Ed Schafer begins his time as interim university president today. He is pictured here with his wife Nancy. Photo courtesy of UND.

As President Robert Kelley begins his retirement, UND continues its search for a permanent replacement.

Until then however, former Gov. Ed Schafer will be serving as the interim president, and today he enters that role officially.

Schafer comes to UND with experiences not only as governor, but also as the US Secretary of Agriculture as well as as an entrepreneur.

When Schafer was first offered the job, he was reluctant to accept, turning down the job twice.

“The reason was that there is often a lack of definition to interim,” he said. “You can get into an interim job and it can last three years, and that isn’t anything I was interested in.”

However, Schafer was eventually convinced by his wife, Nancy, to take the job.

“[Nancy] said, ‘It’s your alma mater, and you sit at an arm’s length reading the paper and watching the news and wondering what’s going on up there and this really gives you a chance to get engaged with the premiere institution in the state of North Dakota,’” he said. “It was also a chance to move the university forward and to make sure that it was in good shape when a new president arrives.”

When Schafer accepted the job, however, he wanted to make sure he had an impact on the university.

“One thing I had a conversation with [State Board of Higher Education Chancellor Mark Hagerott] about was that I didn’t just want to be a place holder or a seat warmer,” he said. “If I was going to be there as the president, I wanted to have the authorities and the responsibilities of the president.”

Schafer also wanted to be able to address some of the challenges facing UND during his time as the interim president.

“I am expecting that there are some challenges there, as we all know, there is some mistrust of the university administration, there seems to be a disconnect, right or wrong, between the students and the administration,” Schafer said. “But all of these things are things that I have dealt with. Whether it be building relationships or balancing budgets, my background is the perfect background to come in and smooth over some of these issues.”

Another important step for Schafer will be not only the selection process for a new logo for UND sports but also to oversee how that logo is implemented.

“I want to have a major role in the [logo selection process],” Schafer said. “I’m a brand guy, a lot of my background involves developing consumer branded items, and I know how to create value for a brand name and a logo.”

Schafer also added that having a logo that students, faculty and fans can get behind is important for the development of the university.

“We want to be able to have students, faculty and even artists who came out of UND to be able to get involved in the process,” Schafer said. “And when searching for a firm, they need to be able to tell us how they are going to involve that public input.”

Schafer will serve as interim president until June 30. UND recently announced that they have narrowed down the search for the new president to 38 applicants, and interviews will be taking place throughout the spring semester.

Alex Bertsch is a contributor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]