BISMARCK N.D.
After first rebuffing the idea, the president of the North Dakota Board of Higher Education says he will now recommend adding an American Indian to the panel that will recruit a new president for the University of North Dakota.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. Obviously, it’s received a lot of attention,” John Q. Paulsen said Wednesday. “The more I thought about it, the more I reflected about it, the more it seemed to me that it was appropriate and, in fact, correct and right that there should be a representative of the American Indian community on the search committee.”
The lack of American Indian representation on the committee caused a stir when its 16 members were announced May 24.
Paulsen, who is a search committee member, has scheduled a conference call board meeting for 11 a.m. next Tuesday to discuss the issue.
He says he has no one in mind to recommend for the spot, but he intends to seek suggestions from Eddie V. Dunn, the outgoing chancellor of the state university system, and William Goetz, Dunn’s successor.
Dr. David M. Gipp, president of the United Tribes Technical College, in Bismarck, N.D., sent a letter to the board last week requesting that an American Indian be added to the committee.
