Steve and Julie Vanderboom speaking at the dedication of the new the
Vanderboom Office of Student Success on Monday, Sept. 26 in the Devereaux Library
at South Dakota Mines.
South Dakota Mines dedicated the Vanderboom Office
of Student Success on Monday, Sept. 26, honoring donors Steve and Julie
Vanderboom, who donated $1 million to expand and renovate the office, which is
part of the overall renovation of the Devereaux Library.
Steve, a 1974 South Dakota Mines graduate in civil
engineering, founded Pace Analytical in Minneapolis in 1978. He served as CEO
for 41 years and then as executive chairman. Julie completed a successful
career in nursing and nursing management. By 2021, Pace had become the largest
privately held environmental and pharmaceutical testing business in the nation
with over 60 laboratories and 3,400 employees. Steve received a Lifetime
Achievement Award in the environmental industry as well as a South Dakota Mines
Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021.
“The value of this space to students, in particular
to freshmen who are in a new environment and have new challenges, is that they
can find support,” said Steve. “I love this space. I think it’s fantastic. I
wish it had been here when I was here.”
The Vanderboom Office of Student Success is
significantly larger than the previous student success office area that was
located in the Surbeck Center and adds collaboration and study spaces for
students, furniture, professional offices and conference rooms. It also brings
together the offices of the first-year advisors, tutoring services and the
testing center.
“One of the things I’ve worked toward is dispelling
the myth that smart students don’t need to ask for help,” said Lisa Carlson,
Vice President of Student Success at Mines. “This space is really helping us
change that culture.”
The work of the Student Success office is paying off;
Mines has an 82% retention rate in freshmen to sophomore students in the
2021-2022 school year. The Vanderboom Office of Student Success is a vital part
of the university vision to develop world-class leaders in science and
engineering to benefit society.