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UAS, succession planning topics for discussion during UND presidential listening session

Listening session Devils lake.jpg
Lake Region State President Doug Darling, left, and Cankdeska Cikana Community College President Cynthia Lindquist lead a listening session for the next UND president in Devils Lake Thursday, Aug. 22. (Sydney Mook / Grand Forks Herald)

DEVILS LAKE -- Presidential succession planning and a focus on students were the main topics of discussion during Thursday night’s UND presidential listening session in Devils Lake.

The session was led by outgoing committee member Cynthia Lindquist, president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College in Fort Totten, and Lake Region State President Doug Darling. Lindquist resigned from the search committee Wednesday to focus her duties to the North Dakota Ethics Commission and her college. Whether the committee will replace her is to be determined.

“I think we all want what’s best, what’s good for UND and what’s needed for UND right now,” Lindquist said, speaking of the search committee.

Succession planning for presidents was one of the main topics of discussion among the handful of people in attendance Thursday night. Succession planning also was discussed during the State Board of Higher Education's May meeting.

SBHE member Dan Traynor, who was in attendance Thursday, said in May that the board and chancellor should begin to consider presidential succession plans and how vacancies are filled in the future to reduce costs to taxpayers. Succession plans could reduce the number of out-of-state search firms being used to find a presidential candidate, he said. Internal candidates throughout the university system also should be considered, he said.

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Traynor expressed similar sentiments during Thursday’s session.

Participants noted that UND’s role in the unmanned aerial systems industry and work with the U.S. Air Force base just outside of Grand Forks also will be important in the future. Other attendees said they would like to see the next president be someone capable of interacting with students and faculty; a good environment is important to push UND in the right direction, they said.

This was the fifth listening session held during the early stages of the UND presidential search. It was the second this week, including another that was held Wednesday in Bismarck.

Similar to the session in Bismarck, attendees said they would like to see the next president have an understanding of the entire state and not be focused on just the Grand Forks community.

More sessions are being planned once the school year begins for students, staff and faculty.

The next UND president will replace Mark Kennedy, who is now president of the University of Colorado system. Joshua Wynne, dean of the UND medical school and vice president for health affairs, has been serving as interim president since mid-June.

Sydney Mook has been the news editor at the Post Bulletin since June 2023. In her role she edits and assigns stories and helps reporters develop their work for readers.

Mook was previously with the Grand Forks Herald from May 2018 to June 2023. She served as the Herald's managing editor, as well as the higher education reporter.

For story pitches contact her at smook@postbulletin.com or call her at 507-285-7771.

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