BISMARCK -- As UND continues its search for the next university president, at least one former student says the next UND president needs to be a team player and someone who considers the entire state a teammate.
Andrew Alexis Varvel was one of about a dozen UND alumni and supporters who participated in a listening session in Bismarck to voice what characteristics they believe the next UND president should have.
Varvel said he decided to come to the listening session because he cares about UND and North Dakota.
“The fact is I want to try to make sure we have a team player who is willing to consider the opinions of various people who care about the institution,” he said. “UND has had a number of people throughout its time who have definitely been self-centered and sometimes looking at UND as a stepping stone to elsewhere. I’m not just talking about the 21st century, I’m talking about the 19th and 20th centuries.”
Varvel said many of the university's recent issues are nothing new, but past presidents like Tom Clifford, George Starcher and Webster Merrifield seemed to be leaders who understood the state and its people
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“Regardless if the person is from North Dakota or not we need somebody who wants to learn, cares about people, cares about the state and doesn’t simply come in here like ‘all right, I’m here, let’s get this show on the road,’” Varvel said. “We’ve had so many people like that over the years and we generally know what happens when someone comes marching in with lots of great ideas that don’t fit.”
During the meeting, Varvel said the search committee and the State Board of Higher Education, which ultimately will choose the next president, are playing “Moneyball,” a term that became the title of a popular movie about the Oakland Athletics. Since the A's are located in what is considered a small market for Major League Baseball, the team had to adapt and hire players with smaller salaries. Meanwhile, the A's made it work by using in-depth data to better determine what players they should hire.
Since North Dakota doesn’t offer exceptionally high salaries for its presidents (the UND leader earns approximately $350,000 annually), Varvel said the committee must to find someone who can learn on the go and be a team player -- not just someone who swings for home runs.
“We’re not going to be able to match (president’s salaries in) Texas, Florida and California and I don’t think we should be trying to. We should be looking for 'good enough.' We should be looking for someone who is a good fit for our state, good fit for UND and someone who sees the entire state and entire region as the community,” he said. “We need to be looking at somebody who is a team player who can get singles regularly, doubles regularly. An occasional home run is fine, but we’re not looking for a rock star.”
Others in the group said the person has to have a commitment to UND and a willingness to stay at the institution for eight to 10 years. People also want someone who will view the position as a career opportunity, and not just a bullet point on a resume.
The group also discussed whether the best candidate will be a sitting president at another school.
Many of the comments were similar to the three previous listening sessions, which were held last month in Grand Forks. Alumni wanted to find someone passionate about UND and someone who can become passionate about the state as a whole. They also wanted someone who has “servant leadership principles,” another sentiment addressed in previous listening sessions.
The next UND president will replace Mark Kennedy, who is now president of the University of Colorado system. Joshua Wynne, dean of the UND medical school and vice president for health affairs, has been serving as interim president since mid-June.
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Another session will be held Thursday (Aug. 22) at 7 p.m. in Devils Lake.
