College of Arts & Sciences Chiesman Fund

Purpose

Our Purpose

  1. There is hereby established at the University of South Dakota the Allene R. Chiesman Fund for Civic Education for the purpose of promoting civic education with special attention to creating a greater awareness of the meaning of democracy and democratic ideals, to the role of law and the nature of citizenship in a democratic society, and to the relationship of economics and democracy.
  2. In furtherance of its civic education goals, the Fund is authorized to:
    • support research addressing the issues of citizenship and civic education;
    • fund research and studies on the on-going problems of American democracy, including but not limited to economic and social problems;
    • fund studies of issues concerning the Constitution of the United States in particular and the legal systems in the United States in general;
    • sponsor studies of public policies with particular focus on policies relating to the role of citizens in our political system and consumers in our economic system;
    • support the publication of material produced through the aid of the Fund;
    • provide awards for contests promoting civic education;
    • make grants to organizations promoting civic education (for example, Boy's and Girl's State);
    • support conferences, meetings, and forums designed to educate people about civic education matters;
    • work with educational institutions to develop civic education materials and programs for students at all levels;
    • coordinate activities of the Fund with other organizations and institutions for the purpose of maximizing efforts to promote Fund goals.
  3. To oversee Fund activities, the President of the University shall appoint a Fund Director and an advisory committee.
  4. Unless approved by the donor or the Board of Directors of the Chiesman Foundation for Democracy, only interest on Fund principal can be used to support Fund activities.
  5. To help defray administrative costs associated with the Fund, the Fund is authorized to expend annually not to exceed 15% of the current year's revenue for administrative purposes.
  6. The Fund is authorized to receive other revenues given to support Fund purposes.