Steven Shirley is currently visiting UND. Photo courtesy of minotstateu.edu

Mark Kennedy, Nagi Nagathan, Jay Noren, Morgan Olsen and Steven Shirley will be visiting UND‘s campus over the coming month to meet with faculty, staff  and students. Three of them will be  recommended to the State Board of Higher Education to become the next president of UND.

The applicants will be visiting with faculty, staff and students throughout February and March.

Si candidates for UND’s president position will visit campus over the next several weeks. The candidates will meet with students, faculty and staff during the visits.

These candidates are:

Steven Shirley: President of Minot State University

Morgan Olsen: Teasurer, CFO and Executive Vice President of Arizona State University.

Mark Kennedy: Director of the Graduate School of Political Manangement at George Washington University and former congressman

Mark Rudin: Vice Presient for Research and Development at Boise State University

Jay Noren: Director of the Healthcare Administration Program at University of Illinois-Chicago

Nagi Naganathan: Dean of Engineering at University of Toledo

The applicants seek to replace former UND President Robert Kelley, who retired in January.

The search process has been rigorous, involving a search committee composed of UND faculty, staff and students. Along with the aide of an external firm, AGB Search, to help find the candidates. The pool of applicants has been narrowed down to six potential candidates.

These candidates have varius qualifications for the positions, stemming from their extensive academic histories and acheivements. The search committee is currently in the process of trying to decide who to recommend to the State Board of Education.

Here are some segments from within their resumes, which speak to the direction they would like to take the school.

Shirley:

“A commitment to student-centered learning and devotion to access and sccess in all areas o students, academics and activities, including Student Affairs and Division I intercollegiate athletes,” he stated in regards to what he strives to introduce to the school within his presidential application. He is currently on campus through Feb. 20.

Olsen:

“I believe UND is positioned to grow substantially as a research institution while continuing to honor its liberal arts and undergraduate education roots.” He mentioned in his Presidential Application, emphasizing the importance of keeping up with the advancing technology surrounding learning environments. He will be visiting campus Feb. 21 – 24.

Kennedy:

“If selected for the distinguished role as President of the University of North Dakota (UND), I would dedicate myself to further enhancing the quality, reach, and renown of it teaching and research, elevating its rank amongst the nation’s premier institutions of higher learning” Kennedy stated in his presidential application. He will be visiting campus Feb. 24 – 27.

Rudin:

“Innovative education models must … be utilized to ignite new student learning pathways and enhance student readiness for the changing needs of the state’s workforce,” Rudin wrote in his application. He will be visiting campus Feb. 28 – March 2.

Noren:

Noren’s application was more oriented towards his past accomplishments and achievements, but emphasized the importance of research educational innovation, fundraising, shared governance and student affairs. He will be visiting campus March 2 – 5.

Naganathan:

“As president, given my extensive experience in public higher education which includes the interim presidency of a comprehensive, public research university and my knowledge of other large research universities and their initiatives in elevating their reputation, I am confident that I can lead UND to the next level of national and international prominence articulated in the strategic plans of both UND and NDUS.” Naganathan said his application. He will be visiting campus March 6 – 9.

The pool of candidates will be narrowed down from six to at least three before they are sent to the State Board of Higher Education on March 3, 2016.

David Satre is the news editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]