25 Oct Committee invites six UND presidential candidates to campus
Two-day visits to take place throughout November
This file photo from July’s inaugural meeting of the presidential search committee shows members discussing results of three prior listening sessions and the recruitment process for finding UND’s next leader. Today, the committee announced that six finalists will be invited to campus. Photo by Connor Murphy/UND Today.
Six candidates will be invited to campus next month to interview for the position of UND president.
The UND Presidential Search Committee held two days of marathon meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 22 and 23, to interview 11 candidates via video. The committee met today and voted in executive session to move six candidates forward.
Campus visits are tentatively set to begin Nov. 12. The State Board of Higher Education is expected to name UND’s next president at the board’s Dec. 3 meeting.
The committee also discussed the itinerary for the campus visits, each of which is expected to last a little over two days.
“We want to provide the campus and Greater Grand Forks community opportunities to interact with the candidates,” said Dr. Dennis Elbert, committee co-chair. “And we want to ensure we put our best foot forward as we showcase UND.”
A total of 61 applications were received by the committee. Three applicants did not meet qualifications, and the group considered 57 applications in earlier meetings.
According to state law, all applicants are confidential until candidates accept invitations to campus. The six will be contacted by AGB Search, which is assisting the committee, and the names will be released once all have given permission.
This is UND’s first presidential search since the law, which is meant to attract a stronger pool of candidates, was enacted. The committee received about twice as many applications as the last search did, and the application pool included sitting presidents.
“We have a very strong pool,” said Dr. Casey Ryan, co-chair of the committee. “Our goal is to submit four strong names to the State Board of Higher Education, and that any of the four would make an excellent president for UND.”