The final interviews to select the next South Dakota School of Mines and Technology president are this week. The Board of Regents announced the final four candidates Tuesday. As SDPB’s Cassie Bartlett reports, the presidential-hopefuls come from diverse backgrounds.
Board of Regents CEO Jack Warner says the four remaining candidates are highly qualified and unique. Their backgrounds range from more than two decades in higher education, engineering research, running one of the world’s largest multi-disciplinary research organizations, and a former member of Congress who earned her master’s and doctorate degrees as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. Warner says the School of Mines has a strong reputation to attract these candidates.
“South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is an institution on the move, moving in really positive directions. Its graduates are highly successful, earn a tremendous wage premium from having graduated, and are making their impact here in South Dakota and all over the country,” Warner says.
Warner says the Board of Regents will make its decision for the School of Mines 19th president at the beginning of May. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Cassie Bartlett.
The four candidates and their backgrounds are listed below. Information from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology:
Duane C. Hrncir, Rapid City, S.D., acting president, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Hrncir became acting Mines president upon the sudden death of President Wharton last Sept. 19. He also serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs, and partnered with Mines faculty to create a new College of Science and Letters, serving as its founding dean. His 28 years of higher education experience include work as associate vice president for academic affairs, dean of the School of Natural Sciences, and professor of environmental science at Mesa State College in Colorado. He began his academic career at the University of Texas at Dallas, as an assistant dean, faculty member, and chemistry department chair. He holds a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Texas A&M University, a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a B.S. degree from the University of Alabama.
H. Fred Walker, Honeoye Falls, N.Y., dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology. In a career emphasizing the intersection of liberal arts with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, Walker's research and scholarship has been focused on quality and reliability engineering. As dean at RIT, Walker has direct responsibility for leading all aspects of an academic organization numbering about 5,000 faculty, staff, and students. His previous higher education experience includes serving as professor and department chair at the University of Southern Maine. Walker holds a Ph.D. in industrial education and technology and a master of systems engineering, both from Iowa State University. He also has M.B.A. and B.S. degrees from California State University at Fresno.
Stephen G. Wells, Reno, Nev., president, Desert Research Institute, Nevada System of Higher Education. As president of the Desert Research Institute, Wells oversees a non-profit division that conducts about 300 scientific research projects within Nevada, throughout the U.S., and around the world from two primary campuses in Las Vegas and Reno. The institute is considered one of the world's largest multi-disciplinary environmental research organizations, with about 500 scientists, technologists, students, and support staff. He also holds graduate faculty status at the University of Nevada-Reno. His previous academic experience includes time spent at the University of California-Riverside and the University of New Mexico. He has Ph.D. and master's degrees in geology, both from the University of Cincinnati. His undergraduate degree is from Indiana University.
Heather Wilson, Albuquerque, N.M., former member of Congress and president, Heather Wilson & Company LLC. As an entrepreneur and small business owner, Wilson has worked with large defense and scientific companies, including top-tier national laboratories like Sandia, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, the Nevada Test Site, Battelle Memorial Institute, and others. She served New Mexico in the U.S. Congress from 1998 to 2009. Before being elected to the Congress, she was the cabinet secretary of New Mexico's Children, Youth, and Families Department, where she was chief executive of a state agency with a $216 million budget and 2,000 employees. Wilson earned her bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in the third class to include women. She completed her master's and doctoral degrees as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England.