ambassadors. It truly is a great day to be a Jackrabbit. 

Over the past several months, we have been working toward completing two building projects in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. In Rapid City, we have partnered with Monument Health and Black Hills State University to build a new state-of-the-art modern facility to provide space for tremendous growth of nursing workforce at the West River Health Science Center. We are already seeing enrollment growth and are looking forward to the continued expansion that this new building will provide. I can’t wait to show you the completed project. This project is slated for completion and occupancy by fall 2025. Stay tuned! 

Thanks to the generosity of Avera Health, plans are underway for a complete remodel of our ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ Metro Center building in Sioux Falls. This building project will include collaborative partnership with the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions and is planned for completion in 2026. 

We have been blessed in the College of Nursing to build great partnerships that help us to grow our nursing workforce while pursuing innovative ways to implement research initiatives and models of education. This will position the college to solve the pressing health care challenges of our time and to continue our drive toward EXCELLENCE. 

Finally, I am grateful to each of our alumni, who exemplify the professionalism, lifelong learning and innovation that stems from a ³ÉÈËÊÓƵ nursing education. Thank you for your engagement and for strengthening the college through collaboration, scholarships, donations and partnerships. Thank you. 

Mary Anne Krogh, PhD, APRN, CRNA, FAAN 

Roberta K. Olson Endowed Dean for Nursing