South Dakota
USD Sanford medical school location to open mid-2028 in Sioux Falls
The home for the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine in Sioux Falls will be the Talley Building on the Sanford medical campus, university officials announced April 2.
This news came after the Aug. 14, 2025, announcement that the medical school would move the first 18 months of doctor of medicine training — Pillar 1 — from Vermillion to Sioux Falls by the summer of 2027. The last 30 months of M.D. training has long been in Sioux Falls.
At the time, officials said learning would continue in temporary locations in Sioux Falls on the Sanford campus while a new, permanent building was to be built in 7-10 years at a location to be determined, but the April 2 announcement about the use of the Talley Building “expedites” this part of the process, according to a release from USD.
Construction is expected to begin this summer, with all areas fully open and operational by mid-2028, USD spokesperson Alissa Matt said.
Students who start their doctor of medicine degree program in fall of 2027 will still complete their first year of Pillar 1 in Vermillion, and complete the last few months of the pillar in Sioux Falls. Students who start the degree program in fall of 2028 will learn in Sioux Falls.
The South Dakota Board of Regents signed off on a memorandum of agreement April 2 stating Sanford Health would fund the design and construction of a 4,400 square foot anatomy lab on the hospital’s main Sioux Falls campus, as well as renovate the 50,000 square foot Talley Building, named for former medical school dean Robert Talley.
Talley was a “driving force” in initially establishing the medical school in Sioux Falls, and the building named after him will now house the M.D. program and medical student support services, according to a release from USD.
USD’s medical school would use the spaces under a lease agreement that’s yet to be seen. The agreement also states that “additional research space not yet identified may be planned and designed in future phases as programmatic needs evolve.”
Facilities could include classroom and instructional labs, clinical training and simulation spaces, research and innovation areas, faculty and learner collaboration spaces, shared conference and meeting rooms, and technology infrastructure that supports modern medical education, according to the agreement.
In addition to the partnership with Sanford Health, Avera plans to provide classroom space in Plaza 3 on the Avera McKennan campus to “support collaboration and integration with health systems in Sioux Falls,” Matt said.
Avera Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Post noted in a news release that Avera has a long history of working with USD’s medical school — including more than half of USD Frontier and Rural Medicine students in Avera communities — and views it as a vital state resource.
USD President Sheila Gestring said in a news release that the university and medical school are grateful for Sanford and Avera’s generosity in providing space to support medical education.
“These plans create a cost-effective path forward and enable us to expedite this transition — positioning USD to deliver the best possible medical education even sooner,” Gestring said.
Sanford Health President and CEO Bill Gassen said in a news release that expanding the medical school’s presence on the Sanford campus creates “an environment where education, research and clinical care come together in powerful ways.”
Medical school dean Dr. Tim Ridgway said in a news release that the support of Sanford, Avera, Monument Health, Veterans Affairs Health and independent providers is “critical in our shared mission to serve the state.”
“We could not develop physicians without the resources and residencies they provide or without our clinical faculty,” Ridgway said. “Together, we are shaping the future of medical education and improving quality health care for communities across South Dakota.”