Credit Hour

Credit Hour Publishes Season 3 Finale—What do you know for sure?VERMILLION, S.D. – Michael Ewald, host of the University of South Dakota’s podcast Credit Hour, recapped the series on the program’s final episode of season 3.Ewald reviewed the answers provided by many of the podcast’s guests to the question—“what do you know for sure?” “I know for sure I was lucky to end up back at USD—first in media relations, then as a part-time podcast host, and finally as a student getting to pursue my dream of a career in law,” said Ewald. “I know for sure that education is life-changing because it changed mine.” Credit Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni, and faculty. Started in the Spring of 2018, Ewald hosted the podcast as he attended law school interviewing over 90 USD community members including three current and former U.S. senators, a congressman and a former South Dakota governor. Credit Hour hosted two special serie

Fulton Discusses How to More Effectively Engage Others During a Pandemic on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – Neil Fulton, dean of the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law, provided his thoughts on the academic school year and how to more effectively engage others during a pandemic on Credit Hour.“Excellence, service and leadership,” said Fulton. “I hope those values are ingrained in every student that leaves this law school. I hope our graduates excel in their craft, serve the people around them and lead in their communities.”Speaking about the recent renaming of the law school to the USD Knudson School of Law in honor of Sioux Falls businessman and lawyer, David Knudson, Fulton stressed the importance of student scholarships. Accompanying the renaming was a $12.5 million gift from Knudson’s friend and colleague, T. Denny Sanford, dedicated to student scholarships. “A scholarship says somebody else believed in me. We as a law school believe in them,” said Fulton. “We are the state’s law school and I

USD Center for Disabilities Executive Director Eric Kurtz Discusses Center’s Mission and 50th Anniversary on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – Eric Kurtz, '09 Ph.D., the executive director of the USD Center for Disabilities, discussed the Center’s mission and 50th anniversary on the podcast, Credit Hour. “I wish people would perceive disabilities as being a natural part of the human existence,” said Kurtz. “People with disabilities make up a large proportion of our population. One in six children are diagnosed with a developmental disability. Sixty-one million adults live with a disability. They shouldn’t be shamed or thought of as needing fixing.”Kurtz was named the executive director of the USD Center for Disabilities in 2019. Kurtz earned a Ph.D. in school psychology at USD and has served as an associate professor of pediatrics at the USD Sanford School of Medicine.The Center for Disabilities is South Dakota’s federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) which pro

USD Associate Professor of Law Hannah Haksgaard Discusses South Dakota’s Early Homestead Days on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – University of South Dakota Associate Professor of Law Hannah Haksgaard discussed her career and research into South Dakota’s early homesteading days on USD's podcast, Credit Hour.“When we gave women the right to homestead and economic control of their livelihood, we saw women developing a level of independence that they may not have had in the Eastern part of the country,” said Haksgaard. “In that sense, it’s not terribly surprising that suffrage—the women’s right to vote—started first on the Western frontier.”A University of California-Berkeley School of Law graduate, Haksgaard was an editor on the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice. Following law school, Haksgaard clerked for the Honorable Roberto Lange of the District of South Dakota and the Honorable Kermit Bye of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Haksgaard joined the USD Knudson School of Law faculty in 2016.Credit

Poet and journalist Christopher Vondracek discusses new book, Rattlesnake Summer, on Credit Hour.VERMILLION, S.D. – Poet and journalist Christopher Vondracek, B.A. ’07, M.A. 09, discussed his career and new book on South Dakota’s 66 counties, Rattlesnake Summer, on the podcast Credit Hour. “There were all these documents and stories and human tales that I felt couldn’t come out in journalism, but they could come out in poem,” said Vondracek, discussing his travels across South Dakota. “That reignited my love of poetry as a medium.”Vondracek was an Allen H. Neuharth Excellence in Journalism Scholarship recipient getting his start in journalism at USD’s student newspaper, the Volante. His new book, Rattlesnake Summer, provides a glimpse at South Dakota’s 66 counties through 66 poems written while traveling across South Dakota. He currently covers government and politics and South Dakota for Forum News Service.Credit Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, researc

South Dakota Department of Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon Discusses South Dakota’s Successful Vaccine Rollout on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota Department of Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon discussed the state’s pandemic response and successful vaccine rollout on the podcast, Credit Hour. “The vaccine you should get is the first one that’s available to you,” said Malsam-Rysdon. “They are all incredibly effective.”Malsam-Rysdon earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Dakota. She was an initial graduate of the University Honors program. Serving in state government for 20 years, Malsam-Rysdon has also served as Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Social Services, and as Director of the Divisions of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services. “The fact that we’re even talking about a vaccine—let alone three vaccines as of today—that are incredibly effective is amazing,” said Malsam-Rysdon.Credit Hour is the Unive

USD Assistant Art Professor Amber Hansen Discusses Community Based Mural Making on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – University of South Dakota assistant professor of art, Amber Hansen, BFA ’07, discussed the process of making murals through community based art engagement on the podcast Credit Hour.“Community based art allows us to not only activate a part of our collective community, it invites people to imagine or reimagine the place they live,” said Hansen.Hansen actively exhibits in the mediums of film, drawing, and musical performance and has been the lead artist in many public murals located throughout the country. This past summer she helped lead several community based art projects in Vermillion and Miller, South Dakota, and Alton, Iowa. She is the co-director and co-editor of a documentary film about creating community based murals in Middle America titled, "Called to Walls", that was released in the spring of 2016.Credit Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement,

Mortenson Discusses his Perspective from PierreVERMILLION, S.D. – Representative Will Mortenson, B.A. '10, discussed his decision to run for public office and his perspective from the capitol in Pierre on Credit Hour.“You run because you have ideas in some of these areas,” said Mortenson. “Policy works best when you work it through with all the people who are going to be involved.”Mortenson, a University of Virginia law graduate, is in his first term representing District 24 in the South Dakota State House of Representatives. He manages his own law practice in Fort Pierre, and has prior experience serving as a policy advisory for former Gov. Dennis Daugaard and managing Congressman Dusty Johnson’s election for public utility commissioner in 2010.“The thing I know for sure is that we’ve got something good in South Dakota,” said Mortenson. “I love this state and I love USD because the priorities here and the things that are status-inducing are authenticity and caring for communities and they are understanding t

U.S. Senator John Thune Discusses Career in Public Service and Senate Leadership on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – U.S. Senator John Thune, M.B.A. ’84, spoke about his career in public service and experience serving in Senate leadership on this week’s episode of Credit Hour. “You have to maintain that optimism and have a sense about the future that keeps you moving forward,” said Thune. “More than anything else to me if any of the lessons that we learn from all this try to extend grace to yourself but also to other people when you’re going through a tough time and look for ways to serve other people.”Thune discussed the political polarization in the country. “A lot of people say that politics is upstream from culture. I think it’s downstream from culture,” said Thune. “I think what happens politically mirrors or reflects what’s happening in the country and I think the country has been very divided and polarized and I think our politics reflects that.”“To me, your political party needs to be anchored in somethi

Sandhurst Discusses DRACO, Biotechnology on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – Eric Sandhurst, Ph.D. ‘20, president and founding partner of the Dakota Research and Consulting Organization, discussed entrepreneurship and the future of biotechnology in South Dakota on Credit Hour.  “One of the reasons I got into biomedical engineering is that it was a cutting edge field,” said Sandhurst. “It paired really well with entrepreneurship. If you’re developing new research that’s going to change the field why not go into that research with the mindset that this can be a product or service that can be commercialized.” Sandhurst obtained his bachelor's degree, master's degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of South Dakota. His research is focused on tissue engineering, biomaterials development, stem cell biology, and creating organoids for high-throughput drug screening. He has filed for a patent related to Multifunctional Microspheres – biodegradable, porous polyme

Sanderson Discusses State of Child Maltreatment on Credit Hour VERMILLION, S.D. – Carrie Sanderson, the director of the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment at the University of South Dakota, discussed the state of child maltreatment in South Dakota and how the pandemic has influenced children on the podcast Credit Hour. “In South Dakota, children have the highest rate of victimization for multiple crimes,” said Sanderson. “A very high percentage of victims of sexual violence in South Dakota are under the age of 18.” Sanderson also discussed the mental health implications of the pandemic.  “Nationally, we are finding that children are having a higher stress response to Covid-19 than any age demographic,” Sanderson said. “We have to be prepared to help our kiddos respond. How do we do that? We create safe, loving and stable relationships.” Sanderson earned her Bachelor of Arts, Master of Public Administration and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of South Dako

Biology Professor Discusses Covid Numbers on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – Jeff Wesner, an associate professor in the University of South Dakota Department of Biology discussed the data behind the Covid-19 pandemic in South Dakota on the podcast Credit Hour. “While I hope we are past the worst point, I thought that also in July. Whether we’ve reached our peak is essentially up to us,” said Wesner. “Today, the death rates in South Dakota are higher than they were in the spring and summer. The number are down relative to where they were, but the numbers were so bad, they’re not where they need to be.” Wesner earned his Ph.D. in zoology from University of Oklahoma and M.S. in biology from Western Carolina University. Wesner traditionally studies fish ecology, but started to analyze the data Covid-19 numbers for the State of South Dakota to determine its severity in South Dakota in order to help public health officials combat the pandemic.  “Testing was so sporadic, we gave up trying to track

Credit Hour Discusses Inauguration Politics VERMILLION, S.D. – David C. Earnest, Ph.D., the chair of the University of South Dakota Department of Political Science, and Julia Hellwege, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department, discussed the riots in Washington D.C., the end of President Donald Trump’s term in office and President Joe Biden’s inauguration. “The inauguration is the formal embodiment of the democratic pillar of the transition of power,” said Hellwege. “It’s the visual moment we see a previous president stepping down, and a new president coming in. It’s what democracy truly looks like.”“Part of the challenge we have these days is that our elected and appointed leadership no longer operate from a common set of facts,” said Earnest. “To me the way we grow as a society – our leadership must demonstrate a shared commitment to a basic set of values and ideas including objective fact and science.”Earnest is the Odeen-Swanson Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Politi

Justice Meierhenry Discusses Life and Career on Credit Hour VERMILLION, S.D. – Former South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Judith Meierhenry, '66 B.A., ’68 M.A., ’77 J.D., discussed her life and career on the podcast Credit Hour.  “This year’s been hard. You don’t know things for sure. I think you have to live your life as well as you can wherever you are,” said Meierhenry. “Family first. If there’s anything I know for sure. It’s that.”Meierhenry was appointed the secretary of South Dakota’s Department of Labor by Gov. Bill Janklow in 1980 and served as the state’s Secretary of Education and Cultural Affairs in 1983. She was appointed a South Dakota Supreme Court Justice in 2002, becoming the first woman in South Dakota’s history to be appointed to the state Supreme Court, where she served until her retirement in 2011.“It was a good experience,” said Meierhenry of attending law school at USD. “There wasn’t another time before or since where you feel like you are learning so much. And there is a j

Red Shirt-Shaw Discusses Native Student Services on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – The University of South Dakota’s new director of Native Student Services, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, discussed the importance of creating welcoming spaces on campus on the podcast Credit Hour. “There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to engage as friends and colleagues,” said Red Shirt-Shaw. “Just being able to make these connections across disciplines and do community building is important. Red Shirt-Shaw started this fall as the Director of Native Student Services and the Native American Cultural Center. She has previously held positions in undergraduate admissions, college counseling, and student advising at the University of Pennsylvania, Questbridge, Santa Clara University, Albuquerque Academy, and the 7th Gen Summer Program. Red Shirt-Shaw said she is excited to bring different indigenous voices to campus. “I think some of the challenges we’re facing in student services with being really cognizant and responsible with social di

Johnson Discusses Amendment A Marijuana Reform on Credit Hour VERMILLION, S.D. – Brendan Johnson, B.S. ’98, lead counsel for Amendment A discussed the implications of marijuana reform on the podcast Credit Hour.“What is not up for compromise is the fact that [marijuana] is decriminalized,” Johnson said. “The people have spoken very clearly on that.”Johnson served as lead counsel for Amendment A. He is a former U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota and practices at Robins Kaplan in Sioux Falls.Johnson said the law will go into effect in July of 2021. Johnson said taxes on marijuana will be capped at 15 percent split between the general budget and education. He also said it may have benefits for tribal communities and from a social justice standpoint.“Some of the biggest benefits are from a social justice perspective. We lock up too many people in our country. We lock up too many people in South Dakota,” Johnson said citing statistics that marijuan

Mercado Discusses Objective Zero Suicide Prevention App on Credit HourVERMILLION, S.D. – Major Chris Mercado, ’04, founder of Objective Zero, discussed his military service and suicide prevention efforts on the podcast Credit Hour. “What we’re doing with Objective Zero is crowdsourcing peer support,” said Mercado. “The idea is that we’re trying to get ahead of those downward spirals into suicide by providing peer support as a pre-crisis service.”Objective Zero was established in 2015. It released a mobile app in December of 2017 that instantly connects veterans-in-need to a community of fellow veterans, current service members and concerned citizens.Mercado mentioned the recent spike in suicide rates as an alarming trend amongst the military. “Early indications are that in 2020, suicide rates in the military are up over 2019 by 20 percent. In the U.S. army, suicide rates are up over 30 percent,” said Mercado. “It’s very concerning.”In 2017, Mercado was named the Military Times Service Member of

Elise Boxer Discusses New Role as Director of Institute for American Indian StudiesVERMILLION, S.D. – Elise Boxer, an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of South Dakota, discussed the importance of Native studies and her new role as the director of the Institute of American Indian Studies on the podcast Credit Hour.“I really believe that Native studies is for everybody as it will result in understanding what is happening in the state and region,” said Boxer. “If you are going to live in this region, having a working understanding of tribal nations and people will better facilitate an individual in their profession whether its education, social work or law enforcement. The list goes on.”Boxer was recently named the director of the revitalized Institute of American Indian Studies at USD. The Institute has a rich history in South Dakota and a notable reputation throughout the nation. Originally established in 1955 through the concerted efforts of Dr. William O. Farber and Dr. Wesley

Marcus Destin, a senior at the University of South Dakota, discussed what student life is like in 2020 on the podcast, Credit Hour. “For me, I can only be negative for so long. At what point do we start offering solutions or seeing something from an alternative perspective,” said Destin, discussing graduating during the pandemic. “We have to make the best of the situation we’re in.” Destin is a communications major, minoring in multicultural studies. He is the president of the Coyote Crazies, co-president of the Cultural Wellness Coalition, and has served as a president of the Union of African American Students. Destin also hosts a podcast called “Films in Black and White,” available on most podcast listening applications.  Answering what piece of advice he would give a new student, Destin answered simply, “Enjoy it.” “Enjoy every step because once this is over, it’s over,” said Destin. “Ask yourself—what did you invest your time in. Who did you invest your time into. Just enjoy

In this week's episode of Credit Hour we sat down with the vice president of health affairs and Sanford School of Medicine dean Tim Ridgway, M.D., to discuss his new role, changes in the healthcare field brought on by the pandemic, and what the Sanford School of Medicine is seeking in an applicant. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.