Minnesota State Chancellor Visits Bemidji in Search for New BSU, NTC President

Both Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College had quite the visit this past week, as the Minnesota State Chancellor stopped by in search for a new President.

It was just last month when Faith Hensrud, President of BSU and NTC, announced her retirement. Dr. Devinder Malhotra, Chancellor of the Minnesota State System of Colleges and Universities, applauded Hensrud’s leadership and outlined the process for seeking a new president in her place. The Chancellor met with faculty members, staff administrative leadership, community members, and others in order to start the process.

“This will be a national search,” says Malhotra.

He will be bringing in third-party help in order to find the new president. Towards the end of September, invitations will be sent out to different internal constituencies in both colleges. Faculty members, staff administrative leadership, students, and community members will be receiving these invites in order to formulate a search committee.

When the Malhotra sat down with faculty and staff at both institutions, he said, “that he was there to listen and to learn.” At both Bemidji State and NTC, the President is selected by the Board of Trustees, based upon recommendations from the Chancellor.

What Malhotra heard from the faculty and staff at both institutions were their goals and aspirations for the future of both colleges. Dr. Dennis Lunt, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and President of Bemidji State Faculty Association, has said that they would like a president that can collaborate with both students and faculty, and a president that understands equity.

Malhotra said it was gratifying to see that within both of his sessions, there were many areas where community members were both engaged and were very clear in expressing how great the assets of both institutions are.

If everything goes well, the Chancellor is hopeful that the search process will be completed by March of 2022.