by The Board of Regents announced the names of the University President finalists on Friday, February 9th, and that week the candidates began a tour of all 5 UMN campuses with the Twin-Cities as the final stop.
At each location, each candidate discussed one of five topics and then answered questions submitted by the audience. An open house hour followed, giving attendees an opportunity to talk one-on-one with the finalists.
So, who are the candidates?
James Holloway was here last Wednesday and has served as the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico (UNM) since 2019 where he is also a nuclear engineering professor. Before working for UNM, Holloway worked at the University of Michigan in various roles for 29 years.
Laura Bloomberg visited the Twin Cities on Friday. She has served as the president of Cleveland State University since 2022. Before Cleveland, Bloomberg was the dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs here for five years.
Rebecca Cunningham was here on Wednesday. Cunningham has a medical degree and is currently vice president for research and innovation at the University of Michigan. She has worked there since 2001.
The biggest stakeholders are the faculty, students, and staff at the university.
Jackson Kerr attended two of the forums and is the business agent for the Teamsters local 320 union which represents custodial, facility and landscaping workers on campus.
“We’re obviously looking for a university President who is pro-union, supports our right to bargain with the university and also will take bargaining seriously,” said Kerr. A few years ago, the union almost went on strike due to bargaining disagreements with the university.
Ella Goede, a junior at UMN, wants to see another woman as university President and someone that interacts more with the student body.
“A President that you don’t just hear about through your email, maybe a president you see around campus and see them interacting with students and you see them interacting with student groups,” said Goede.
Armelle Boukadida is another student at the U that wants to see action from the new university President when it comes to social issues.
“We want presidents that don’t just listen to student groups or meet with student groups, but listen to them, meet with them, and then act on those meetings. Do not just say ‘I heard what you said,’ but do something about it,” said Boukadida.
The regents will meet with the finalists Monday for public interviews and plan to make a decision immediately afterward.
If you want to provide feedback on the candidates you can fill out this google form until noon on Friday. The videos to each finalists’ visit are on the university’s presidential search website.
