BHSU, USD seek OK for naming rights

PIERRE — Black Hills State University officials want to honor two people of American Indian heritage, while University of South Dakota leaders seek to recognize a donor.

State government’s Board of Regents will consider the naming requests next week in Aberdeen. The three-day meeting at Northern State University starts Tuesday.

The regents govern South Dakota’s six public universities and three university centers.

Black Hills State would change the name of its Center for American Indian Studies in Jonas Hall to the Jace DeCory Center for American Indian Studies.

DeCory has been a Black Hills State faculty member since 1984. She is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

“Her research is in the areas of American Indian women, elders, art and traditional healing,” according to a document distributed to the regents this week.

Black Hills State also wants a new name for its library. It would become the Lionel R. Bordeaux Library, in recognition of his academic and personal achievements.

The building would remain the E.Y. Berry Learning Center on its interior.

Bordeaux is a 1964 graduate of Black Hills State with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. He later earned a master’s degree in educational psychology at the University of South Dakota and received a doctorate degree in education administration from the University of Minnesota.

“He has served as the president of Sinte Gleska University in Mission, South Dakota, from 1973 to the present, making him one of the longest serving university presidents in the United States,” a regents’ document reads.

“Naming this facility after an outstanding Native American graduate will portray BHSU’s commitment to serving and recognizing the contributions of the Native American population in South Dakota,” it continued.

Black Hills State officials plan dedication events during the fall 2017 semester if the regents approve the naming requests.

The University of South Dakota hopes to recognize the $5 million gift from the estate of Keith Nolop by establishing a program using his name.

The Nolop Institute for Medical Biology would conduct research in the biological department. He was a 1975 graduate of USD with a bachelor’s degree in biology.

The Nolop Institute’s features would include a distinguished professorship and a regular professorship in biology, three stipends for summer research by undergraduate students and four fully funded scholarships annually for medical biology students who pursue research and plan to attend medical school.

The professorships, stipends and scholarships would be in effect indefinitely, according to a document provided to the regents. The project is part of the Onward Campaign fundraising effort conducted by the USD alumni association.

Nolop was the lead researcher for development of three successful drug applications, wrote more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and most recently worked on melanoma research, according to USD’s application.

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