Who can I contact for media-related information?
Staff at the South Dakota Board of Regents assists news media representatives by providing information and answering questions about the South Dakota public higher education system. We can help direct you to sources for news and feature stories, and also respond to specific inquiries.
Our telephone number is: (605) 773-3455.
Shuree Mortenson
Director of Communications
Board of Regents' Expertise Directory
Campus-based University Relations and Media Contacts:
What is the South Dakota Board of Regents' system?
The South Dakota Board of Regents' system is made up of eight institutions, including six public universities and two schools serving special K-12 populations: the deaf and the blind/visually impaired.
The first Board of Regents in present-day South Dakota was created in 1862 for the territorial university in Vermillion. A second and separate board was named in 1881 for the College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts at Brookings. There were separate boards for the state normal schools at Madison, Spearfish, and Springfield, and the School of Mines in Rapid City. These boards worked with groups of trustees, one for each institution.
A single board of regents for all state institutions of higher education was organized by the 1890 South Dakota Legislature. The present form of constitutional governance first became effective in 1897.
Who governs South Dakota's public higher education system?
The South Dakota Board of Regents' mission is to govern the six public universities and the two special schools for the blind and visually impaired and the deaf. Authority for the regents' governance structure is found in Article XIV, Section 3 of the South Dakota Constitution and in South Dakota Codified Law Chapter 13-49.
Article XIV, Section 3 of the South Dakota Constitution provides:
The state university, the agriculture college, the school of mines and technology, the normal schools, a school for the deaf, a school for the blind, and all other educational institutions that may be sustained either wholly or in part by the state shall be under the control of a board of five members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the senate under such rules and restrictions as the Legislature shall provide. The Legislature may increase the number of members to nine.
Eight members of the Board of Regents serve six-year terms. The ninth member, the student regent, is appointed for a two-year term. No more than six members of the board may be from the same political party, and no two may be residents in the same county.
The board appoints its executive director. The current executive director is
Brian L. Maher, who joined the South Dakota public higher education system in July 2020.
What does the Board of Regents do?
The system's primary goal is to provide high quality, diverse educational opportunities and services to the people of South Dakota through the effective use of resources entrusted to it. History has demonstrated that this goal can be met more effectively through an integrated system approach. In this manner, the various campuses complement one another and remain fully responsive to the central authority of the Board of Regents through the presidents and superintendents.
The bylaws of the Board of Regents provide for the self-governing and internal operating procedures of the board. Two standing committees of regents--Committee on Academic and Student Affairs and Committee on Budget and Finance--meet as committees of the whole to conduct regular business. The Board of Regents meets up to six times a year at campuses across the state; special meetings are called as necessary.
What does the Office of the Executive Director do?
The Office of the Executive Director serves as staff for the Board of Regents. Under the direction of the executive director, the staff manages the system of public higher education and the special schools, based upon the policies, goals, and objectives set by the board. Staff members are tasked with coordinating system activities related to academic and student affairs; finance and administration; legal matters; system research initiatives; institutional research; communications and government relations; human resources; and information technology.
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