Article Body
News Release
Contacts: Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director
tadp@sdbor.edu
Janelle Toman, Director of Information & Institutional Research
janellet@sdbor.edu
T: 605.773.3455
F: 605.773.5320
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2009
Jewett Completes 10 Years of Service as Regents’ President
ABERDEEN, S.D. – Harvey C. Jewett, president of the South Dakota Board of Regents since 1999, announced today he will not seek another term as the board’s president.
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence my fellow regents have placed in me,” Jewett said. “The stewardship of public higher education is a responsibility that I take very seriously. Without a doubt, public higher education will ensure a future for South Dakota that advances our quality of life.
“I look forward to continuing in my service as a member of the Board of Regents, but it is time to turn the reins of leadership over to others,” Jewett said. The board will elect new officers for the coming year this week as it meets in Aberdeen.
“Harvey has served an unprecedented 10 years as the regents’ president, longer than any other board president in our history,” said Regents’ Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry. “He has been an outstanding leader and a valuable mentor to me and others in the board office.
“Harvey Jewett could do anything with his time, talent, energy, and resources, but he has chosen to dedicate himself to creating a better life for South Dakotans through improving access to quality education,” Perry said. “That is a special gift indeed to this state.”
During Jewett’s tenure as president, a number of major initiatives have been undertaken by the Board of Regents:
· The Salary Competitiveness Program, which provided differential salaries to faculty and professional staff based on performance, and brought South Dakota salaries to within 5.6 percent of the regional market;
· The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship program;
· A major investment of $74.5 million in new and renovated science facility and laboratory projects;
· Upgrading of the technology infrastructure and residence halls on all campuses;
· New or renovated student and wellness centers at each public university;
· A strategic focus on the research culture within the public university system, with connections to the proposed national deep underground science and engineering laboratory at Homestake;
· Competitive approaches to secure institutional leadership;
· Transition to Division I status at South Dakota State University and The University of South Dakota;
· Providing higher education access for non-traditional students in Sioux Falls, Pierre, and Rapid City.
Jewett was first appointed to the Board of Regents by Gov. Bill Janklow in 1997 and elected the board’s secretary shortly thereafter. He became vice president of the board in 1998, was then elected president in 1999, and has been re-elected to that post annually since then. His current term on the regents continues until 2011.
He is president and chief operating officer of The Rivett Group, L.L.C. in Aberdeen, which owns and operates an inventory of wholly-owned motels and develops other lodging properties. Jewett is also a partner in the law firm of Siegel, Barnett, and Schutz. He has served on the boards of Education Assistance Corp., Student Loan Finance Corp., the USD Law School Foundation, Great Plains Education Foundation, Norwest Bank South Dakota, Children’s Home Society, and Super 8 Motels Inc. He also serves as chair of the audit committee of St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota.
-30-