PIERRE - Dr. Janet J. Lewis has been named the Chief Operating Officer for the Electronic University Consortium (EUC) of South Dakota. The consortium coordinates off-campus distance education credit and non-credit activities from the six public universities across the state and will serve as a Web-based single point of contact for students interested in taking distance education courses.

Dr. Lewis stepped into the role of the Chief Operating Officer for the EUC after working on its creation as a Regent's Fellow for the South Dakota Board of Regents. She will be officially leaving her position as Dean of Continuing Education and Director of Statewide Educational Services at the University of South Dakota at the end of June.

"Dr. Lewis did a tremendous job designing the EUC and as its Chief Operating Officer she will continue to guide it in the direction it needs to go in order to best serve the people of South Dakota, " said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry.

"My role is to make the EUC instrumental in the lives of South Dakotans. As a one-stop shop for distance education the EUC will make education available to all. A place-bound person will now have the opportunity to take courses from all six public universities from a single point. And some might take classes through the EUC because they like the format or the time flexibility of the online courses. Through the EUC students will be able to overcome the hurdles of time and distance that once prohibited them from furthering their education," said new EUC Chief Operating Officer Dr. Janet Lewis.

Dr. Lewis will continue to serve in several leadership roles. These include service as a commissioner in Learning and Instructional Technologies for the University of Continuing Education; an executive committee member of the Council of Extension, Continuing Education and Public Service for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges; and as chair of the Board of Directors for the Lifelong Educational Resource Network. Further, she is a consultant evaluator for the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Dr. Lewis received her BA in English Education from Sioux Falls College, her MA in Speech Communication from the University of South Dakota and her Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She is also a graduate of the Harvard's Institute for Educational Management.