Credit Hour

VERMILLION, S.D. - Monday was Veterans Day, a federal holiday dedicated to honoring those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.On campus, students had the opportunity to collaborate with Jing Williams, Ph.D., on her research honoring fallen veterans of Clay County.On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Professor Williams about the project, resources available to her students, community partnerships that were engaged and why Professor Williams teaches her students the importance of community engagement.“These veterans died for us and for the future of the country at a time, no matter what the political winds were, they were the ones actually fighting the war and they didn’t make it back,” Williams said. “I then asked myself the question, what can I do to find out these veteran's stories?”Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D. - Former policy staff member for Mike Rounds, former member of the Public Utilities Commission, former chief of staff for Governor Daugaard and now U.S. Congressman for South Dakota. Dusty Johnson, U.S. Congressman and USD alumnus, has been serving the state of South Dakota for more than 12 years and has an interesting story to tell. On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Congressman Johnson about life on Capitol Hill, his personal journey through the political landscape and his advice for students looking to get involved in politics.“If you want to do something then I think politics is a great place to be—if you’re motivated by mission, if you’re trying to live a purpose driven life then I think instead of being worn down by politics, it's going to build reputation because that mission is more important than you, it is more important than your political ambition,” Johnson said. “Make sure you’re getting into public service for the right reasons, it will serve you much better long term.”Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D. - “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”Those are the implications stated by the First Amendment. It’s a topic that gets discussed weekly by our country and has implications for college campuses. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Education (FIRE) is an advocacy group about free speech on campus, freedom of association, academic freedom, due process and freedom of conscious. On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Mariene Beak-Coon, director of litigation for FIRE about free speech issues affecting college campuses. “I think it’s super interesting to think about how you view the first amendment not being somebody who is not being a First Amendment scholar, just someone who interacts with the idea of the First Amendment,” Beak-Coon said. “How does it affect you? How is it coming up in your life?”Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D. - Educational leadership is a field dedicated to preparing individuals to be successful school administrators. Those individuals go on to become superintendents or principals who serve teachers and staff. The job is based around getting to know a given school and its priorities, and then these educational leaders take their job to the next level in terms of service. In order to facilitate student learning, train educators and improve accessibility, these educational leaders are embracing a powerful tool: technology.On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with David De Jong, Ed.D., assistant professor in the Division of Educational Leadership in the School of Education, about technology in the classroom and simulation based learning. “There are some pretty exciting things happening in technology. What I love the most about it right now is people are really focusing on using technology that improves student achievement or improves access for students,” De Jong said. “I’ve been able to latch onto some pretty exciting things just in my three and a half years here at USD. The two big ones that I’ve been able to dive into is educational leadership simulations and also telepresence robots.”Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D. - Telehealth is a growing field that allows for the distribution of health-related services and information for a long-distance patient with a clinician contact.On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Susan Anderson, chair of family medicine at USD’s Sanford School of Health. They discuss the status of telehealth in South Dakota, why it’s important and the growing changes the field faces daily. “Taking a good history doesn't change, having repore with a patient and being that partner with a patient and their healthcare doesn't change but how we receive the information, maybe some of the diagnostic tools that we were able to utilize, those continue to change and we want to adapt to those changes,” Anderson said. Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D.- Empathy without action is meaningless. Those are words spoken by former North Dakota U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp at the University of South Dakota School of Law regarding Savanna's Act.On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Senator Heitkamp about this piece of legislation involving murdered and missing indigenous women.They discuss Savanna's Act and why law enforcement offices must be held accountable for cold cases and the lack of attention for murdered and missing indigenous women“Over many years, what became increasingly apparent is that where the rest of the world would pay a lot of attention to a missing white person, it did not get the same reaction for Native American people,” Sen. Heitkamp said. “There was and continues to be a backlog of cold cases involving missing and murdered indigenous people in which their families were never given the opportunity to tell their story.”Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D. - This week marks the 105th Dakota Days and USD students and the Vermillion community are celebrating as they always do. One man has a different job this week. Coach Bob Nielson of the USD football team not only prepares for his team to pull a win on Saturday but also wants to offer the community a unique homecoming experience, On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Nielson, about Dakota Days, preparing for the big game and talking more about Nielson’s 36-year long career. “What makes Dakota Days unique is for many people, they get to come back and there’s a different level of pride that shows up whether you have more people come back or they draw their experience from being at homecoming,” Nielson said. “We want it to be a win on Saturday.” Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D.- Allowing your body to be set free and to accept what is around you is essential to living a healthy and well balanced life.  September is National Yoga Awareness Month, a national awareness campaign to educate people on the health effects of yoga and how to take a step into a more active life. On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Rebecca Johnson, USD alumna and owner of Soul Story Yoga in Yankton, S.D. They discuss why the yoga artform is important and what people can learn from the artform. “It helps people to manage stress, yoga helps to reduce Cortisol, the stress hormone in the body. It helps to lower blood pressure for a lot of people, it is a weight bearing exercise still so it does improve strength and muscle tone,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of health benefits to it. Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VERMILLION, S.D.- Life, Liberty, Freedom and Prosperity are what make our country unique and why many people call this country home.On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Greg Magarian, professor of constitutional law at Washington University. They discuss why constitutional law is important and how free speech is relevant to society today. “The most important values in terms of moving forward with free speech are inclusion and diversity of a certain type,” Magarian said. “What we want I think in public discourse is an environment where no one is excluded from expressing their ideas and from considering ideas that other people express.” Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At times, one may need to step in to support someone they love dealing with an emotional struggle. It is important to discuss the best ways to not only recognize these situations, but also how one can help navigate them.  This week is National Suicide Prevention Week, an awareness strategy designed to inform people about how their actions and conversations can go a long way to save someone’s life.  On this week's episode of Credit Hour, Host Michael Ewald has a conversation with Kari Oyen, assistant professor of school psychology at USD.  They discuss how suicide can be prevented, what one can do to help people that might be struggling with mental illness, and the resources offered for students on campus.  “The best thing we can really do for someone that is really struggling with mental illness, is taking the time to listen. Know that talking with someone about suicide does not increase the chance for them to die from suicide,” Oyen said. “Talking with someone about their suicidal thoughts can be a mechanism for getting help.”   Find Credit Hour on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and usd.edu/podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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On this episode of #CreditHour, Professor Thomas Tiahrt discusses the POET Center for Business Analytics and the future of big data in South Dakota. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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