Alumni Award: Sandy Culhane '78 to be Recognized for Achievement
Published Tuesday, September 15, 2026
When Sandy (Gniffke) Culhane ’78 learned she would be recognized with an Alumni Achievement Award, her first reaction was not celebration. It was humility. “When I got the call, I thought it was for Terry,” Sandy said. “I just don’t feel deserving of any recognition whatsoever. I’m just like everybody else. You’re just doing your job and helping where they need you.”
That response says a great deal about Sandy. For decades, she has been doing the work that keeps communities strong: serving patients, supporting nonprofits, volunteering for Southwest Minnesota State University, opening her home to students, and showing up again and again for the people and places that shaped her. Her story is one of quiet leadership, deep loyalty, and a lifelong belief that service does not have to be flashy to matter.
Raised in Cottonwood, Minnesota, Sandy made her way to Southwest Minnesota State College, as SMSU was known at the time, which was still young and still finding its footing.
“It was new,” she said, recalling the uncertainty of those early years when people wondered whether the college would survive. Thankfully, it did. Sandy came to campus and found a place that would become much more than where she earned a degree.
Sandy earned degrees in Health and Health Care Administration in 1978, completing a program that reflected the flexibility and responsiveness of a young institution. “They adapted the curriculum to allow for that,” she said of the healthcare administration focus. She credits faculty such as Dr. Barker with making an impact during her time as a student. Looking back, she admits with a laugh that she “should have probably listened to him” when it came to science, but her education gave her a strong foundation for a career built around care, communication, and service.
Her student experience created friendships that lasted. Sandy lived in the residence halls her first year, worked off campus for much of her time at Southwest, and served as a resident assistant in Selene Hall during her final year. “A lot of those people, we still get together,” she said. The relationships built in those early years became part of the enduring network that has kept Sandy connected to the University for nearly five decades.
After graduation, Sandy began her career with Project Turnabout before moving to the University of Minnesota Hospitals, where she worked in several roles during a period of significant change in healthcare. Ambulatory surgery was just beginning, and home healthcare was emerging as a new model of care. “Ambulatory surgery was just getting started,” Sandy recalled. “That was kind of a new thing, that patients could go home the same day.” She also remembers working in one of the first home healthcare programs, housed in a converted residence because the concept was so new.
When Sandy married Terry Culhane and returned to Marshall, she continued building a career rooted in the region. She worked at Bremer Bank for 27 years, where community involvement was not only encouraged but expected. She later worked at Avera in public relations and clinic management before joining Prairie Home Hospice, where she helped start a home care program from the ground up. “We started it from nothing, scratch,” she said. “So we had to figure out the Medicare, Minnesota licensing rules, and more.”
That work reflected a conviction Sandy carries deeply: people deserve care, dignity, and connection close to home. She understands the importance of services that allow people to remain in their communities and near the people who love them. The same values that shaped her professional life also shaped her volunteer commitments. Sandy has served on the SMSU Alumni Association Board, the Foundation Board, the Booster Club, Alumni Ambassadors, and in countless behind-the-scenes roles that helped keep alumni connected to the University.
For Sandy, each organization has a purpose. The Alumni Association helps “create ways to tie people back to the university,” she said, through traditions such as Homecoming, Hawaiian Night, and other gatherings that bring Mustangs together. The Foundation helps make education possible through fundraising and scholarships. The Booster Club supports student-athletes and builds relationships that last well beyond graduation. “They all have a place,” Sandy said. “They all have a purpose in promoting the university and promoting helping kids. And that’s really what it’s about.”
Sandy’s commitment to SMSU is also tied to her respect for its origins. She remembers the University’s 25th anniversary celebration and the impact of standing in a room with the people who helped create the institution. “How many universities in the country today can say you were here with the people that started it?” she recalled. “You were here with people that drafted the deed, that sold the land, that lobbied the legislature, that did all that on behalf of this region.”
That regional identity matters to Sandy. When the University’s name changed over the years, she felt strongly that “Southwest” should remain part of it because the institution belongs to more than Marshall alone. “It’s southwest,” she said. To her, SMSU is not “an island inside of a community.” Instead, “It’s part of the community. And it’s part of this whole area that kids have a place to come to school and learn.”
That sense of belonging has defined Sandy and Terry’s life together. Married for 43 years, they raised two daughters, Ashley and Ali, and filled their home with SMSU students, athletes, alumni, and friends. Terry’s long connection to Mustang athletics made their home a gathering place, especially for volleyball student-athletes. In the early years, Terry asked Sandy what she thought about feeding the team at their house. The idea grew into years of meals, booster gatherings, and relationships that became family.
“We had them every year,” Sandy said. “It kind of evolved over a period of time.” One night, she recalls, more than 40 people were expected for dinner, and she had made four pans of cheesy potatoes. The timer was set, but the oven temperature was not. “So I have all these people showing up at my house,” she said, “and I have cold potatoes.” It is the kind of story that captures her humor, generosity, and willingness to welcome people anyway.
The relationships continued long after seasons ended. Former students still return for holidays. Sandy and Terry have been invited to weddings and baby showers. “They become our family,” Sandy said. When asked what Mustang Family means to her, her answer was immediate: “It is a family.”
Sandy is quick to deflect attention from herself. She sees her service as ordinary, even though those around her know it is anything but. “I’m just like a lot of alumni who went to school here and had a great experience and just want to give back and want people to have the same good experiences,” she said. That desire to give back has made her a connector, a volunteer, a supporter, and a steady presence for SMSU through changing names, leaders, times, and traditions.
For Sandy, the lesson is simple. Communities are built by people who care enough to stay involved. “It takes a village like Cottonwood to raise a person,” she said, “and then it takes a village, like Southwest, to help you learn to be proud of where you came from and care about helping people.”
Sandy Culhane has been one of those people for Southwest Minnesota State University and for the Marshall region. Through her career, her volunteer leadership, and her generous heart, she has helped make SMSU the kind of place where students are known, alumni stay connected, and the Mustang Family remains strong.
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Alumni and friends are also invited to attend The Southwest Celebration on Friday, Oct. 2. The event will honor all of the 2026 Alumni Award recipients, showcase exciting projects taking place across campus, and officially kick off Homecoming Weekend. This year’s award recipients include Sandy Culhane ’78, Jordan Schuft ’16, Rolly Muller ’85, and Jenna Kruse. [Read article] To attend the Southwest Celebration, register by September 25. Tickets are $50: https://www.smsualumni.com/homecoming/the-southwest-celebration-registration.html
For the full lineup of events, visit: https://www.smsualumni.com/homecoming/
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