On December 11, 2025, the South Dakota Board of Regents announced a new policy that weakens tenure protections for faculty at the state’s public universities and colleges.
The new policy requires that a post-tenure review committee evaluate the performance of tenured faculty at the state’s six public higher education institutions—Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, South Dakota State University, and the University of South Dakota—every five years. The policy notes that the review must take into consideration student opinion surveys and faculty evaluations, along with annual performance evaluations. Faculty members assessed as not meeting expectations will have their tenure status removed and instead be issued a one-year term contract for the following academic year.
Public statements regarding the new policy indicated that external pressure contributed to its development. A Board of Regents document from October 2025 notes that the policy is part of a response to “immense pressure, from both internal and external forces,” on higher education. Similarly, in a media interview, Nathan Lukkes, the executive director for South Dakota’s Board of Regents, stated “there are political undertones and considerations in most decisions that occur today, this one not being immune from that.”
Scholars at Risk is concerned about apparent ideological interference with higher education tenure policies. Faculty tenure is a significant procedural safeguard for academic freedom and the production of public-facing knowledge, as it protects scholars pursuing new, innovative and potentially sensitive or controversial ideas from retaliation and loss of position. While state education officials may have the authority to revise tenure policies, they have an obligation to ensure that any revisions do not erode protections for academic freedom. When any revisions are made under the direction of or with the apparent intent to satisfy ideological actors, the revisions must be considered suspect and a threat to university autonomy, academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/tenure/2026/01/09/south-dakota-adopts-post-tenure-review
https://www.sdpb.org/education/2025-12-30/new-post-tenure-review-policy-causes-stir-in-south-dakota-academia
https://sdbor.edu/news/bor-adopts-new-post-tenure-review-policy-12-11-25/
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