McCann announces resignation

By Ken Hartman, Herald Editor

Williston State College is in the market for a new leader after WSC President Dr. Joe McCann announced Wednesday he was resigning his position next April.

McCann, 63, has been WSC's president since 2000. He said he made his announcement because the state Board of Higher Education is beginning to consider new contracts for the state university's presidents, and he wanted board members to know that he had plans on leaving. He said he selected April 15, 2009, as his departure date because the Legislature is likely to be near its conclusion by then.

"I think the college is ready for different leadership," McCann said. "I'm not leaving because the college is falling apart."

Back in January, the WSC faculty gave McCann a no-confidence vote. However, McCann said that didn't influence his decision to leave because he had already begun to look for another job before the vote was taken.

"It's not as if people weren't aware, within our community and our campus, that I am looking for a different job," McCann said.

McCann interviewed for the president's position at Western Wyoming College in Rock Springs, Wyo., and at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo. He said he is currently seeking the president's position at Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington, Wyo.

McCann came to Williston State from Tomball College, which is located in a northwest Houston suburb. He holds a doctoral degree in administration of higher education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. His master's and bachelor's degrees are both focused in chemistry, with minors in physics and math. They were awarded at Purdue University and the University of South Dakota, respectively.

"I've had a great eight years at Williston State," McCann said. "My wife (Nila) and I have had a great experience here. The college has made a number of changes to improve our school. We've made real progress."

One of those changes occurred this week when the college broke ground on a new center for training oilfield workers who are in high demand in western North Dakota due to the current oil boom.

Other key accomplishments during McCann's presidency include:

  • Participation in the Higher Learning Commission's Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP).

  • Responding to the workforce training needs of the northwest quadrant of North Dakota as part of the state's workforce training system.

  • Selection for participation in the Ford Foundation Rural Community College initiative.

  • Construction of the $5.7 million Thomas Witt Leach Complex.

  • Establishment of the Little Teton Daycare Center for the children of WSC students.

  • Expansion of distance education programs and the addition of new career and technical education programs.

    State Board of Higher Education President John Paulsen said he is grateful McCann is giving the board several months to find a successor.

    "He has certainly been passionate on behalf of Williston State College," Paulsen said. "Many good things have happened during the years that he has been the president there. We will miss him. President McCann, in my view, is one of the really nice guys that I've had the opportunity to work with in higher education."

    McCann's departure continues the turnover in the ranks of North Dakota's top public college administrators. Since 2006, the Board of Higher Education has had to recruit new presidents for seven of the state's 11 public colleges. McCann's successor will mark the board's eighth recent hire.

    Associated Press reporter Dale Wetzel contributed to this story.

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