The Daily News

The North Dakota State College of Science presidential search committee approved eight semi-finalists for the presidential position Thursday afternoon. “I can’t believe the degree of consensus” of the committee, Senior Search Consultant from R.H. Perry & Associates Allen Koenig said. After reviewing 13 applications for the NDSCS presidential position, the committee voted for eight semi-finalists in less than 15 minutes.

The committee will interview the candidates Jan. 27 and 28 via IVAN video conferencing. After all semi-finalists are interviewed, the committee will narrow the selection pool down to four or five finalists. The semifinalists selected Thursday were: Dr. John Richman, interim president at NDSCS; Harvey G. Link, an NDSCS vice president; David H. Devier, Dean/CEO of the University of Cincinnati Clermont College; Michael L. Dreith, president of Frontier Community College; Ron Erickson, a vice president of Dakota County Technical College; David Mathieu, special assistant to the vice chancellor for academic affairs in Minnesota; Jerome R. Migler, provost at Minnesota State Community and Technical College; and Richard Wagner, a vice president at Dunwoody College of Technology.

This search became necessary after former NDSCS president Dr. Sharon Hart resigned the presidency Sept. 15, 2006, due to a vote of no confidence from the faculty and pressure from the NDSCS Alumni Foundation. The State Board of Higher Education named Richman as NDSCS interim president.

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Richman is vice president for academic and student affairs at NDSCS. Richman began at NDSCS as the head football coach in 1986, which surprised Koenig because he has almost no academic background to be in his position. “He does a lot and does it well,” one committee member said. “His background in academics is slight, but not a negative.” Another committee member said Richman is student oriented, gets out in the community and visits with people. Richman has a Ph.D. in kinesiology.

Link is the vice president for institutional advancement and government relations at NDSCS and has been since 2004. Link has been at NDSCS since July 1979. He began as an instructor in the agriculture department, became chair of the agriculture department in 1980 and by July 1989 was dean of the arts, science and business division. He is working on his dissertation to complete his Ph.D. Many on the committee work with and know Link. “He’s almost generous to a fault, but is a gentleman,” one committee member said.

Devier is Dean/CEO of the University of Cincinnati Clermont College in Batavia, Ohio. Devier has been at Clermont since 2002. He received his Ph.D. in industrial technology education from Ohio State University in 1981. Koenig felt Devier was one of the best candidates. He is the dean of a two-year institution and has an emphasis in career education. “He has a good, balanced reference,” Koenig added. Kevin Gyolai agreed Devier has a good background in career and technical preparation, which is the main focus of NDSCS.

Dreith is the president of Frontier Community College in southeastern Illinois. Dreith began his presidency in May 2001. He has had 20 years of experience at community colleges and Wahpeton would be a step up for Dreith. Currently he handles a $4 million budget, which some board members considered small. However, his references said “he has his head on straight,” which impressed one committee member. Other members were concerned with Dreith’s lack of technical and career background.

Erickson is vice president of academic and student affairs at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn. He began his position in 2004. Erickson grew up in rural Minnesota and has a lot of Upper Midwest experience, which is a quality the committee is looking for. Other committee members were impressed with his technical background. Erickson is also a community college graduate, having graduated from Rainy River Community College in International Falls, Minn., in 1976. He was also the dean of instruction and chief academic officer at Rainy River Community College from 1999 to 2002.

Mathieu is the special assistant to the vice chancellor for academic affairs: international education and special projects for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. From 1998 to 2006 he was the vice president for academic and student affairs at Normandale Community College, which is Minnesota’s largest two-year college. Mathieu has good experience managing problems such as declining enrollment. His references called him a visionary, but said he needs to relax more. He has his Ed.D. in higher education administration from the University of South Dakota.

Migler is provost at Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Moorhead, Minn., Campus and has been since 2003. Migler has been involved in college outreach at NDSCS and “really has a good potential fit” at NDSCS, Koenig said. “He has an excellent reference from the head of faculty.” Committee members said the president of NDSCS must be involved in the community and has to live in town. The Moorhead city administrator spoke highly of Migler saying he has high visibility and involvement in the community. Migler worked at NDSCS from 1991-2001 as the coordinator of curriculum and professional development, was the dean of technologies and services division from 1999-2001, was the interim director of outreach and customized training, and dean of technologies & services division from 1999-2001; dean of technologies & services division, 1993-2001; and coordinator of curriculum and professional development from 1991-1993.

Wagner is the vice president of academic affairs at Dunwoody College of Technology in the Twin Cities. He was also the dean of learning at Dunwoody from 2001 to 2004 and electrical department chair/instructor from 1996 to 2001, which impressed the committee. Wagner went to Hennepin Technical College from 2004 to 2005 as the vice president for learning and academic innovation, but Dunwoody wanted him back, Koenig said. The committee also liked his technical background as an instructor and administrator at a technical college.

Comments

Veronica A wrote on Jun 19, 2009 10:12 AM:

" I used to go this schoool and its a very good school and I really like and miss it but i have moved on and now and a better person but I really liked that school and I hope it lasts for ever!!!!!! Class of 05-06 "




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Marie wrote on Aug 6, 2008 12:27 PM:

" Mr Smith owes the Geffres an apology? How about the Geffres apologize to the community of Hankinson. In two short years that family has torn apart a school, a community, family and friends. They have showed no respect for Hankinson. Hankinson is not their community! It's time for the Geffres to move on. "




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MARY wrote on Aug 5, 2008 11:53 AM:

" AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, I THINK OUR SUPERINTENDENT JESS SMITH OWES THE GEFFRE FAMILY A PUBLIC APOLOGY FOR SOME OF HIS COMMENTS TO THE PRESS. AFTER ALL, HE VICTIMIZED THEM PUBLICLY. IT ISN'T LIKE HE'S TOO BUSY PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN! "




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Ben wrote on Jul 30, 2008 12:21 AM:

" I think he resigned because he knew that people would find out the truth if that meeting took place.....how come after all the media he hyped up to make the Geffres llok bad, did he change his mind and resign?....in my opinion he did it to save his own skin "




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Vern wrote on Jul 28, 2008 9:37 PM:

" I agree with the previous poster that this was not about the girls getting playing time. He should probably not be allowed to teach at any age level ever again. "




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Kaye wrote on Jul 27, 2008 8:33 PM:

" There is more to this than just the Geffre's complaints and Jess Smith knows it, why doesn't he just come clean about everything and all complaints there has been on Gravalin in the past three years,he has been covering up and sweeping under the rug so to speak. This isn't just about parents that didn't think their girls got to play enough. Shouldn't the first duty of his position be to protect our children. "




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