From finance to food, six graduates who have risen to the top in their field have been selected for the 2024 Class of Distinguished Alumni by the South Dakota State University Alumni Association.
They are:
- Erica DeBoer, Class of 97, Lennox
- Curt Everson, Class of 77 / MS 79, Pierre
- Dennis Helder, Class of 79 & 80 / MS 85, Volga
- Kendra Kattelmann, Class of 77, Brookings
- Jerry Tunheim, Class of 62 / MS 64, Melbourne, Florida
- Rob Wylie, Class of 76, Pierre
They will be honored during activities on Hobo Day weekend Oct. 11-12.
Erica DeBoer
DeBoer, a nursing graduate and native of Sherburn, Minnesota, serves as system vice president and chief nursing officer for Sanford Health, overseeing 9,000 nurses in post-acute, ambulatory and inpatient settings throughout the Sanford system.
She began her career as a nurse assistant at the Good Samaritan Society in Jackson, Minnesota, then at Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford) in Sioux Falls while still an SDSU student. DeBoer began taking leadership roles in 2002 when she was named a clinical care coordinator at Sioux Valley Hospital.
In 2011, DeBoer became clinical nurse leader in clinical informatics/center for care management at Sanford USD Medical Center. In 2019, she was named senior executive director of that office. DeBoer assumed her current position in 2021.
DeBoer also is the past chair of the SDSU Alumni Association board of directors and in January was elected to serve on the SDSU Foundation board of governors. Also, DeBoer has served as an adjunct faculty member for SDSU nursing, and she and her husband, Shane, sponsored a control room for a nursing simulation lab on the SDSU campus.
Curt Everson
Everson was born and raise on a farm near Hayti and earned a degree in ag business, following that with a masters degree in economics in 1979. He began his career as a natural resource economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His career path had him heading toward Washington, D.C.
Instead, Everson moved his young family to Pierre, where he started as a budget analyst in the South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management. He then spent almost eight years as commissioner of finance and management, the states budget and finance director.
Near the end of Gov. Bill Janklows second administration, Everson became president of the South Dakota Bankers Association, a position he would hold for 18 years, retiring in 2020.
In that role, he became known for being a passionate advocate for South Dakota banks. Shortly before his retirement, he helped the South Dakota Bankers Association launch the Emerging Leaders and Women in Banking programs, the latter of which has grown to be the biggest banking event in the state.
Dennis Helder
Helder, who was raised in Canton, earned degrees in animal science (79) and electrical engineering (80) followed by a masters in electrical engineering (85).
The distinguished professor emeritus became an expert in the field of radiometric calibration of satellite imagery working extensively with the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center near Sioux Falls and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.
Helder spent 34 years on the SDSU faculty, serving as head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 2001 to 2010, associate dean for research in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering from 2010 to 2019 and director of the SDSU Image Processing Lab from 1990 to 2019.
In 2003, he was named researcher of the year for the college. In 2004, he received group achievement awards from NASA and EROS Data Center as well as the U.S. Geological Surveys John Wesley Powell Award, which is the highest civilian award given by the USGS. In 2023, Lohr College of Engineering named him its Distinguished Engineer.
During his career, he received grants totaling more than $27 million.
Kendra Kattelmann
Kattelmann, an Avon native and a nutrition and food science graduate, is a distinguished professor emerita of nutrition and dietetics at SDSU. She spent 26 years on campus, retiring in June 2023. Her research on nutrition education and changing eating behaviors netted more than $13 million in grants.
The inaugural director of the School of Health and Consumer Sciences was recognized by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics with its 2020 Medallion Award for contributions to the profession.
Kattelmann, who was honored as the states outstanding dietitian in 2005, was a driving force getting SDSUs dietetic internship program accredited and having the internship relocated to the SDSU campus. She has also led nutrition education programs in the state as well as internationally.
Kattelmann was commissioned as a distinguished military SDSU ROTC graduate in the U.S. Army and her first assignment was at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Kattelmann retired after 32 years of service as a colonel in the U.S Army Reserves. She was activated for Desert Storm in 1991 and Global War in Terrorism in 2003.
Jerald Tunheim
Tunheim, a Langford native and an engineering physics grad who added a masters in physics in 1964, taught in the physics department at SDSU from 1968 to 1985 and was department head from 1978 to 1985.
He then spent two years as dean of natural sciences at Eastern Washington University before returning to South Dakota to serve as president of Dakota State University in Madison from 1987 until his retirement in 2004. He led DSU through a mission change to focus on computer and information systems technology.
The Jerry A. Tunheim Classroom Building is named after him, and in 2003 he received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree for his contributions to South Dakota.
During his tenure as Dakota State president, the university saw a 236% increase in enrollment to 2,263 just before he retired, with computer majors growing from 109 to 973 students to account for nearly half of its degree-seeking students.
Rob Wylie
Wylie, an economics graduate originally from Aberdeen, worked for the South Dakota Retirement System for more than 37 years and served as its executive director from 2003 to 2019. The system is widely recognized as one of the most well-funded and efficiently operated public employee retirement systems in the United States.
While executive director, he also served on the South Dakota Investment Council, which oversees the investment of all South Dakota trust assets, which is more than $15 billion.
State Sen. Jean Hunhoff called Wylie a legend and a hero for the work he did for the South Dakota Retirement System, particularly noting its impact on members and the state.
The state retirement system has been recognized by the Society of Actuaries as a model public employee retirement system and by the Pew Research Center as one of the best managed public employee retirement systems in the nation.
He also served on the SDSU Alumni Association board from 2014 to 2020.
After retirement, he has continued to serve the Pierre area and is currently chair of the board for Avera St. Marys Hospital as well as serving on the Avera Health Board of Consultants and the Delta Dental board.
For more information on the Alumni Associations Legends & Leaders event, go here.
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