USF and a SculptureWalk

The University of Sioux Falls, a private Christian university, was founded in 1883. The nine Baptist churches in the Dakota Territory met in Vermillion in June 1872 at their first meeting of the Baptist Association and adopted a resolution to "... encourage a more general and complete education of our youth under distinctively Christian influence."

The Dakota Collegiate Institute began in September 1883 in the basement of First Baptist Church, providing secondary and collegiate programs. The name was changed to Sioux Falls University in 1885 with a secondary program called the Academy and a collegiate program,
 Sioux Falls College. The high school program, the Academy, closed in 1925 due to declining enrollment, but the collegiate department continued to grow.

A merger with four Baptist schools which had ceased to operate between 1929 and 1931 was a turning point for the college. It also brought about another name change, to Sioux Falls College.

The Second World War brought some lean times, but enrollment surged when the veterans returned home. There were more lean years to come. In 1958 the enrollment was 378, but 10 years later it had grown to over 1,000 students. In 1995 the college became the University of Sioux Falls.

Jordan Hall is now the administration building

"Here is preserved the Old Yankton Trail and Stage Road. Over this trail the people of Sioux Falls fled to Yankton under cavalry escort for safety from hostile Sioux Indians, Aug. 28, 1862."

I learned about this marker when I was researching the history of Sioux Falls for my geocaching Adventure Lab. I was excited to see the marker while we were on the campus. The Yankton Trail and Stage Road ran through this section of the USF campus. 

There are eight permanent art pieces and eleven more sculptures and metal works throughout the campus SculptureWalk. These are just a few of the pieces that caught my eye or were on the path of the geocaching Adventure Lab.

Raven’s Voyage

by Martha Pettigrew

Traditional totem figures, and depicted them in a contemporary manner.

Glidden Hall

Divine Servant 

by Max Greiner

Christ washing the feet of disciples symbolizing Christian servanthood, 

which Jesus calls all of His followers to embrace.

Ascending Perspectives

by Craig Snyder

Sky and water are inextricably linked. Swirls of roots and currents connect us to the earth.

Tranquil Composure

by Gregory Mendez

A modern interpretation of Athena, a Greek Goddess from ancient Greek mythology.

the campus was very quiet on the day of our visit

we did see a few students not able to return to their home country?

Synchronous

by Tim James & Aidan Demarais

This sculpture represents the merging of efforts between angular, round, smooth and textured surfaces: ultimately depicting the ever-elusive state of harmony. Gears, sprockets and pulleys were compiled and welded together to form the sphere.

USF has: 

more than 90 undergraduate academic programs

student/faculty ratio: 16:1

1675 students from 35 states & 14 countries

also offers graduate classes & programs