After being the first in her family to earn a law degree, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was the first woman in South Dakota elected to Congress. Today, she can be found on the campus of Augustana University serving as the university’s first female president. Herseth Sandlin’s life work reflects a value of education instilled at a young age by her grandparents and a desire she shares with her father and grandparents to serve the state in government and leadership roles.

“I want to leave a legacy in which the work that I undertook during different stages of my life to bridge divides creates and expands opportunities for multiple people in a variety of different contexts,” said Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, president, Augustana University