President

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees and Chancellor Devinder Malhotra invite nominations and applications for the position of President of Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College, located in Bemidji, Minnesota, seek a dynamic, visionary, and collaborative president who has the experience, vision, and creativity to lead both a four-year, regional public university and a two-year technical college.

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College have a relationship like no other pair of institutions in Minnesota. While there are other examples within the Minnesota State system of two-year colleges with shared-service models, nowhere else will you find this type of alignment between a four-year university and a two-year college. This unique relationship both reinforces institutional independence and fosters close partnerships.

Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shores of Lake Bemidji. The university was founded in 1919 as Bemidji Normal School, Minnesota’s seventh regional school dedicated to educating and preparing high school graduates to return to the state’s classrooms as teachers. BSU offers robust and comprehensive academic programs, including offerings typical of regional higher education institutions with unique programs such as the country’s only undergraduate program in exhibit design and its first Indigenous sustainability studies program.

Northwest Technical College, one of three pure technical colleges in the Minnesota State system, offers a friendly, supportive learning environment on a spacious, easily accessible campus. Walk in the main entrance and straight ahead is the OneStop center, a central hub for a vibrant campus. Here — adjacent to the Student Success Center and library, and within easy reach of all on-campus classrooms and the college’s state-of-the-art, hands-on labs — students can meet with admissions and financial aid staff and start their path toward their dream jobs.

Bemidji is a tight-knit community possessing all the charm and character of a college town. Named after the Ojibwe Chief Shaynowishkung, the city is located between three American Indian tribal nations: the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Red Lake Nation and the White Earth Nation. While the city of Bemidji proper claims a population of around 15,000, as a regional hub it provides goods, services, and employment to nearly 100,000 Minnesotans.

BSU and NTC are members of the Minnesota State system of 30 colleges and seven universities, encompassing a total of 54 campuses in 47 Minnesota communities. The third-largest system of higher education in the nation, Minnesota State annually serves more than 340,000 students.

Reporting to the chancellor, the president will possess strong leadership skills necessary to provide vision and direction to both Northwest Technical College and Bemidji State University. He/she will have a reputation as a leader with vision for the future of higher education. An earned doctorate is preferred, but not required.

HOW TO APPLY

Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc. is assisting Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College in this search. Applications and nominations are now being accepted. Confidential inquiries, nominations and application materials should be directed to Greenwood/Asher & Associates. For a full application package please provide a cover letter, CV, and list of five references. Submission of application materials as PDF attachments is strongly encouraged. The search will be conducted with a commitment of confidentiality for candidates until finalists are selected. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made.

PLEASE DIRECT INQUIRIES NOMINATIONS, AND APPLICATION MATERIALS TO:

Betty Asher,

Co-Founder, Greenwood Asher & Associates

and Vice President & Managing Partner, Kelly

email: bettyasher@greenwoodsearch.com

Lauren McCaghren,

Senior Executive Search Consultant

at Greenwood Asher & Associates

email: laurenmccaghren@greenwoodsearch.com  

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System is an Equal Opportunity Educator and Employer. Candidates with hearing or speech disabilities may contact us via preferred telecommunications relay services.

To learn more about Minnesota State, please visit MinnState.edu

To learn more about Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College, please visit https://www.bemidjistate.edu/ and https://www.ntcmn.edu/