H. M. Briggs Leadership Scholarship

President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Agriculture, H.M. Briggs, provided South Dakota State University 17 years of dynamic leadership prior to his retirement in 1975.  Before assuming the presidency of SDSU, Hilton served eight years as Dean and Director of Agriculture at the University of Wyoming, preceded by an interval as Associate Dean of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University.  He was a member of the Animal Science teaching and research staff at both Oklahoma State and North Dakota State Universities prior to assuming administrative responsibilities.  He worked as a breeder, trainer, and showman of American Saddlebred horses.  Dr. Briggs judged at major livestock shows throughout the United States and authored Modern Breeds of Livestock.  Hilton’s portrait was hung in the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Collection at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in 1978.  He was killed in a car accident in November, 2001.

The fund that supports the Briggs Scholarship resulted from gifts in memory of Dr. Briggs and the Lillian Briggs by many friends and associates.