Three elected to statewide humanities board

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BROOKINGS –  Kelly Kirk, Heidi Kruse and Jay Perry are the newest members of the board that sets policy and provides programming guidance for the statewide South Dakota Humanities Council.

The Council maintains a board of 18 South Dakotans with varied backgrounds who serve as volunteer members. Four members of the Council board are appointed by the Governor of South Dakota. The South Dakota Humanities Council is a statewide non-profit whose sole purpose is to provide humanities programming. 

Kelly Kirk (Spearfish)

Kelly Kirk, originally from Beulah, North Dakota, is an instructor of history and the director of the University Honors Program at Black Hills State University in Spearfish. She advises multiple student organizations on campus and serves on various university committees. Kirk also directs the Veterans’ Legacy Program, an interdisciplinary research project aimed at developing a broad collection of public history materials that tell the story of America’s veterans buried in the five veterans’ cemeteries in the Black Hills region.

A graduate of Black Hills State University, she completed her graduate work at Montana State University and continues to research and write on local women’s political history. 

Heidi Kruse (Sturgis)

Kruse grew up riding horses and taming barn cats on a farm in eastern South Dakota between Doland and Frankfort. Her parents and much of her family still live there. She joined the Meade School District as the Elementary Librarian and Media Specialist in 2016 after an early career in marketing and non-profits. She is also a freelance writer.

Kruse lives on a densely wooded mountain near Sturgis and Bear Butte with her husband, Troy, and their two children Miriam (Mira) and Seth. They have an elderly Alaskan Malamute named Cheyenne and an ancient cat, Hades. Kruse has served on a number of community volunteer boards including the SD Festival of Books, Sturgis Big Read, Black Hills Business Council, Black Hills Badlands and Lakes Tourism, and others.

Kruse is a certified professional teacher with both elementary and secondary library endorsements. She holds an M.A. in communication specializing in rhetorical criticism from NDSU. At SDSU, she earned a B.S. in liberal studies with a focus in English and world literature and a B.S. in mass communication with an advertising emphasis. Her minors are in sociology and political science.

Jay Perry (Pierre)

Jay Perry is the assistant vice president for academic affairs for the South Dakota Board of Regents, the governing board for the state’s six public universities and two special schools. His responsibilities include coordinating the development of new academic programs, developing and administering academic policies, and leading a variety of special initiatives on behalf of South Dakota’s public universities. 

Perry previously taught U.S. and world history and spent a decade as a management consultant for public sector clients.

Perry grew up in central Indiana, but his family has lived in South Dakota for over twenty years. A lifelong love of history and reading drives his interest in the humanities. He earned a B.S. in political science from the University of Evansville, an M.A. in U.S. History from Indiana University (Indianapolis), and a Ph.D. specializing in policy history from Bowling Green State University. 

Board to meet in Brookings

Kirk and Kruse will attend their first board meeting in Brookings, Nov. 15-16, while Perry attended an April meeting in Pierre as a board member-elect. The board held an election for new members and new officers during its summer board meeting in July 2018.

During the meeting, the board will conduct its usual business of grant reviews and discussion of programming, as well as welcome new officers and honor outgoing officers.

Vonnie Shields of Pierre, formerly Chair-Elect, will oversee her first meeting as chair, taking over for outgoing chair Judith Meierhenry of Sioux Falls. Meierhenry will be recognized for her two years as chair and will continue on the Executive Committee as Past Chair. 

Julie Johnson of Aberdeen will assume her new position of Treasurer, while Eric Abrahamson of Rapid City will begin his second year as Secretary. Whitney Rencountre will attend his first meeting as the chair-elect; he’ll serve as chair following Shields’ term. Also, longtime board member Scott Rausch of Rapid City will attend his final meeting at the November gathering.

For more details, visit the SDHC online at sdhumanities.org and sdbookfestival.com or call (605) 688-6113.