Vice President Scholl Set to Retire

Daniel Scholl, South Dakota State University's vice president for research and economic development, has announced he will retire, effective December 2026, concluding a distinguished career in research, education and administration, including nine years overseeing the transformational growth of SDSU's research enterprise.  

Scholl has been with SDSU since 2011, when he was hired as the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station's director and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science's (then College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences) associate dean for research. In 2016, he was named the college's interim dean before moving into his role as vice president for research and economic development in July 2017.  

Thanks to Scholl's leadership and vision, the university's research enterprise and doctoral enrollment have seen significant growth. Research expenditures have grown by 47% during his tenure, from $64 million in 2019 to a record-breaking $94 million in fiscal year 2025. A crucial component to this work has been Scholl's relationship-building with South Dakota's Congressional delegation and its staffers, which has opened new doors for the university.  

His advocacy and strategic planning have brought the university to the cusp of achieving Research 1 classification — a significant milestone that will bolster South Dakota's economy for generations to come.  

An equally impactful achievement for Scholl was strengthening the university's administrative bench. He played a key role in creating positions and hiring associate deans for research in each of the university's seven colleges, helping bolster each individual college's research capacity and coordination.