South Dakota Mines Celebrates 193rd Commencement
South Dakota Mines will celebrate its 193rd commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in the Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. Those who wish to view the ceremony online can find information here.
The commencement includes more than 500 graduates, including two associates, 400 baccalaureates, 95 master’s and 24 doctoral degrees. The names of the graduates and more detailed biographies on the speakers can be found in the commencement program.
Members of the media are welcome to attend the ceremony and interview graduates, speakers and university officials after the event.
This semester’s senior class speaker is Linus Uy. Mines will also award an honorary doctorate during the ceremony to Steve Vanderboom, who will also give the keynote address.
The university will continue its tradition of recognizing the 50-year graduates from 1976, several of whom will be in attendance during Saturday’s ceremony.
Senior Class Representative
Linus Uy
During his time on campus, Linus Uy, a native of Bellingham, Wash., has served as a peer mentor for incoming students, a math tutor with the Slide Rule, treasurer of Chi Sigma Pi and a member of the President’s Leadership Academy. He received first place in the 2025 Howard Wells Public Speaking Competition, the Outstanding Civil Engineering junior and senior awards, the Academic Achievement Award and the 2024 RESPEC STEM scholarship. He has conducted research in drone photogrammetry and completed internships in land development and project engineering.
Uy will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with minors in environmental and construction engineering. After graduation, he will do summer research at the University of Hong Kong before continuing his education in energy technologies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Honorary Doctorate
Steve Vanderboom, a 1974 Mines civil engineering graduate, will serve as the keynote speaker and receive an honorary doctorate. Vanderboom has more than 46 years of experience in the analytical services industry, specifically in the areas of environmental testing, pharmaceutical and medical device testing, field services and environmental engineering consulting.
In 1978, he founded Pace Analytical in Minneapolis, serving as chief executive officer for 41 years, and then as executive chairman. Pace is the largest privately held environmental and pharmaceutical testing business in the nation, with more than 80 laboratories around the United States and Puerto Rico. Its laboratories provide comprehensive testing services and project support for consulting, engineering, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, energy, medical device, transportation and utility companies, municipalities, industry and government professionals worldwide.
Vanderboom received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Environmental Business Journal in 2019 and the Mines Distinguished Alumni Award in 2021. The university’s Vanderboom Office of Student Services and the Vanderboom Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Research are named in honor of Vanderboom and his wife Julie’s generous philanthropic support.