Dennis Daugaard

Dennis Martin Daugaard is an American lawmaker who has been the 32nd Governor of South Dakota since January 2011. Upon winning the 2010 South Dakota gubernatorial election, Daugaard became the first CODA governor in South Dakota history and the history of the United States.Background, education and familyDaugaard was born and raised on a family farm near Garretson, South Dakota, the son of Florence Margaret (Kennedy) and Raymond Victor Daugaard. His parents were both deaf. His father’s family descends from immigrants from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. While growing up, sign language was the main method of communication in his home. Daugaard went to a one-room country school as a child but then attended high school, in which he played the French horn, in the city of Dell Rapids and graduated in 1971.Daugaard then attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion where he was advised by William O. Farber. Professor Farber also advised former USD students Tom Brokaw and Al Neuharth. Daugaard graduated USD in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Government and went on to attend Northwestern University School of Law where he earned a Juris Doctor in 1978. Daugaard paid his way through law school, driving a bus through the downtown loop and working as a security guard.