Mines Dedicates Vanderboom Office of Student Success

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.