GRAND FORKS – Three Grand Forks residents are among 12 applicants for two pending openings on the State Board of Higher Education, State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has announced.
They are: Russel Crary, who is involved in real estate sales and development with Crary Real Estate; Kaleb Dschaak, owner of an e-sports and drone racing company; and Beverly Johnson, retired physical therapy professor and clinical education director, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The pending openings on the State Board of Higher Education will occur when the four-year terms of Jeffry Volk of Fargo and Dr. Casey Ryan of Grand Forks end on June 30. Volk is eligible for a second term and has applied to be considered.
Ryan, a physician and former president of Altru Health System, is finishing his second term and is ineligible for reappointment.
Other applicants are: Levi Bachmeier, West Fargo, business manager for the West Fargo school district; Carolyn Becraft, Fargo, consultant, Army veteran and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Nadine Hagen, Turtle Lake, speech language pathologist for Underwood Public School; Mark Hardy, Beach, farmer and president of an insurance agency; Stanley Schauer, Jr., Bismarck, director of assessments, North Dakota Department of Public Instruction; Patrick Sogard, Williston, owner and chairman, American State Bank and Trust Co.; Tanya Spilovoy, Bismarck, higher education consultant and administrator; and Rich Wardner, Dickinson, retired K-12 teacher and coach, former state representative and senator, and former state Senate majority leader.
The board consists of eight voting members, all of whom are appointed by the governor. These will be the first appointments to be determined by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who took office Sunday, Dec. 15. Armstrong recently stepped down as the sole North Dakota member in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Board of Higher Education oversees the 11 colleges and universities that comprise the North Dakota University System.
Baesler is chairwoman of the five-member committee that reviews applicants and forwards a list of three suggested appointees to the governor for each opening. The makeup of the committee is described in the North Dakota Constitution.
Armstrong is expected to submit his nominees to the North Dakota Senate by mid-February.
In addition to Baesler, members of the nominating committee of the State Board of Higher Education are: Jon Jensen, chief justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court; Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, which represents schoolteachers and state employees; State House Speaker Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield; and State Senate President Pro Tempore Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston.
The committee plans to meet virtually to review applications Jan. 14.