Ten Apply for Seat on ND Board of Higher Education

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said Monday that 10 North Dakotans have applied for a seat on the state Board of Higher Education that is opening July 1.<_o3a_p>

The candidates are:<_o3a_p>

• Autumn Bennett, middle/high school music and math teacher, Cavalier Public School, Walhalla.<_o3a_p>
• Donald Campbell, Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer, Sanford Health, Mandan.<_o3a_p>
• Alan Goos, electrician, Advanced Electrical Systems, West Fargo. Residence in Fargo. <_o3a_p>
• Kari Cutting, consultant and former vice president of North Dakota Petroleum Council, Beulah. <_o3a_p>
• Nadine Hagen, speech language pathologist, Underwood Public School, Turtle Lake. <_o3a_p>
• Christie Jaeger, farmer, rancher and crop insurance adjuster, Esmond. <_o3a_p>
• Wendy Kopp, chief nursing officer, Sanford Health, Bismarck.<_o3a_p>
• Ruth Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills, director of food sovereignty, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, New Town. <_o3a_p>
• Patrick Sogard, owner and chairman, American State Bank & Trust Co., Williston.<_o3a_p>
• Stan Schauer, director of assessments, North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, Bismarck.

The governor appoints the eight voting members of the Board of Higher Education. Baesler is chairwoman of a nominating committee that screens candidates for the board.<_o3a_p>

The opening carries a four-year term that begins July 1. Board of Higher Education members may serve no more than two consecutive terms. The person who is appointed will succeed John Warford, the SBHE's vice chairman, who declined to seek appointment to a second four-year term.<_o3a_p>

Aside from Baesler, the members of the Board of Higher Education's nominating committee are State Sen. Ron Sorvaag, R-Fargo, the president pro tempore of the North Dakota Senate; state Rep. Dennis Johnson, R-Devils Lake, the speaker of the North Dakota House; Supreme Court Chief Justice Jon Jensen; and Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, a group that represents public school teachers and public employees. The committee's makeup is outlined in the North Dakota Constitution.<_o3a_p>

The committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Baesler's state Capitol office to discuss the applications and suggest finalists to Gov. Doug Burgum, who will make the appointments.<_o3a_p>