No new chancellor was named for the Minnesota State system Thursday after all.
After a nationwide search that produced three finalists, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board of trustees decided that they had not yet found the right person.
Instead they voted unanimously to name Devinder Malhotra, the interim president of Metropolitan State University, as interim leader to succeed Chancellor Steven Rosenstone, who is retiring after a rocky relationship with faculty and other unions in his six-year career in the position
The new chancellor was to have started Aug. 1, and essentially become the CEO of a system that serves nearly 400,000 students, the state’s largest provider of higher education.
The three finalists were Michael Martin, chancellor emeritus of the Colorado State University System and Keith Miller, president emeritus of Lock Haven University in central Pennsylvania and Cathy Sandeen, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension (UW-Extension).
Rosenstone announced last spring that he would retire when his current contract expires in July.
The new chancellor will oversee 16,500 employees and take the helm of Minnesota State, formerly known as MnSCU, as it faces financial challenges. The system, which includes 37 four-year colleges and state universities and 54 campuses across the state, announced new strategies last year after a warning of deficits of $66 million to $475 million a year by 2025. Officials are at the State Capitol pursuing $178 million in new funding in the next biennium — with some funds to be used to freeze tuition.
Since last fall, Minnesota State has conducted a search for the next top leader. A 19-member search committee included representatives from faculty, staff and students.
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