Brian L. Maher was appointed June 24, 2020, to lead South Dakota’s six public universities and two special schools as the Board of Regents’ executive director and chief executive officer. Dr. Maher began his duties with the Board of Regents in the Pierre central office July 6, 2020.
Dr. Maher’s experience in educational administration includes 21 years as a superintendent of K-12 school systems. He came to the Board of Regents after five years as superintendent of the Sioux Falls School District, South Dakota’s largest public school district serving more than 23,000 students. He was superintendent of schools in two Nebraska districts, Kearney and Centennial, from 1999 to 2015.
A Nebraska native, he also worked as a school principal and began his career in education teaching mathematics, computer science, and physics. He was honored as Nebraska’s superintendent of the year in 2015.
He holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree, also in educational administration, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His bachelor’s degree in mathematics education is from Midland Lutheran College (now Midland University) in Fremont, Neb. Maher’s family includes his wife, Peg, and together they have three grown children, Lindsey, Brett, and Maggie.
