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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A committee searching for the next president of the University of North Dakota is in Minneapolis interviewing 16 candidates.
The committee narrowed the field from 41 candidates to 15 last month, then last week decided to also include Minot State University President Steven Shirley, a UND alumnus who applied after the application deadline with the blessing of the search committee.
The group decided last week against interviewing late applicant Cynthia Lindquist, president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College in Fort Totten on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation, which has about 250 students.
"It's considerably smaller than UND, and they (committee members) wondered if she had the knowledge to lead a university of that size (UND)," North Dakota University System spokeswoman Billie Jo Lorius said.
UND has about 15,000 students.
North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott asked the committee to reconsider Lindquist, who has a wide range of experience. A motion to do so on Monday failed for lack of a second, eliminating Lindquist from contention, according to Lorius.
On Monday, Lindquist told The Associated Press it was surprising the committee considered the size of her institution. She also raised concerns that she was passed over for a male candidate with comparable experience.
"If everything is equal, then I should've been in the (candidate) pool," she said.
Lindquist said she was considering all of her options moving forward, including filing a lawsuit. She said she's seen a disconnect between rhetoric about inclusiveness and actually hiring women for presidential and leadership positions.
"In this day and age, there should be a lot more female candidates that make it this far," she said.
One woman is among the 16 candidates under consideration.
Lindquist is a founding member of the National Indian Women's Health Resource Center and a former executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from UND, and has led the tribal school for 13 years. She also is an adjunct faculty member at the UND medical school and serves on the Board of Trustees for the American Indian College Fund.
Robert Kelley retired as UND president last month after nearly seven years at the Grand Forks school. Former North Dakota Gov. and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer is serving as interim president through June.
The search committee hopes to have identified up to four semifinalists by the end of Tuesday to bring to campus on Feb. 11 and March 3 for further interviews.
The state Board of Higher Education, which oversees North Dakota's 11 public colleges and universities, will make the final decision on UND's next leader.
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Associated Press reporter Kevin Burbach contributed to this report from Minneapolis.
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This story has been corrected to show that there are 16 remaining candidates, not 15, and that Schafer's title is interim president, not interim superintendent.
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