Contacts: Mike Rush, Executive Director and CEO

mike.rush@sdbor.edu

Janelle Toman, Director of Communications

Janelle.toman@sdbor.edu

Telephone: (605) 773-3455

Fax: (605) 773-5320

www.sdbor.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Board of Regents Brings Town Meeting to Watertown

WATERTOWN, S.D. – A town meeting on South Dakota public higher education is being hosted Monday, Oct. 30, in Watertown by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. on Level 4/Campus Event Center in the Student Center at Lake Area Technical Institute, located at 1201 Arrow Avenue in Watertown. Representatives of the South Dakota Board of Regents, its staff, and public university presidents will be on hand to visit with area residents. The public is invited to attend.

“Our challenge as a public higher education system is to produce a competitive workforce and build a more robust economy for our state and nation,” said Regents President Bob Sutton. “While charting our future course, it is very important that we hear from interested citizens and community leaders across South Dakota.”

At the Watertown meeting, regents will discuss efforts to achieve a statewide attainment goal of 65 percent of South Dakota citizens, ages 25 to 34, holding some type of postsecondary credential by 2025. This goal addresses a full range of educational attainment from technical certificates and apprenticeships to associate, bachelor, and graduate degrees.

Also on the agenda is information from a recent economic impact study, co-sponsored by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the regents, that shows public universities increase South Dakota’s gross domestic product by $2.66 billion a year.