The State Board of Higher Education held a lengthy executive session today to discuss contract extensions for the university presidents (except for Williston State, where a new president has yet to be selected, and UND which has a new president beginning next month). All of the presidents whose contracts were under consideration saw extensions except…
NDSU Boosters Rallying Around Dean Bresciani
Last week I wrote that the State Board of Higher Education was split on whether or not to renew NDSU President Dean Bresciani’s contract at an upcoming meeting this week or to let him move on. Since that post the NDSU boosters in the media and elsewhere have been circling the wagons around their guy.…
John Andrist: It's Time For NDSU President Dean Bresciani To Go
It’s time for NDSU president Dean Bresciani to go. He represents the third Fargo and NDSU based effort to come into conflict with his boss, the chancellor of higher education, Mark Hagerott. Folks, we have a terrible culture at NDSU. They think they are bigger and more important than the system. And with Fargo’s supportive…
The Last Things NDSU Needs Right Now Are More Students And More Buildings
Last year North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani announced plans to inflate his school’s enrollment to 18,000 students – a nearly 25 percent increase in the next five years for a school where enrollment grew less than 1 percent to over the previous five years. The idea wasn’t exactly greeted with enthusiasm from his superiors.…
Ed Schafer Is Doing The Work Other University Leaders Will Not
If it seems like the University of North Dakota’s efforts to grapple with their budget situation is in the headlines a lot lately – certainly a lot more than any of the state’s other public institutions of higher education – that may speak to deficit in the quality of leadership of those flying under the…
NDSU President Censors School Song Over Racist Lyrics
In an email blast to campus today North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani announced that he was censoring parts of the school’s song (parts which apparently aren’t used very often) over some of their racial references. “Our school song, the ‘Yellow and the Green,’ has been a long-standing and broadly enjoyed tradition of our…
John Andrist: Too Many Fargoans Think NDSU Can Do No Wrong
Pogo was the name of a comic strip dealing with humor and political satire that died with its author, a man named Walt Kelly, in 1973. The most memorable line he wrote was a paraphrase: “We have met the enemy and he is us!” This came to mind this week when I was pondering our…
NDSU President Dean Bresciani Lied About Funds Used To Pay For Ticket Upgrade
Last week, after I was the first to report that NDSU President Dean Bresciani had spent roughly $7,000 on a seat upgrade to a first class ticket for a trip to India, I put in a request for more records pertaining to Bresciani’s travel. I had to route that request through my lawmaker here in Minot…
NDSU Donor Dollars Should Help Students Not Pay For Luxury Travel For Bresciani
North Dakota State University President Dean Bresciani has come under fire for a $7,000 seat upgrade on his recent trip to India. University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott said Bresciani charging such a lavish expense to the university was “an embarrassment.” He is absolutely right about that, but more embarrassing may be the way Bresciani is…
NDSU Hits Students With Request For A 35 Percent Fee Increase
According to this report in the NDSU student newspaper, a request from the university’s athletics department for a 35.5 percent fee increase was met with a cool response from the students. I should point out that this is exemplary of the way athletics programs at schools like NDSU make attendance more expensive for students. Things like football…