Nancy and Dick Gowen

Nancy and Dick Gowen have been active members of the community for nearly 4 decades. The Gowens first made their home in Rapid City in 1977 when Dr. Richard Gowen was appointed Vice President of South Dakota Mines, a position he filled until 1984 when he was asked to lead Dakota State University. Nancy and Dick returned to Rapid City when Dick was named 15th president of South Dakota Mines in 1987.

After retiring from South Dakota Mines in 2003, Dr. Gowen served as Executive Director of the Homestake Laboratory Conversion Project. Dick is currently President and CEO of Dakota Power, LLC, a company that demonstrated the capability to design and build an electric drive system to perform comparable to the world's best electric drive system.

The Gowens have five children, one son and four daughters, two of their daughters and two sons-in-law are Tech Alumni. Three of the daughters reside in South Dakota, two in Rapid City, one in Sioux Falls, and one daughter lives in Houston; their son lives in Fayetteville, NC. Rounding out the family are 11 grandchildren and three great-grand children.

Nancy and Dick are well-known for their involvement in the community, participating in and supporting a multitude of community events and organizations. Nancy is a member of the Rapid City Public Library Foundation, the Mount Rushmore Society, the Starting Strong Task Force, and has been involved with The Friends of the Devereaux Library since its inception in 1993. The Gowens are pleased to support the Nostalgia Night Film Series and encourage other individuals to consider Nostalgia Night sponsorship.