For Release August 15
Board of Regents Announce Staff Reorganization
PIERRE--Board of Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry announced a reorganization of the Board office this week. Perry said of the reorganization, "With the departure of several staff, we seized the opportunity to reorganize those positions and combine some responsibilities. This adjustment will better serve the system and the Board in a more efficient manner." Four appointments were announced with this reorganization.
This month the Board named Dr. Lesta Van Der Wert Turchen, Senior Fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington D.C., to the position of Senior Administrator. Kathy Johnson, Budget Officer for the Board, has been appointed the Director of Administrative Affairs. Dr. Paul Gough, the Board's Associate Director for Academic Affairs, has been named Director for Policy and Planning; and Travis Reindl, Information/Research Officer for the Board, has been named Director of Information and Institutional Research.
Turchen has been with the AASCU since 1995, where she has been involved with student retention and accreditation policy issues. Prior to that, she served as President at the University of Houston-Victoria from 1992 to 1995. Turchen also served in several posts with Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, most recently as Vice President for Academic Affairs from 1987-1992. Turchen earned a PhD. in U.S. Diplomacy and Anthropology from Purdue University in 1972 and an M.A. in History and Speech from the University of South Dakota in 1969.
Dr. Turchen's duties as Senior Administrator will include oversight of system academic programs, program and resource planning, as well as policy development, analysis, and accountability. She will begin her duties with the Board of Regents on August 26.
Johnson has been with the South Dakota Board of Regents since March 1992 when she joined the staff as Budget Analyst. She graduated from South Dakota State University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Economics. At SDSU, Johnson became a member of the international economics honor society-Omnicron Delta Epsilon. In August 1994 Johnson was promoted to the position of Budget Officer, which she held until her current appointment as Director of Administrative Affairs.
In this position Johnson will oversee the system's finance and budget responsibilities, as well as maintaining the Board's relationships with other state agencies-including purchasing, state engineer, and personnel. Johnson will also serve as the principal staff member for the Board's Budget and Finance Committee.
Gough has been part of the Board's Academic staff since 1992, most recently serving as its Associate Director for Academic Affairs and Director of Special Projects. Prior to his appointment to the Board Gough served as a faculty member of the Political Science Department of Northern State University in Aberdeen. He received a PhD. in 1985 from the University of Iowa in Political Science and earned an M.A. in Government from the College of William and Mary in 1980.
Dr. Gough's responsibilities as Director for Policy and Planning will include research and development of new policy directions for higher education, preparation of system planning and development of system accountability, instructional, and monitoring methods. He will also provide leadership and coordination for the use of technology in the delivery of instruction.
Reindl, a native of South Dakota, joined the Board of Regents staff in January 1995 as Information/Research Analyst, and most recently held the position of Information/Research Officer. He received a B.A. in Government/Communications and Theatre from the University of Notre Dame in 1994.
As Director of Information and Institutional Research, Reindl will lead the Board's public information functions, provide research assistance on issues identified by internal and external constituencies, and coordinate system reporting.