Four Alumni Honored With Achievement Awards
Hon. David Gienapp '64 - Public Service
Hon. David Gienapp, a retired judge in South Dakota’s Third Judicial Circuit, was honored for dedication to public service both professionally and personally. Prior to his appointment as a judge, Gienapp served on the South Dakota Board of Regents from 1993 until 2002. He has also served on the South Dakota State Board of Education, the Lake Central (Madison) School Board, as commissioner of the Western Interstate Compact for Higher Education, as president of both the State Bar of South Dakota and the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association and a board member for the Karl E. Mundt Foundation.
Bryan Hisel '73, '82 - Professional Achievement
Bryan Hisel has spent more than 30 years developing Mitchell, South Dakota, into the vibrant and growing community it is today. As the executive director of the Mitchell Area Development Corporation, Hisel has been instrumental in securing business development for the region over the past three decades such as Toshiba, Trail King and Cabela’s. A lifelong public servant, Hisel has also served as executive director of Planning & Development District III, deputy director of the South Dakota Office of Energy Policy, special assistant to the governor and deputy secretary of the South Dakota Department of Commerce.
Frank Liebfarth '08 - Emerging Leader
Frank Leibfarth, a Yankton, South Dakota, native currently living in Carrboro, North Carolina, was selected as the first recipient of the new Emerging Leader Alumni Achievement Award. Leibfarth graduated with a double major in chemistry and physics. While on campus he was involved in Honors and Strollers and was a student-athlete in football. After graduation, Leibfarth went on to earn his doctorate in chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara and began his career as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Currently, Leibfarth is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
Dan Radigan '79 - Service to the University
Dan Radigan, a Vermillion, South Dakota, native now residing in Sioux Falls, is the president of the Howling Pack board of directors, a group he helped to found before it even had a name or official affiliation with the university. Radigan’s leadership over the years has seen the Howling Pack grow from a Sioux Falls-based booster group into an annual fundraising program providing close to $1.5 million annually - and growing - to support student-athlete scholarships.
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