MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in April 2023.
The University of Minnesota announced the school will have a new leader beginning June 10 after the U's Board of Regents approved interim President Jeff Ettinger's contract at a meeting Friday.
Ettinger comes to the position after current President Joan Gabel announced her departure earlier this year to pursue the chancellor position at the University of Pittsburgh. The board also approved the terms of Gabel's exit, which will happen on June 9.
“We thank President Gabel for her service, said Board Chair Janie Mayeron in a statement. "The U of M is positioned for success in the coming year and beyond.”
Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel and the Democratic candidate in Minnesota's First Congressional District race last fall, was selected by the board in early May. Ettinger was chosen from a field of four finalists, who included Myron Frans, senior vice president for Finance and Operations at the University of Minnesota; Mary Holz-Clause, chancellor of the University of Minnesota Crookston; and E. Thomas Sullivan, president emeritus and professor of Law and political science at The University of Vermont and former provost and senior vice president at the University of Minnesota.
At the time he was chosen, he released a statement saying it was the "honor of my lifetime" to be appointed to the role.
“My family and I have a multi-generational connection to the University of Minnesota and it’s the honor of my lifetime to be chosen for this position and build on that legacy,” Ettinger said.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Board of Regents for their confidence in me and my ability to lead this amazing research university during this critical time in its history. I cannot wait to get started and to contribute everything I can in the months ahead to advancing the University of Minnesota, its mission and its service to its students and the state.”
According to the U of M, Ettinger will serve in the position for up to one year, as the board continues its nationwide search for the school's 18th president.
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