SDSU establishes new outpost, Ness School Downtown, in Sioux Falls at Startup building

South Dakota State University has a new footprint in downtown Sioux Falls.

SDSU’s Ness School of Management and Economics has established an outpost called Ness School Downtown in the Startup Sioux Falls building at 100 E. Sixth Street.

The site is part of SDSU’s continuing goal of keeping connections with the state’s largest city strong, SDSU President Barry Dunn explained, pointing to more than 100 years of SDSU extension programming in the city with everything from master gardening to 4H and nutrition programs for adults, and more than 50 years of pharmacy and nursing clinical sites for students.

This outpost is one more touch point for the state’s land-grant university, which also has foundation offices up the road on North Phillips Avenue on the way to Falls Park.

More: Levitt, SDSU Wokini Initiative present first-ever Indigenous All My Relatives Festival

Dunn came up with the idea for the outpost after visiting Startup Sioux Falls and said he was “taken with the opportunity we have to serve constituents in a more intimate and important way.”

He said he looks forward to the “tremendous, positive” impact the outpost could have on the community. He envisions anything from a speaker series on a certain topic or topics, or classes that can help people earn certificates for their careers and add to their academic portfolio, taking place at the SDSU-designated space in the building. Faculty will also have office hours.

“We’re proud of our long-time work in agriculture and engineering, but our land-grant mission is teaching, research, and extension and outreach,” Dunn said. “This fits perfectly into our mission.”

More: How opportunity centers are changing South Dakota universities 2 years later

Offices and meeting space there will be used to make decisions and talk about the solid economic and business analysis done at SDSU, Dunn said. The outpost will also host workshops, career fairs, career coaching, academic advising and more.

A coordinator will be hired to manage the outpost’s day-to-day operations while Joe Santos remains director of the overall Ness School. Santos said the outpost is an “ideal instrument” for the school’s vision.

“My colleagues and I see Ness School Downtown as a space for knowledge transfer, bringing what we do in research to a wide audience through outreach programming,” he said in a news release, noting he and colleagues will think about challenges and opportunities in the innovation ecosystem, and what could be learned from fundamental principles of accounting, business law, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing and real estate, for example.

The outpost’s ribbon-cutting is slated for 12:30 p.m. Sept. 29, followed by its inaugural event at 1 p.m.; an interactive workshop entitled “Westside Story: A Tale of Determination, Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” in which attendees will analyze key elements of a successful entrepreneurial venture, including innovation, marketing identification and sustainable growth.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SDSU opens Ness School Downtown in Sioux Falls