North Dakota State’s president is here to stay until at least June 2018.
Dean Bresciani, NDSU’s president, announced Tuesday through a listserv initially directed to his cabinet and NDSU’s faculty caucus he has withdrawn his position as a candidate to become the new president of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
Bresciani was a final four contender for the position.
Reaction to Bresciani’s announcement has been positive across NDSU. Student Body President Spencer Moir said he was excited to hear the news.
“His passion for our school and his active support of our students have made us proud in the past, and we look forward to seeing his success continue in the years to come,” Moir said.
“Dr. Bresciani has always been active and engaged in the NDSU community,” Anuj Teotia, student body vice president, said. “In addition to being an excellent administrator, he has been very involved with alumni, faculty, staff, and students at NDSU. Along with his eagerness and zeal to work with students, Dr. Bresciani contributes largely to the success of NDSU by offering his excellent communication skills and professionalism.”
Teotia added Bresciani has helped NDSU and will continue to do so moving forward.
Kathryn Gordon, an associate professor in the psychology department and president of NDSU’s faculty senate, said the faculty voted nearly 80 percent in favor of renewing Bresciani’s contract earlier this school year and it seems most of the faculty will be pleased to hear of his continuance at NDSU.
“I think it is a great day for North Dakota State University,” Jim Osland, assistant central stores coordinator for facilities management and president of the staff senate, said. He added the staff has always been a firm supporter of Bresciani and his leadership. He said it is also a good day for the state of North Dakota and the North Dakota University System, adding when one school is raised up it lifts the whole system up and “(Bresciani’s) leadership will help the entire state in that way.”
Osland added Bresciani will be beneficial to the entire state during its current budget shortfall.
“I look forward to his leadership for years to come,” Osland said.
Kaitlin Coward, one of the news editors at Ohio University’s student run newspaper The Post, said the school community has not talked much about Bresciani’s withdrawal as of press time. She said reasons for why discussion may be quiet include the lack of local media outlets reporting on the withdrawal and the school community experiencing other new focuses in the past few days.