President Schafer provides update on administrative searches

As many of you know, as part of our efforts to address the budget situation, all current searches have been frozen pending additional discussion and analysis of possible alternatives. Here are updates on two of these searches:

Graduate Dean:  We have decided to terminate the external search for the Graduate Dean. Grant McGimpsey, UND’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development, will be named Vice President and Graduate Dean. Grant is an excellent choice to assume this additional responsibility, as he has experience in a Graduate Dean role. This will also allow us to eliminate an administrative position and provide significant savings in administrative costs, which will aid in addressing the budget deficit. We will provide more information on this transition in the near future.

Honors Director:  We have also decided to move ahead on an internal search for the Honors Director. We are confident that we have a number of well-qualified individuals on campus who are capable of filling this critical academic leadership role. I am asking Steve Light, who is leading this effort, to move ahead on an internal search.

I want to thank the Search Committees for all their efforts on these two searches. I appreciate their commitment to identifying excellent candidates for these roles, and I am confident that the plan we have laid out will accomplish that goal.

— Ed Schafer, President