The Augustana associate vice president of campus safety & logistics. The king of email memes. The source of admiration for countless AU students — most often shown through social media. Rick Tupper is many things at Augustana, and, now, he’s an Augie Pride Award winner, too.
The Augie Pride Award — given to those who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide exceptional service to the university and nominated by other AU employees — is traditionally presented at the university’s annual Service Awards. However, because the Augie Pride Award Committee knew Tupper wouldn’t be able to attend the Service Awards this year, they decided to surprise him ahead of time.
On Friday, April 21, Tupper was asked to meet with President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin — a regular occurrence for the head of Campus Safety. When he arrived at the President’s Suite in the Administration Building, Tupper was greeted by a number of administrators there for a “meeting” with Provost & Executive Vice President Dr. Colin Irvine — another regular occurrence.
Herseth Sandlin told Tupper their meeting would begin momentarily; she just had to address Irvine’s meeting first but that he should stick around. Then, Herseth Sandlin began to speak about the Augie Pride Award and read comments from Tupper’s nominator — who wrote about his willingness to take on extra responsibilities and constantly going above and beyond.
“(Rick) thrives in preparation, due diligence, problem-solving, risk assessment and, above all, the safety and security of those around him,” the nominator said. “He is often responsible for dealing with uncomfortable student and employee situations. He manages these situations with integrity, sensitivity and professionalism every time.”
As Herseth Sandlin read these comments, Tupper continued to wonder what he would be meeting about with the president.
“I really wasn’t paying much attention because it was her meeting, but then she used the words ‘risk assessments,’ and I thought, ‘Well, that's my job. What's going on here?’” Tupper said. “Then it became obvious, and that's when I had to put my coffee cup down because my hands started shaking.”
For Tupper, the award is extremely meaningful but unexpected.
“I don't think I'm deserving of it, but it's great to be recognized by your colleagues — that hopefully what I’m doing means something and is recognized as being important,” Tupper said. “Because I need every one of them for us to be successful.”
‘No day is the same’
This is Tupper’s 20th year at Augustana, but he hasn’t always worked in a university setting. The Watertown, South Dakota, native joined the U.S. Navy at 17 years old. His parents had to sign the paperwork to allow him to enlist. Tupper spent eight years in the Navy Reserves — serving in Spain twice, the Panama Canal, England and Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.
After his time in the Navy, Tupper earned a degree in law enforcement from Alexandria Vocational Technical Institute (now Alexandria Technical & Community College) in Minnesota. He then worked for the police departments in Madison and Watertown, South Dakota, until he was hired by the Sioux Falls Police Department (SFPD) in 1989.
It was through the SFPD that Tupper became connected to Augustana. As he oversaw personal protection details, he began to get involved with Augustana’s annual Boe Forum on Public Affairs.
“I did the Mikhail Gorbachev (former president of the Soviet Union) Boe Forum, but the big one I remember is John Major, who was the prime minister of the United Kingdom,” Tupper recalled. “So, I had the opportunity to work with Scotland Yard (headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police) while they were here and get to know them. That actually opened the door for me to go work in the U.K. I worked with Scotland Yard and worked out of the U.S. Embassy — all because of an Augie connection.”
Eventually, Tupper was asked to interview for the position of Augustana’s Director of Campus Safety. When he began, Tupper also oversaw housing, which he said was an “interesting challenge.”
But, challenges allow Tupper to thrive, and in a university setting, the lessons make the challenges worth it.
“In criminal cases, you found a bad guy, could arrest a bad guy and then you were done,” Tupper said. “What I love about being in a campus setting is we get to throw one word into the equation — education. So, I get to play a part in everybody's educational goals as well. No matter what you do, if I get involved, it's not just about finding responsibility and punishment. It's also about trying to help you figure out, ‘How did you get here? How do you move forward?’
“Eighteen to 24-year-olds are going to make mistakes,” he continued. “I enjoy that I get to be a part of helping them figure it out.”
The respect that Tupper shows students is a 2-way street. He is an admired and beloved figure on AU’s campus — thanks, perhaps in part, to his famous emails.
Tupper is in charge of campus-wide communications, including campus closures, parking notifications and weather updates. Within the past few years, he has found success — and adoration — through including memes and humor in these weather updates that often bring news of yet another snowstorm.
“I try to be very cognizant of what I send out because I know everybody is bombarded with information from every form of media, but somehow I need you to get this information because if you don’t, bad things could happen,” Tupper explained. “A couple years ago, I just included a picture because it was a snow day, and I had some good feedback from that.
“So, one day, I sent another message, and I asked my daughter (Ryleigh Tupper ’26), ‘Did you see it?’ and she said, ‘No, you didn’t include anything in it.’ It kind of clicked that I have to grab their attention somehow. So, now, there is that balance that I’ve starting using of, ‘How do I catch your attention but also draw you into the message?’”
“I have a shared folder with him of different, more current memes to send out to the campus,” Ryleigh said. “The people that I know absolutely love the emails and look forward to what memes he includes. I can’t take all the credit because he does find many of them on his own. But, I think it's safe to say that the whole campus very much enjoys the little bits of humor he includes.”
For Ryleigh, a first-year AU student, she also loves the memes and the humor he brings to campus, but at the end of the day, Rick is simply her dad.
“Every Thursday, we block off an hour in the morning to get coffee and talk,” Ryleigh said. “We sit down in the Siverson Lounge and chat about life, school and the future. Some days, I walk into his office just to say ‘hi’ or get a hug if I’m having a bad day.”
Rick’s older children are also Augustana graduates, Macey ‘19 and Jacob ’21.
“I think my dad means a lot to the students and staff,” Ryleigh said. “His job isn’t easy, and he has hard decisions to make, but he truly cares about the students and puts their best interest first. Seeing how he brings joy to the campus makes me happy. Since coming to Augie, I feel like our relationship has grown. We joke around, but I know that he is there for me when I need him most.”
In his free time, Rick is the chair of the Board of Directors for the Sioux Falls Air Show, member of the city of Crooks’ Parks Board and has served as the chair of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce’s Military & Veterans Affairs Committee, president of the Sioux Falls Veterans Memorial Park Board and board member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).
Among his many responsibilities, though, Rick never stops working hard for Augustana.
“No day is the same, every year has changed, and that’s what I love about being here.”
The Augie Pride Award began in 1999. To see all past recipients, visit augie.edu/ServiceAwards.