June 23, 2022

The University of South Dakota is rebranding its campus in Sioux Falls and emphasizing degree offerings in health care, business and education.

The Community College for Sioux Falls on North Career Avenue has been renamed USD – Sioux Falls.

The three focus areas are aligned with the growing demand for professionals in these sectors, President Sheila Gestring said in a news release.

“USD’s Sioux Falls location offers an exciting opportunity to create a health sciences hub by relocating several courses and programs, including all Sioux Falls-based nursing classes, a nursing skills lab, the Master of Public Health, the Master of Social Work and USD’s new CRNA program,” Gestring said. “Two statewide, federally funded programs – the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment and the Center for Rural Health Improvement – will also move to our Sioux Falls site, allowing for program expansion as demand for these services increases.”

Several USD health sciences courses, programs and centers are relocating from its Sioux Falls medical campus at Sanford USD Medcical Center to the USD – Sioux Falls campus, allowing these programs the space necessary to grow, Gestring said.

The health sciences hub will allow for USD’s partnerships with Sanford Health and Avera to continue to grow, providing students with unique clinical experiences and opportunities for future careers, USD said.

The university also will continue to offer programs like its Associate of Arts in general studies degree and its business curriculum and is exploring new opportunities in other academic areas such as education.

Offering these programs in Sioux Falls will be key in helping retain a number of South Dakota students and put them on an educational pathway they might have otherwise missed, said Jay Perry, vice president of USD – Sioux Falls.

Perry said South Dakota projects 20 percent growth in high school graduates over the next 10 years, mostly in Sioux Falls.

“Many of those students will want to stay close to home while pursuing their studies, and USD-Sioux Falls offers them the opportunity to do just that,” Perry said.

The campus’ proximity to the USD Discovery District will be key in providing students with valuable research opportunities, access to jobs after graduation and exposure to cutting-edge businesses, Perry said.

“Students will see cutting-edge businesses being built and technology being developed, and they will be exposed to ideas and processes that can’t be replicated anywhere in the state but at the Discovery District in Sioux Falls,” he said. “These businesses will then have a pool of students from USD – Sioux Falls who can apply for internships or part-time jobs, preparing them for the workforce and creating a pipeline for the growing economy.”

This is the second rebrand for the campus, which changed from the University Center in Sioux Falls to The Community College for Sioux Falls in 2019.

SDSU’s pharmacy program will continue to operate at the campus.