The University of South Dakota (USD) Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM), located in Sioux Falls, announces a nationwide search for an accomplished academic emergency medicine physician leader to serve as the Inaugural Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine. This position reports directly to the Dean of Sanford School of Medicine and Vice President for Health Affairs at the University of South Dakota, Tim Ridgway, M.D., MACP, FASGE.
South Dakota’s rural landscape and geographic spread poses challenges in providing health care, with demand for emergency medicine physicians across the state. To bolster the workforce, the USD SSOM has laid the groundwork to develop an independent Department of Emergency Medicine, incorporating the emergency medicine faculty who are currently organized as a Division within the Department of Family Medicine. The South Dakota Legislature approved funding to support the new department in 2025, and the SSOM intends to launch the new department under the leadership of the inaugural chair in 2026. Emergency Medicine will be the first new department in the SSOM since 1987.
Goals of the new Department will include expanding community-based faculty numbers and engagement across the state of South Dakota and strengthening educational opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in emergency medicine. The establishment of a new department will enhance students’ competitiveness for emergency medicine residency programs nationally and will expand the pool of residency-trained emergency medicine physician graduates with ties to the state who may be recruited to practices throughout South Dakota.
In partnership with the SSOM, Sanford Health has initiated a newly accredited emergency medicine residency program that will begin training its first class of six residents in July of 2026. Residents will train at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, a level one trauma center on the campus of the SSOM, with additional rotations at Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center to gain experience in rural emergency medicine. This will be the first and only emergency medicine residency program in South Dakota.
The emergency medicine faculty at the SSOM currently consists of over 85 board-certified physicians. Emergency medicine faculty see patients and teach students at several locations across the state, and the majority are affiliated with the State’s three largest healthcare systems, Sanford, Avera, and Monument Health.
The Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine for the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM) will be a respected board-certified academic emergency medicine physician with leadership experience in a medical school or similar environment. This individual will have demonstrated abilities as a leader, educator, clinician, and scholar. The position is based in Sioux Falls, but the chair is expected to work effectively and collegially with colleagues throughout the state, advancing the mission of the department in both rural and urban areas. SSOM is a community-based medical school with a tradition of excellence and is highly ranked in family and rural medicine.
For more information on the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, please link to: The Sanford School of Medicine (SSOM)
The Leadership Profile, which includes additional information about the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and our application procedures, will be coming soon. For full consideration, application materials should be submitted through the AGB Search portal system accessible via this link by January 7, 2026.
Please direct all nominations and expressions of interest to USD-ChairEM@agbsearch.com or contact the AGB search consultants listed below.
Cody Futch
Principal
cody.futch@agbsearch.com
Garry Owens, Ph.D.
Senior Executive Search Consultant
garry.owens@agbsearch.com
The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine is committed to fostering a dynamic and welcoming working and learning environment for all. USD SSOM provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to ideological, political, or sectarian opinions or perspectives; or race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, national origin or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. USD SSOM is committed to the principles of free expression and encourages the timely and rational discussion of topics in an environment that is intellectually and ideologically diverse.
