The South Dakota Board of Regents has appointed the chancellor of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith to lead South Dakota’s six public universities and two special schools.
During his career, Paul Beran has worked as a faculty member and administrator, as a university CEO and as a university president. He says he’s impressed with the current education system in the state.
Developing the state’s workforce has been a priority for Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the state Department of Labor and Regulation. Beran says not only do we need to educate people for the jobs that are in demand now, but we need to get people started preparing for jobs that will be needed in the future.
Beran says the Board of Regents understands we need a collaborative approach to education in South Dakota.
Beran will start his job as South Dakota Board of Regents’ executive director and chief executive officer by Sept. 4. The Regents oversee the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Northern State University, both in Aberdeen; the South Dakota School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls, South Dakota State University in Brookings, the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, Dakota State University in Madison, Black Hills State University in Spearfish and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.
Beran succeeds Michael Rush, who left the South Dakota public higher education system in May after three years of service as its executive director and CEO.
Some specific Board of Regents priorities include:
· Outreach to all higher education partners—including technical institutions, K-12, private universities, tribal colleges, and training centers, as well as political leaders and private industry—to develop an actionable plan for improving South Dakota’s workforce needs;
· Aggressively pursuing system efficiencies to combat shrinking revenue sources and keep tuition costs down;
· Improving system facilities’ planning through building utilization and maintenance and repair practices;
· Strengthening outreach efforts with the administration and legislature;
· Devising an achievable plan to improve needs-based scholarship opportunities for South Dakota students; and
· Improving progress on specific goals laid out in the Board of Regents’ strategic plan.
