Credit Hour University of South Dakota

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 series on Covid-19 and criminal justice reform last year. A diverse array of guests including artists, scientists, and members of the medical field frequented the program.
Listen to the final episode of season 3 of Credit Hour by following on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

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Fulton Discusses How to More Effectively Engage Others During a Pandemic on Credit Hour
VERMILLION, 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 never want to see a talented South Dakota kid not be able to chase their dream because of cost. Everybody should have an opportunity to be a lawyer.”
Credit Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni and faculty. Follow Credit Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

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USD Center for Disabilities Executive Director Eric Kurtz Discusses Center’s Mission and 50th Anniversary on Credit Hour
VERMILLION, 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 provides training, clinical services, research and information dissemination with a vision that all people, including individuals with disabilities, can achieve independence, self-determination, productivity and community inclusion. It was established in 1971 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.
“The mission is to improve the care and lives of individuals,” said Kurtz. “We do that through direct clinical services, research, training and technical assistance, information dissemination and policy work.”
Credit Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni and faculty. Follow Credit Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

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USD Associate Professor of Law Hannah Haksgaard Discusses South Dakota’s Early Homestead Days on Credit Hour
VERMILLION, 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 Hour is the University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni and faculty. Follow Credit Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

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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, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni and faculty. Follow Credit Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

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South Dakota Department of Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon Discusses South Dakota’s Successful Vaccine Rollout on Credit Hour
VERMILLION, 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 University of South Dakota’s podcast highlighting the achievement, research and scholarship of its staff, students, alumni and faculty. Follow Credit Hour on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and www.usd.edu/podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.