Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze, presidential candidate for Bemidji State University (BSU) and Northwest Technical College (NTC) spoke to students, community members and faculty on Monday about the current state of higher education.
Vogel-Boze was the second of five finalists asked to speak about “Higher Education at a Crossroads,” a subject that a university president must have a firm grasp on in the current economic climate.
Vogel-Boze, a senior partner at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), cited multiple examples of how higher education has changed over the past 10 years: grading is being outsourced to India, text books are available online and the United States has dropped to twelth in the world for higher education.
She has experience working in a two-institution system like BSU and NTC, and she pointed to the partnership as a reason for her interest in the job.
“That was my first attraction,” Vogel-Boze said. “I had six different people forward me the announcement and say, ‘This sounds like you.’”
“This is a very different world than the one that I started teaching at many a year ago,” she said.
Vogel-Boze’s administrative career began in 1989 when she became the chair of the Business Administration department at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has since held positions at the University of Texas at Brownsville, Texas Southmost College, the University of Texas Telecampus and Tulane University, where she served as assistant to the president as part of an American Council on Education fellowship. She is currently on leave from her position as campus dean and chief executive officer at Kent State University at Stark.
Vogel-Boze shares one of BSU’s core values – environmental responsibility. She designed the flag that flew in front of her high school on the first ever earth day, and has always been committed to the climate.
“This isn’t something that I woke up one day and said, ‘There’s a parade, I’m going to go run in front of it and act like I’m leading it,’” Vogel-Boze said. “This is something that I’ve believed in for a long time.”
She has brought this passion for the climate with her to other campuses, stating that her universities have been recognized by the U.S. president for their involvement in service learning. She was even one of the signers of the Presidents’ Climate Commitment.
Vogel-Boze acknowledged the proud 91 year history of BSU and stressed the importance of building upon it. “Now is not a time to be complacent,” she said. “Now is a time to imagine possibilities, and to act.”
The search for the next BSU and NTC president will continue until April 22. Three more candidates will give their presentations on “Education at a Crossroads.”
Shortly after the presentations come to a close, on April 26, the Search Advisory Committee will make its recommendation to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) Chancellor James McCormick. He will then recommend the next BSU and NTC president to the MNSCU board of trustees.
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