Fight for president

North Dakota State University President Joseph Chapman is resigning. He has been North Dakota's president over a decade. He said he has been thinking about resigning for awhile. He wasn't pressured to resign. He mentioned it wasn't fun anymore for him. The resignation was on January 2, 2010. University system Chancellor William Goetz said he hopes a new president will be hired by July 1, 2010. The University has narrowed the selection to 8 candidates. After a few hours with each candidate they are going to narrow them down to four or five. This weekend are the interviews and there are open to the public. The committee will prepare questions such as why they are pursuing the NDSU presidency, how they would strengthen NDSU's research activity and what role athletics should play in a university. Those four or five candidates will come back in late April or early May to meet with various groups. Here are the 8 candidates.

Tom Keon is 60 years old. He is currently the dean of business administration for the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He played a major role in transitioning the college from teaching institution to a research university. That will help him in the running for the NDSU president. To read more on all the people you can click on the hyperlink of the word "Those."

Priscilla Nelson is also 60 years old. She is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and former provost of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

John Gardner is 52 years old. He is a vice president for economic development and global engagement for Washington State University in Seattle.

Gary Miller is 56 years old. He is provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at Wichita (Kansas) State University.

Benjamin Ogles is 49 years old. He is currently the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University in Athens.

Dean Bresciani is an adjunct professor and former vice president for student affairs for Texas A&M University.

William Ruud is president of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

Richard Davenport is president of Minnesota State University, Mankato.

We have some tough choices to make, which is a good thing; that's what we want," said committee chairman Steve Swiontek. Well that's good that there will be a tough battle for the presidency. All the candidates to me seem like they would be a good president for NDSU. They all have lots of experience. Out of these candidates which one would you choice? From there background I would choose Tom Keon. He is a dean and knows what to do to be a dean. But I don't know how the interviews go. I'm sure who ever they pick will be a great help for NDSU.