Supporting the Growth of Community

Receiving a quality education goes well beyond the classroom and the textbooks. It includes having access to necessary resources; it includes having a strong support system; it includes community. Having a strong community behind students’ education has the ability to make a university that much stronger.

Howard Noziska (CE 67), vividly recalls a time when South Dakota Mines lacked a central hub for community on campus. In those days, the cafeteria was housed in the basement of some student dorms, with just a pool table and a couple ping pong tables. As he recalls, “it was a pretty sparse existence for a while.”

As the school continues to grow, so does the need for larger community gathering spaces, which is why Howard felt the importance to give to the Surbeck expansion project.

“It was kind of like a day and night thing,” he said. “Having gone through the first real Surbeck Center and understanding what an improvement to campus life that was, we thought that this project was another project that would enhance the students’ experience and make the school that much more appealing to students and potential students.”

Howard graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1962 and immediately enrolled in South Dakota Mines that fall. He ended up graduating in 1967 after spending a year studying mechanical engineering, then switching to chemical engineering.

During his time in school, he joined the ROTC to help supplement his and his wife’s income. He also worked during the week in the evenings and on the weekends worked for his uncle on the family farm in Belle Fourche, leaving only Sunday afternoon for his studies.

Surbeck isn’t the only area that Howard and his wife Mary Ann felt it was important to give back to. They were able to set up scholarships for students to help them with their financial needs heading into school.

“I developed a keen appreciation for why it’s important for students to have money,” he said.

Howard’s work evolved over time after graduation and took him from working as an engineer in Minneapolis, building 1.1 million square feet worth of mall space, to working at the Minnesota Masonry Institute promoting masonry construction. He later started his own company, Encompass, Inc., which provided engineering design, cost analysis, and construction management services. He began reviewing building problems and design details, which he did with his company for 35 years.

While his career went in a different direction than expected, he echoes the same sentiment as so many before him: it was all thanks to South Dakota Mines.

“At School of Mines, if nothing else, it teaches you to think,” he said. “My development was based on my experience and education at School of Mines.”

This is why he chose to both set up a scholarship for students, as well as donate to the growth of community in the Surbeck Center expansion; to help create a better environment for students to come and learn.

“The initial Surbeck, it was an awakening. Those were back in dismal days, it was a sorry time. The Surbeck Center came on board and we could go to a nice area and actually have a decent cafeteria and all kinds of things. It was something that made an impact.”