When Lorie Haarberg remembers her parents, Louise and Roger, many memories resurface. Like the family fishing together – Louise always caught more than Lorie and Roger. Or holidays, when the entire family gathered in their home to enjoy Louise’s cooking. But the memories she cherishes most are the ones that include her son, Steven.

“It was really great to watch my mom and dad with my son. The time they had together is more special to me than anything,” said Lorie, explaining that every day after school, her mom would pick Steven up and care for him until her workday was over. 

At the time, Lorie owned a small cosmetology business called Lorie’s Tips and Toes, a business she operated for thirteen years. While Lorie worked, Steven spent valuable time with his grandparents. “My son and my mom, their bond was unbreakable.”

Sadly, their time together was cut short by cancer, which claimed both of her parents just two years apart. They were in their 50s. 

Lorie and her husband, Kevin, wished to honor Lorie’s parents’ memory, support research toward a cure, and give back to Kevin’s alma mater that greatly impacted his life and career. The Haarbergs committed $2 million to endow the Kevin and Lorie Haarberg Chair in Cancer Research in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.

“Our big dream is this research will help cure cancer,” Kevin, a 1979 Pharmacy graduate, said. Lorie added, “Get to the root of it, before it develops.” 

Honored as the first to carry the endowed title, Dr. Komal Raina’s long-term goal aligns with the Haarberg’s – to get to the root of cancer – by identifying factors that contribute to certain cancers and developing natural, non-toxic dietary prevention/intervention strategies.

“I will not let you down,” she told the Haarbergs during the 2019 investiture ceremony. “My research focuses on targeting the cancer stem cell at the root cause of cancer.”

Among her many accomplishments, Raina developed and licensed a vaccine to treat prostate cancer. Her work has contributed to establishing the efficacy of natural agents for cancer prevention. 

Because of the endowment, SDSU was able to entice Raina to leave the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at University of Colorado Denver and join the faculty of SDSU College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions. 

“Endowed faculty professorships and chair positions play a key role in recruiting and retaining top-quality faculty, an essential element to strong academic and research programs found at premier universities,” explained Dennis Hedge, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Raina became the third endowed faculty member within the college and SDSU’s 21st overall. Since her arrival, she has received grants from the National Institute of Health. 

Kevin Haarberg, who grew up in Mission Hill, SD, has been giving to his alma mater since receiving his pharmacy degree more than 40 years ago. He started his career as a pharmaceutical salesman for Eli Lilly Co. Five years later, he joined Edward Jones as a financial advisor in Oklahoma. In his financial advisor role, Kevin subsequently relocated with the firm to Woodland, California, where he later met Lorie. 

After the loss of Lorie’s parents, the couple’s giving focused on cancer research. In 2010, when SDSU was building the Avera Health and Science Center, the Haarbergs donated $250,000. “Cancer research is where I felt in my heart we should give. I am so grateful that Kevin allowed us to go in this direction,” explained Lorie, who dedicates a large portion of her time volunteering in their community and at Woodland Hospital. She is a former president of the Woodland Hospital Auxiliary and frequently volunteers with an organization called No One Dies Alone (NODA). Through NODA, volunteers like Lorie sit with not only cancer patients, but terminal patients of all kinds, ensuring that no individual is alone in their final hours. 

And like her mom, Lorie is an involved grandma. “I am thankful my granddaughter, Kayla, and I are close. Just the other day we were having breakfast together, and I thought back on my son and my mom and their relationship. Honoring my parents’ memory through this endowment – it is a good feeling.”

Kevin, too, holds a personal connection to the cause he and his wife champion. As a graduate of SDSU’s College of Pharmacy, Kevin agrees with the need for a cure and is a firm believer in the science and determination it takes to get there. As Kevin said during the investiture ceremony for the endowment, “Knowing something doesn’t change your life. Doing something does.”