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USD Football falls to Kansas in nail-biter
USD marching band prepares for halftime performance
The Coyotes nearly captured a win but fell short with a last-minute touchdown lifitng Kansas to a 17-14 victory. Read more on page B1.
The Sound of USD is back for a full football season of field performances. Read more on pge B3.
ANATOMY CLASSES TO BENEFIT FROM USD STUDENT’S RESEARCH
Submitted Photo | The Volante
USD student Alexis Slack created a 3D printing model of animal bones. Slack is a biology of human dynamics and neuroscience major. Slack hopes that once she is finished with this project, the skulls she has created can be used for learning and teaching in anatomy and physiology classes. Sydney Johnson
Sydney.Johnson@coyotes.usd.edu
A skull fit for a chameleon is being produced in a biology lab on USD’s campus. Junior Alexis Slack, a biology of human dynamics and neuroscience major, is working on a project that involves using a 3D printer to develop a series of skulls— chameleon, cat, and human—that can be deconstructed and put back together. Her first steps began in the fall of 2019, when she started learning the software required to fulfill her project. Slack then dove into the creation of the chameleon skull in the summer of 2021. “We’re creating a 3D puzzle out of each skull, so I am using micro-CT scans to divide the skull. Then, I am 3D printing each bone separately to create a physical model that can be put together with magnets,” Slack said. Slack hopes that once she is finished with this project, the skulls she has created can be used for learning and teaching in anatomy and physiology classes. After perfecting the 3D models, Slack is planning to upload the files to a server that can be accessed by professors from universities all over the country so they can use her designs to support student learning. “I hope these skulls can help with quicker learning. From my experience working with the skull, once I had the printed pieces, I was able to learn how to put the skull together and what all the bones within the skull were within two weeks, and I’ve never had an anatomy class before,” Slack said. Slack came to USD knowing she wanted to find a
major in a science related field, and she also knew she had enjoyed doing small 3D printing projects throughout her high school years. After moving to campus, Slack got in contact with Chris Anderson, a biology professor, and began working in his lab shortly thereafter. The work she has been doing regarding the vertebrae skulls was accomplished with Anderson, who helped her to secure the micro-CT scans and put together the finished product. “Projects like this are very tedious. There are over 4000 slides of scans that we had to go through in order to make sure the printed prototype was perfect. Then we had to hand-drill all of the magnets and make sure we got them in the right place and didn’t mess up, because if we did, we could have ended up drilling through the bone,” Slack said. Throughout the process of constructing these skulls, Slack has also been able to learn about herself and how her views on her future may be changing because of the work she has done at USD. “This experience has definitely made me realize how much I like doing research. I had an idea that I might like it, but this definitely solidified that, so now it’s kind of a battle between if I want to do research or if I want to do a more traditional career,” Slack said. Now that Slack has completed the chameleon skull, she is moving on to the next step: the cat skull. She will have the micro-CT scans for the cat skull within the Submitted Photo | The Volante next week and will start working on the files shortly 3D models she is creating will be used by students to study and learn after that.
more about biology. Slack started designing the models in 2019, beginning her work that is still being done today.
USD Foundation president, Steve Brown, to retire Miles Amende
Miles.Amende@coyotes.usd.edu
After serving almost 10 years as President and CEO of the USD Foundation, Steve Brown will be retiring from his position. Brown was responsible for a number of USD’s fundraising campaigns, including “Onward: The Campaign for South Dakota,” a seven-year program which raised $272.4 million, according to the USD Alumni & Friends website. During his tenure, Brown increased the foundation’s endowment to $330 million, which he said was valued at slightly under $150 million when he began his job. Brown, who started in January of 2012, was working on a campaign at Indiana State University when he was contacted by WittKeiffer, the firm USD used in search of candidates for president of the foundation. Initially, he wasn’t interested, though he said he was intrigued when the university sent more information. “I… had a chance to visit with the search committee of foundation board members and President Abbott and visited Vermillion and thought, ‘I want this job, I hope they offer it,’ and fortunately a few weeks after that, I had that chance to accept the position,” Brown said. As president and CEO of the foundation, Brown would visit with donors from all over the country who wanted to give back to USD, assisting them in deciding how they wanted their donations used. “A lot of people misunderstand aspects of our work. I think they think that we go around and ask people for money, and there is an aspect of that, but it’s really, at a high and significant level, development of relationships,” Brown said. “Our job, in many respects, is (being) that conduit between campus and our alumni and friends.” A large part of Brown’s job involved travel-
ing to meet potential donors, often in their homes, which he said meant shunning the coat and tie of the corporate world in favor of something more casual. “What you wouldn’t want to do is go out to West River and… visit somebody, on their ranch and show up in a three piece suit,” Brown said. “You want to actually be able to connect with those individuals, so I’d probably be more dressed casually… in coyote gear, or something representing the university.” Along with “Onward: The Campaign for South Dakota,” Brown said, one of the campaigns he’s most proud of is the Women in Philanthropy program, which puts an emphasis on getting women engaged as a community to rally behind campus programs. Brown said he hadn’t originally planned to retire until he was 70, but over the summer decided to step down early after consulting with his wife, colleagues, friends and mentors. “It’s been a wonderful 10 years. It’s been a joy every day to do, and now it’s time to maybe step aside so someone else can move in,” Brown said. Brown said he loves the Vermillion community and looks forward to staying here with his wife and daughter after he retires. Currently, USD is conducting a national search for Brown’s successor. No potential candidates have been announced at this time. Brown’s work isn’t done, however. The USD foundation is preparing for its next fundraising campaign, though Brown said even though dollars are the result of the work, working at the foundation isn’t all about the money. “It’s about the people you meet and the relationships that you’ve developed, and understanding when you sit down with people, what are their values, how did the institution Submitted Photo | The Volante impact them,” Brown said. “It’s fascinating Steve Brown, President and CEO of the USD Foundation, helped raise over $270 to find out all those things about individuals’ million for “Onward: The Campaign for South Dakota.” Additionally, the foundation’s lives. I’ll miss that.” endowment more than doubled during his time as President.