Alumni Reunions

Each May, classes on a 5 year cycle are invited back for a Medical School Alumni Reunion. The weekend provides activities, panels, presentations and tours specific to the interests of medical professionals. Whether you're returning five, 25 or 50 years after graduation, the Sanford School of Medicine looks forward to welcoming you back.

Med School Mixers

Be on the look out for the medical school leadership team to visit your community for a Medical School Mixer. These events are meant to share updates on the school and provide an opportunity for the medical school to network with faculty, alumni, hospital and clinic partners, and friends of the school. Contact the Medical School Alumni Office if you would be interested in coordinating a Mixer in your community.

Scholarship Dinners

This annual event provides an opportunity to connect our donors and supporters with medical school leadership, faculty and students and honor the gifts of scholarship endowments. Rotating between Sioux Falls and Rapid City, we provide an opportunity to thank our donors in person and for students to meet their supporters.

Being a part of the Sanford School of Medicine alumni community is more than just your time here as a student. We constantly hear from alumni - near and far - who want to stay connected and pay it forward.

There are many ways to get involved and stay connected as an alumnus of the medical school. Even hundreds of miles away, you can connect with current fourth-year students preparing for residency interviews and share your specialty knowledge. Another option is staying connected through Alumni Relations Council, which plans and holds programs and events to help you stay connected with the medical school, your peers and current students. There are opportunities to meet your schedules and areas of interest.

Alumni Relations Council

Our Alumni Relations Council (formerly the Sanford School of Medicine Alumni Association) consists of school leadership, alumni, residents and students, and actively manages opportunities to engage our alumni community with the Sanford School of Medicine. From managing the SSOM Alumni Endowment to overseeing awards and programming, the Alumni Relations Council is an opportunity to stay connected to the school.

Dinner with a Doc

Spend the evening networking with medical students and answering their questions over dinner.

Mentoring

Build relationships with medical students by sharing your time, specialty knowledge, experiences and insight.

VISIT Program

Help our medical students reduce expenses related to traveling for residency interviews by offering to host them for a one or two day stay, typically from September through January, as they visit for interviews. Alumni are asked to provide the medical students with lodging, transportation (if needed) and meals. More importantly, alumni offer students an insider's view of their medical specialty, of the profession in general and an insider's view into their city and its resources.

Become a Class Agent

Help us stay connected to you and your class! The class agents are the key liaisons between your class and the Sanford School of Medicine. We are seeking a member or members from each reunion class to engage their classmates in reunion activities and encourage support and participation.

Stethoscope Program

Help the next generation of physicians by providing a stethoscope to an incoming medical student during White Coat Day and MS1 orientation each summer.

Give Now

Don’t quite see what you are looking for? Email us and let us know how you want to make an impact at the School of Medicine.

Each year, the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine Alumni Relations Council presents 4 awards recognizing excellence in both the teaching and practice of medicine.

Nominations are accepted throughout the year and chosen each fall for recognition at the alumni reunion in May. To be considered an award, please submit a letter of nomination to the Medical School Alumni Relations Office recognizing the achievements of the individual who has distinguished themselves in professional, community and medical school involvement accompanied by appropriate documentation, including but not limited to: recently updated CV, resume and/or recently updated biographical sketch.

Distinguished Alumni Award

The award is presented to a graduate in acknowledgement of distinguished career achievements, both in contributions to the practice of medicine and to society as a whole.

Class of 1958 Basic Sciences Faculty Award

The award recognizes a faculty member in the Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences who has shown excellence in teaching or research and demonstrates service to the Sanford School of Medicine.

Class of 1954 Warren Jones M.D. Faculty Award

The Class of 1954 created this award to honor Dr. Warren Jones and recognize an outstanding medical school academic faculty member who upholds the tradition of excellence in teaching.

Class of 1983 Clinical Faculty Award

The award recognizes the critical role of clinical faculty in preparing physicians. The recipient has an active clinical practice, is a member of the medical school faculty and shows leadership in their department.

Since 1992, Sanford School of Medicine has annually identified four South Dakota high school seniors who have a well-developed interest in medicine and are dedicated to the mission of our medical school to participate in the Alumni Student Scholars Program. We offer the opportunity to gain a solid undergraduate education grounded in the liberal arts along with numerous opportunities to interact with physicians and other health care professionals.

Each year we identify four outstanding South Dakota high school seniors who have a well-developed interest in medicine and are dedicated to the mission of our medical school to join the Alumni Student Scholars Program (ASSP). Specifically, the program seeks students interested in practicing primary care within South Dakota.

We offer a solid undergraduate education with many opportunities to interact with physicians and other health care professionals. ASSP Scholars take part in an Issues in Contemporary Medicine honors seminar and a summer clinical preceptorship with practicing alumni physicians. They also have the chance to engage in research and attend social gatherings with current and previous program scholars, medical school faculty and alumni.

Selection Criteria

While selection of scholars is based in part on good high school academic qualifications, the selection process also includes an assessment of the personal qualities required of a good physician. These include integrity, compassion, fairness with colleagues and a capacity for leadership. The best candidates will embody a keen interest in primary care medicine, especially family practice; a heartfelt desire to better understand and help people and an awareness of rural life and the unique aspects of practicing medicine in a rural setting.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be a graduating senior from a South Dakota high school
• Have a combined score of at least 1240 on the SAT or a score of 28 or higher on the ACT
• Submit a completed online academic scholarship application, including the Alumni Student Scholars Program component, with transcripts and three letters of reference by Dec. 1

Scholarship Details

• You will be eligible for a Coyote Commitment Scholarship from the university.
• You also will receive a $1,000 stipend, provided by the Sanford School of Medicine Alumni Relations Council, upon successful completion of one six-week long summer clinical preceptorship.
• You will receive a conditional acceptance to the Sanford School of Medicine with waiver of the MCAT requirement. The conditional acceptance to the Sanford School of Medicine is contingent upon the final decision for acceptance by the SSOM Admissions Committee.
• Upon entering the Sanford School of Medicine, you will receive a $1,000 annual scholarship, renewable for up to four years of medical school, from the Sanford School of Medicine Alumni Relations Council.
• You also will be eligible for one $5,000 annual scholarship, renewable for up to four years of medical school, provided by the Sanford School of Medicine.
• You will be enrolled in the USD Honors Program and are free to major in any academic discipline. We require that you complete all pre-medicine courses, your bachelor's degree requirements and the honors program requirements within four years and graduate at the spring commencement with a minimum 3.5 undergraduate GPA.
• Upon successful completion of all program requirements, you are admitted to the next entering class at the Sanford School of Medicine, contingent upon the final decision for acceptance by the SSOM Admissions Committee.