Bruininks Named Interim President
7/15/2002 | | Bob Bruininks with Regent Chair Maureen Reed. Photo by Gina Kennedy |
Bob Bruininks was introduced June 7 as the interim president of the University effective August 1. Bruininks was the executive vice president and provost, the chief academic officer for the Twin Cities campus and considered the second in command. He intended to take a year’s sabbatical beginning June 30 and then return to teaching in the College of Education and Human Development, where he served as dean for six years in the 1990s. "The opportunity to serve was one I could not refuse," he said at a press conference announcing his selection by the Board of Regents.
Outgoing President Mark Yudof said the regents made "a superb choice" in naming Bruininks, whom regents unanimously approved. Yudof added that the two worked "very much as a team" on every major decision over the last five years.
The search for a permanent president should take between six months and a year. Bruininks said he will not be a candidate for the position. "This is an interim period, but it is not a period to stand still. I expect to be an activist interim. I think the University community deserves no less."
 | | | |  | | About Bob Bruininks | About Bob Bruininks
Born: February 22, 1942, in Michigan
Family: Married, three sons
Education: B.S., 1964, Western Michigan University, special education, music, and social science
M.A., 1965, Vanderbilt University, education
Ph.D., 1968, Vanderbilt University, education
University of Minnesota experience: Faculty member since 1968
Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, 1991–97
Executive Vice President and Provost, 1997–2002
Focus: He is committed to continuing to improve undergraduate education, increase faculty pay, and focus on strategic areas. "Good universities do not do well when you lurch from new idea to new idea," he said. "The best approach is to maintain strong continuity. . . . Our direction is sound. We have picked the right ideas and priorities."
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