BROOKINGS, S.D. (9-24-26) — South Dakota State University has named three finalists for the position of vice president for research and economic development. Each finalist will participate in two days of interviews that will include meetings with SDSU leadership, faculty, staff and other key stakeholders. An open forum will be held for each candidate on campus and via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person.
The finalists are John Blanton Jr., associate dean for research in SDSU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station; Thomas Risch, vice chancellor for research at Rutgers University-Camden; and Nicholas Hammond, former associate vice president for innovation and commercialization and chief innovation and commercialization officer at Indiana University.
John Blanton Jr., Ph.D.
Blanton has served as associate dean for research in SDSU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station since 2023. Blanton provides leadership for a statewide research enterprise with approximately $61 million in annual research expenditures and a sponsored research portfolio averaging $27 million annually. He has participated in 63 externally funded grants and contracts totaling $26.9 million, and his research has focused on animal health, food safety, meat science, livestock production and natural resource management. Blanton has also increased research strategy and growth in critical areas, including peer-reviewed publications, proposal dollars, grant funding, graduate enrollment and the overall number of doctoral candidates.
Prior to coming to SDSU, Blanton served as professor and head of the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue University and held several leadership positions at Mississippi State University. His experience also includes leadership roles in contract research and pharmaceutical development. He earned his doctorate in muscle biology from Purdue University and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New Mexico State University.
Blanton will interview at SDSU Sept. 30-Oct. 1. His campus open forum will be held from 3-3:50 p.m. Sept. 30 in Lewis and Clark Room 262 in the University Student Union. The forum will also be available via Zoom at https://sdstate.zoom.us/j/
Thomas S. (Tom) Risch, Ph.D.
Risch serves as vice chancellor for research at Rutgers University-Camden, where he is the campus’s chief research officer and a member of the senior executive leadership team. His responsibilities include research strategy, sponsored programs, faculty support, research administration, student research, interdisciplinary initiatives and external partnerships. During Risch’s tenure, Rutgers-Camden recorded its two highest annual sponsored-award totals, exceeding $24 million in each of FY 2024 and FY 2026. Risch also created the Rutgers-Camden AI Campus and helped launch the Arkansas AI Campus. A wildlife ecologist, Risch has authored or co-authored 76 scholarly publications and has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 57 sponsored grants and awards totaling more than $8.2 million. He earned his doctorate in zoology from Auburn University, his master’s degree from Frostburg State University and his bachelor’s degree from Stockton State College.
Previously, Risch served as vice provost for research and technology transfer and executive director of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University. His leadership experience includes research growth, technology transfer, research compliance, major research facilities and economic development.
Risch will interview at SDSU Oct. 5-6. His campus open forum will be held from 3-3:50 p.m. Oct. 5 in Avera Health and Science Center 280. The forum will also be available via Zoom at https://sdstate.zoom.us/j/
Nicholas Hammond, Ph.D.
Hammond most recently served as associate vice president for innovation and commercialization and chief innovation and commercialization officer for the Indiana University, where he led innovation and commercialization strategy across the university’s research enterprise. His responsibilities included intellectual property, technology transfer, startup development, industry engagement and translational research. Hammond supported the establishment of the $138 million IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, the IU/IBRI Joint Center of Excellence for Point-of-Care Precision Medicine, and multiple interdisciplinary research institutes advancing translational research and innovation.
Hammond previously served as senior director and department head for innovation and technology research at the American Dental Association Science & Research Institute and has held executive positions with biotechnology companies and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. His career includes developing research commercialization and entrepreneurship programs, building partnerships with government and industry and raising more than $10 million through grants, contracts, philanthropy and startup investment. Hammond earned his doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor’s degree from Butler University.
Hammond will interview at SDSU Oct. 14-15. His campus open forum will be held from 3-3:50 p.m. Oct. 14 in Lewis and Clark Room 262 in the University Student Union. The forum will also be available via Zoom at https://sdstate.zoom.us/j/
SDSU’s vice president for research and economic development reports to the president, serves on the university’s executive leadership team and is chief research officer. The position provides leadership for the university’s research strategy, sponsored programs, research integrity and compliance, technology transfer and economic development partnerships, while working to expand SDSU’s research enterprise and strengthen its economic impact across South Dakota and the region.
Learn more about each candidate at https://www.sdstate.edu/
About South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 230 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 39 master’s degree programs, 17 Ph.D. and two professional programs.
The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state. SDSU’s research expenditures for the 2025 fiscal year were more than $94 million. SDSU has a Doctoral University: High Research Activity designation on The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
For more information: SDSU News • www.sdstate.edu
— From SDSU University Marketing and Communications
