47 Notable alumni of
South Dakota State University
Updated:
South Dakota State University is 1184th in the world, 422nd in North America, and 395th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 47 notable alumni from South Dakota State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Kristi Noem
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- In 2011 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianfarmerrancherbeauty pageant contestantwriter
- Biography
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Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem is an American politician serving since 2025 as the eighth United States secretary of homeland security.
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Adam Vinatieri
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points, in addition to holding the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12). He is considered one of the greatest placekickers of all time.
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Tom Daschle
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- In 1969 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Thomas Andrew Daschle is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the final ten years of his tenure, during which time he served as Senate Minority Leader and Majority Leader.
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Dale Moss
- Occupations
- basketball playerAmerican football player
- Biography
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Dale Moss is an American former football wide receiver and reality television personality. He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. After being a member of the offseason and practice squad rosters for the National Football League (NFL)'s Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, and Carolina Panthers, he played professionally for the Los Angeles Kiss of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2014. He became engaged to Clare Crawley during 16th season of ABC's The Bachelorette where they left the show early as a couple and ultimately broke up shortly thereafter.
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Dallas Goedert
- Occupations
- American football playergridiron football player
- Biography
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Dallas Christopher Goedert is an American professional football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Dakota State, and was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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Blake Treinen
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Blake Michael Treinen is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics. He played college baseball for the Baker Wildcats and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
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Mike Rounds
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- In 1977 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- real estate agentpolitician
- Biography
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Marion Michael Rounds is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Dakota since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 31st governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
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Zach Zenner
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Zachary Zenner is a former American football running back. He played college football at South Dakota State. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2015. Zenner also played for the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.
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Nate Wolters
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Nate Wolters is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for South Dakota State University and was an All-American for the Jackrabbits in 2013. He was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
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Theodore Schultz
- Occupations
- researchereconomisteducator
- Biography
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Theodore William Schultz was an American agricultural economist and chairman of the University of Chicago Department of Economics. Schultz rose to national prominence after winning the 1979 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
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Gene Amdahl
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- In 1948 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- businesspersonphysicistentrepreneurcomputer scientistengineer
- Biography
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Gene Myron Amdahl was an American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation. He formulated Amdahl's law, which states a fundamental limitation of parallel computing.
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Leo K. Thorsness
- Occupations
- politicianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Leo Keith Thorsness was a colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967. He was shot down two weeks later and spent almost six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. After his military service, Thorsness served one term in the Washington State Senate.
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Baylor Scheierman
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Baylor Arthur Scheierman is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the Creighton Bluejays.
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Todd Bouman
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Todd Matthew Bouman is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 1997 after playing college football at St. Cloud State. Bouman was also a member of the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams and Baltimore Ravens.
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Caleb Thielbar
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Caleb John Thielbar is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. He made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2013.
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William E. DePuy
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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William Eugene DePuy was a United States Army general and the first commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the restructuring of United States Army doctrine after the American withdrawal from Vietnam.
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Harvey Dunn
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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Harvey Thomas Dunn NA, also known as J. Harvey Dunn, was an American painter and teacher. During World War I, Dunn was an artist-correspondent with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Most of Dunn's war sketches are housed at the Smithsonian Institution in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, The Prairie is My Garden (1950). In this painting, a mother and her two children are out gathering flowers from the quintessential prairie of the Great Plains.
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James Pollock
- Occupations
- artist
- Biography
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James Pollock is an American artist living in Pierre, South Dakota. Pollock has been characterized as a painter whose work is a bridge between the abstract and the concrete. His style varies widely, sometimes drawing on the abstract styles reminiscent of artists of the early 20th-century Bauhaus school, characterized by strong lines and bold colors, sometimes resembling ancient cave paintings, and sometimes straightforward renderings of landscapes and objects." Pollock is an active plein air painter and member of the South Dakota Plein Air Artists movement.
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Ben Reifel
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Benjamin Reifel, also known as Lone Feather (Lakota: Wíyaka Waŋžíla), was a Sicangu Lakota public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as area administrator. He ran for the US Congress from the East River region of South Dakota and was elected as the first Lakota to serve in the House of Representatives. He served five terms as a Republican United States Congressman from the (now obsolete) First District, from 1961 to 1971.
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Richard F. Kneip
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Richard Francis Kneip was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 25th governor of South Dakota from 1971 until 1978 and the 6th United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the first Catholic Governor of South Dakota.
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Stephen Censky
- Biography
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Stephen Lee Censky is an American businessman and former government official. He served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 through 2020. In November 2020, he became the CEO of the American Soybean Association. He was also CEO of the ASA for 21 years prior to his tenure as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
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Mike Huether
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Mike Huether is an American philanthropist and politician from South Dakota. He was the mayor of Sioux Falls from 2010 to 2018.
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Frank E. Denholm
- Occupations
- politicianuniversity teacherlawyer
- Biography
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Franklin Edvard Denholm was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota.
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Kang-i Sun Chang
- Occupations
- literary theoristsinologistacademicuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Kang-i Sun Chang is a Taiwanese-American sinologist. She is a scholar of classical Chinese literature. She is the inaugural Malcolm G. Chace Professor, and former chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale University.
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Sigurd Anderson
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Sigurd Anderson was the 19th Governor of South Dakota. Anderson, a Republican from Webster, South Dakota, served in that office from 1951 to 1955.
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Cynthia MacAdams
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm actor
- Biography
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Cynthia MacAdams is an American actress and photographer. She is recognized for her black and white portraiture, use of natural light and infrared photography, and images of sacred architecture.
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Cheris Kramarae
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- university teacherlinguistteacher
- Biography
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Cheris Kramarae is a scholar in the area of women's studies and communication, with her research primarily focusing on gender, language and communication, technology, and education. She is mostly known for her contributions to muted group theory, as well as A Feminist Dictionary, in which she was a co-author.
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Vean Gregg
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Sylveanus Augustus "Vean" Gregg was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Gregg played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Naps, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Washington Senators from 1911 through 1925.
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Tom Fiegen
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Thomas Lewis Fiegen is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician. He served in the Iowa State Senate from 2001 to 2003. He sought the Democratic nomination in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Iowa but came in third against Roxanne Conlin who won the primary, with Bob Krause coming in second. Fiegen again sought the Democratic nomination in the 2016 U.S. Senate election in Iowa, repeating his third-place showing. Fiegen endorsed Bernie Sanders for President prior to Sanders' endorsement of fellow candidate Hillary Clinton.
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Hannah Caroline Aase
- Years
- 1883-1980 (aged 97)
- Occupations
- botanist
- Biography
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Hannah Caroline Aase was an American botanist and cytologist.
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Laurie Nichols
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- academic
- Biography
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Laurie Nichols is an American academic administrator serving as the 11th president at Black Hills State University. Nichols previously served as the 26th president of the University of Wyoming.
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David Gilbertson
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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David Gilbertson is the former Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.
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Cal Ludeman
- Years
- 1951-.. (age 74)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Cal R. Ludeman is an American politician who most recently served as Secretary of the Minnesota Senate. He is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1978, he was re-elected in 1980 and 1982. He represented the old District 20B and, after redistricting in 1980, District 27A, which included all or portions of Lincoln and Lyon counties.
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Gordon Mydland
- Occupations
- politicianjudge
- Biography
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Gordon James Mydland was an American attorney and politician who served as the Attorney General of South Dakota. He was also a state senator, and a circuit court judge.
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Vern L. Schramm
- Occupations
- biochemistresearcher
- Biography
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Vern L. Schramm is a professor and Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Schramm was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2007. His laboratory's research focuses on the elucidation of enzymatic mechanisms and transition state structure.
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Doug Eggers
- Occupations
- businesspersonAmerican football player
- Biography
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Douglas Boyd Eggers is a former American football linebacker who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Baltimore Colts and Chicago Cardinals. He played college football at South Dakota State University and attended Wagner High School in Wagner, South Dakota.
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Rich Olive
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Richard Warren "Rich" Olive was an American realtor and politician from Iowa. A Democrat, he served the Fifth District in the Iowa Senate from 2007 until 2011.
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John Merton Aldrich
- Enrolled in South Dakota State University
- Studied in 1888
- Occupations
- entomologistzoologist
- Biography
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John Merton Aldrich was an American entomologist. Aldrich was the Associate Curator of Insects at the United States National Museum. He is considered one of the most prolific entomologists in the study of flies.
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Al Novstrup
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Al Novstrup is business owner, an American politician and a Republican member of the South Dakota House of Representatives representing District 3 since January 2015.
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Philo Hall
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Philo Hall was a South Dakota attorney and politician. He served as Attorney General of South Dakota and a member of the United States House of Representatives.
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Ross Paustian
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ross C. Paustian is an American politician and a farmer from Iowa. Paustian is a former Republican member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing District 92 from 2015 to 2023.
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Gary Boner
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Gary L. Boner was an American football player and coach. He was the longest-tenured head football coach for South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T) in Rapid City, South Dakota, serving from 1971 to 1989. With a record of 92–73–7, he won more games than any football coach in SDSM&T history.
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Larry Long
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Larry Long is an American judge and the former 29th Attorney General of the state of South Dakota, United States. A Republican, he was first elected Attorney General in 2002 and left office in 2009 to accept an appointment by Gov. Mike Rounds to a judgeship in the state's Second Judicial District.
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Robert A. Johnson
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Robert A. Johnson was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota State Senate. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Johnson grew up on a farm in Groton, South Dakota. He was an alumnus of South Dakota State University and was a farmer and insurance agent. He died on December 11, 2014.
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Clarence Hoffman
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Clarence C. Hoffman served in the Iowa House of Representatives 1998–2008, most recently from the 55th District.
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Larry E. Rolufs
- Years
- 1940-.. (age 85)
- Occupations
- civil servant
- Biography
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Larry E. Rolufs was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1995 to 1997.
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Lowdon Heller
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Lowdon B. Heller was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1957 to 1960. He was an alumnus of the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University, and was later a businessman, teacher and farmer. He died aged 92 in 2016.
