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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Lukkes Appointed Regents’ General Counsel

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Regents announces that Nathan Lukkes has been named general counsel for the board and the public higher education system in South Dakota.

Since April 2014, Lukkes served as the system assistant vice president for research and economic development in the regents’ central office in Pierre, where his responsibilities involved working with the public universities, state and federal agencies, and the private sector to stimulate and build research capacity and performance across South Dakota. He replaces Guilherme Costa, who left the general counsel’s office in August for another position.

Lukkes began his professional career as an attorney in Sioux Falls, practicing primarily in the areas of business and transactional law, general litigation, and estate planning. Prior to his work with the Board of Regents, Lukkes was deputy commissioner of the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development and, before that, director of legal services for the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. He also served as a Judge Advocate with the South Dakota Army National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lukkes received his juris doctorate in 2006 and his undergraduate degrees in political science and criminal justice in 2003, all from the University of South Dakota. He also volunteers for Junior Achievement of South Dakota, teaching ethics and business to local youth.

“Given his experience as an attorney in both the private and government sectors, along with his time spent working on economic development initiatives for the state of South Dakota and the public university system, Nathan is an outstanding choice to be our next general counsel,” said Paul B. Beran, the regents’ executive director and CEO. “We look forward to his valuable counsel.”

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Broadcasters:
Lukkes is pronounced (LOO’-kuhs)
Guilherme Costa is pronounced (guee-lee-AIR’-may COST’-uh)