The Sanford Underground Research Facility, or SURF, is giving Black Hills State University in Spearfish more than two million dollars to renovate one of its current buildings and to help promote science, technology, engineering, and math among South Dakota students.
Casey Peterson is the Chairperson of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority which owns and operates the lab. He says the money, which is part of the seventy million dollars T. Denny Sanford donated, will help strengthen the already strong partnership between the Lab and the University.
“The Board of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority has authorized the expenditure of 2.5 million dollars of the Sanford gift to create an important branch of the Sanford Science Education Center right here at the campus of Black Hills State University. We will partner in developing and doing a major renovation of the Jonas Science Building,” says Peterson.
Peterson says with current research and multiple experiments going on at the lab opportunities for education in science-related fields are tremendous, and with the expansion at BHSU he expects them to keep growing.
Black Hills State President Kay Schallenkamp says the University plans to combine the two and a half million dollar gift from SURF with money from the Higher Education and University Funds for a more than four million dollar renovation. She says construction is scheduled to begin next summer.