Charles Mix County commissioners oppose state Regents' move to shift engineering program

Charles Mix County’s Board of Commissioners voted on March 5, 1971 to oppose the State Board of Regents’ decision to relocate the engineering department from the State University of South Dakota to the School of Mines at Rapid City.

The resolution, moved and adopted at the March 5 session, states the board believes the Regents' decision would inconvenience county residents who attend the college, reduce the College of Agriculture's effectiveness for local farmers, and interfere with necessary cooperation between agricultural and engineering programs important for local irrigation and economic development. The board requested the Regents reverse the decision and asked the state legislature to enact legislation overruling the Regents if they did not (SEG 136).

Why it matters: The county’s formal opposition highlights rural concerns about access to higher education, inter-agency cooperation on agricultural and engineering needs (notably irrigation), and the potential economic implications for residents who rely on proximate engineering education and services.

What’s next: The minutes record the resolution's adoption and the board's request to the legislature and Regents; the transcript does not record any immediate response from the Regents or subsequent state action in these minutes (SEG 136).