What former USD Faculty member was instrumental in blocking a birth-defect-causing drug from use in the United States?

Dr. Frances Kelsey.

In 1960, while at the Food and Drug Administration,  she refused to approve release of thalidomide in the United States due to inadequate testing.

For a portrait of Dr. Kelsey at the University of South Dakota, see the Digital Library of South Dakota.

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Celebrate spring with the Mahoney Music Collection.

First day of spring in 2020 is March 19th.

Image from:

Randolph Caledcott, Hey Diddle Diddle and Baby Bunting, London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1882?, uncataloged book in Mahoney Music Collection in the Archives and Special Collections.

Mahoney Music Collection is a diverse collection of books centered around the violin located in the Archives and Special Collections at USD.

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Who was the first woman on the South Dakota Board of Regents?

Lulu (Mrs. E.P.) Wanzer may have been the first. She was from Armour, SD and was active in public health and the State Board of Health. A state summer camp for children was name Camp Wanzer in her honor. She was appointed to the BOR in January 1931 and served until her death in August 1931.

 

Sources (These are in the Archives and Special Collections except for the Argus Leader and Find a Grave):

Argus Leader newspaper, Sioux Falls SD, January 09, 1931, page 1

Coyote, USD yearbook, 1932, page 30 (A photograph of Mrs. Wanzer)

Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/ (accessed February 26, 2020)

South Dakota Historical Collections, volume 33, page 405, F646 .S76. (A short biography of Mrs. Wanzer)

USD Catalog, 1931-1932

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