naming Carmen Simone as president

MINOT, N.D. — Carmen Simone will continue to serve as president of Lake Region State College in Devils Lake after a vote Tuesday by the State Board of Higher Education. 

The board chose not to remove the interim title from Dan Leingang, Bismarck State College’s temporary president since April. Instead, the board will conduct a national search for a new president. 

The board discussed its options on the two president openings during a closed executive session Tuesday when it met on the Minot State University campus. 

Simone, previously CEO and dean at Dakota College at Bottineau, was appointed as interim president in May. She took over for longtime Lake Region President Doug Darling, who retired June 30.

Board Chair Kevin Black said the difference in the two openings was that Simone had already gone through a rigorous vetting process when she was a finalist for the Dickinson State University president’s post. That position went to Scott Molander. Simone has also held other top leadership positions at other campuses.

Black encouraged Leingang to apply for the Bismarck State presidency. The position opened when Doug Jensen left abruptly in January.  

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The board also is wrestling with updating its policies on when a search is required for leadership posts. It chose to not conduct a search before naming Brent Sanford as the University System’s commissioner Tuesday. It also did not conduct a search for the Lake Region presidency. 

The board without discussion advanced a first reading of a policy change that removes a requirement for the board to conduct a presidential search. A committee will work on refining the policy before it comes back to the board for further consideration. 

Lisa Montplaisir, faculty representative to the board, said the search policies and practices have been a hot topic with faculty this year. 

“Our hope is that we have the opportunity to provide input,” Montplaisir, who teaches at North Dakota State University, said after the meeting. 

University of North Dakota President Andy Armacost said in an interview that a national search is the norm at the college for positions such as vice president and dean. 

UND is searching for a dean of its law school and its College of Business and Public Administration. 

“There might be times when we go away from that (national search) standard,” Armacost said.

Simone will be paid $244,421 annually, according to a three-year contract signed Wednesday.

This story was updated to add President Carmen Simone’s salary.

North Dakota Monitor Deputy Editor Jeff Beach [email protected].