Four candidates are finalists in the search for the next president of Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College. Allen Bedford, John Hoffman, Darrel Kruger and Karla Leeper are scheduled to visit the campus this week.
The search advisory committee included students, faculty, staff and community leaders.
Bedford has been at Bemidji State since 2019 and is the current provost and vice president of academic affairs, coming here after a 24-year stint at Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylvania.
Hoffman is the acting senior vice chancellor at the U of M Crookston and has been working in universities in California, Minnesota and Nebraska since 1995.
Kruger is a provost and executive vice chancellor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, with experience at universities in Louisiana, and received a bachelor’s degree from South Africa.
Leeper is the Augusta University executive vice president for operations. She served Baylor University in Texas for 14 years, moving onto the Georgia Regents University before going to Augusta in 2015.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board of trustees is expected to consider recommendations in March, with the anticipated start date of the new president in July.
President Faith C. Hensrud announced her plans of retirement shortly before the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester.
