North Dakota State’s president will have his contract voted on Wednesday.
President Dean Bresciani is the only North Dakota University System president awaiting renewal on his contract, as the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education declined to renew his contract in June along with the other NDUS presidents.
Issues pertaining to Bresciani’s contract include what was outlined in his annual performance review, in that the SBHE finds him having difficulty communicating with his colleagues.
In early August, Bresciani underwent third party investigative review due to a media rights scandal caused by NDSU’s athletics department. He was cleared of all accusations by the reviewer in September.
If the SBHE declines to renew Bresciani’s contract, his term will expire at the end of the school year.
The student, faculty and staff senates have all passed resolutions in support of extending Bresciani’s contract.
Briton Thompson, a sophomore studying strategic communication, said he “really hopes that Dean Bresciani’s contract is renewed because it seems like NDSU has been going down the right path and it would be nice to keep those same policies.”
Will Spaulding, a sophomore studying manufacturing engineering, said, “The man does his job like he is supposed to do, but I feel like the media has kind of been on his back and I haven’t heard anyone say anything about how he responds to the media scrutinizing him. I don’t know if that’s because the media won’t post his response or if the media doesn’t like his answers and therefore doesn’t post them. I feel like this problem is exactly like the problem in our nation’s political system where news agencies will side with a politician and not put out fair information or statements.”
Brooke Ronningen, a junior studying elementary education, said, “I think it is a good decision for NDSU (to renew Bresciani’s contract). Dean Bresciani does so much for us as students, and we have many reasons to be thankful for the work he does at the university.”
Casey McCarty contributed to this story.