PIERRE – Gov. Mike Rounds today named Tonnis H. “Tony” Venhuizen, a junior at South Dakota State University, to serve on the South Dakota Board of Regents as the student regent.

"Tony Venhuizen is an extraordinary young man," Gov. Rounds said. "He will be an excellent addition to the Board of Regents and a great voice for the students."

The South Dakota Board of Regents is the constitutional governing board for South Dakota's six public universities and two special schools.  The Board is composed of nine voting members appointed by the Governor.  One of the nine members is a student regent.  A student regent must be enrolled in a postsecondary institution governed by the Board.  The term for a student regent is two years. 

Venhuizen is a 2001 graduate from Armour High School.  He was named a National Merit Scholar and an SDSU Stephan F. Briggs Scholar.  He is currently a junior pursuing a double major at SDSU in political science and history.   His activities at SDSU include the Statesmen Men's Choir, the SDSU Honors College Student Organization, and the SDSU College Republicans. 

Venhuizen fills the vacant student regent seat left open by Shane Penfield who resigned from the Board upon graduation from the University of South Dakota School of Law.