Chris and Claudia Dinkel Scholarship 

Dr. Chris Dinkel was a native of Springfield, SD.  After serving three years for the Air Force in World War II, he enrolled at Iowa State University where he received his B.S. degree in 1948.  In 1949 he earned his M.S. degree from SDSU and his doctorate degree from Iowa State in 1951.  He retired in July, 1985 from his position as Professor of Animal Science and project leader for beef cattle breeding research after 34 years of service to South Dakota State University.  His research made reliable estimates of heritability and genetic correlations among production and carcass characteristics of beef cattle possible.  His research contributed substantially to defining beef cow efficiency and understanding the effects of inbreeding on cattle performance.  Professor Dinkel taught graduate level courses in advanced animal breeding, population genetics, and experimental design.

Claudia Dinkel was a native of Witten, SD and attended Southern State Normal.   In addition to being “a loving and supportive wife and mother” in Chris’ words, Claudie has given nearly 30 years of volunteer service to the Minn-Ia-Kota Girl Scout Council.  Claudia’s horses have provided her pleasure and respite from the duties of family and scouts.

Former students, friends, and colleagues have established the scholarship endowment fund in honor of Chris and Claudia.  Professor Dinkel passed away December, 2004.