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News Release
Contacts: Mike Rush, Executive Director and CEO
Janelle Toman, Director of Communications
Telephone: (605) 773-3455
Fax: (605) 773-5320
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 20, 2016
Three Finalists to Interview for Northern State University President
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Regents announced today three candidates who are finalists to become the next president at Northern State University.
Regent Harvey Jewett, who chairs the presidential search process, said the finalists will be on campus in Aberdeen Monday and Tuesday (May 23-24) for scheduled meetings with constituents and regents.
The finalists, by alphabetical order, are:
Don Capener, Jacksonville, Fla., dean and endowed chair, Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University. Capener has been dean of the Davis College since 2012, where he launched a doctorate in business administration and introduced new programs in business analytics, consumer and service marketing, and management accounting. Under his leadership, graduate business school enrollment increased by more than 80 percent. Capener has 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, professor, and higher education administrator. His academic career began at Monmouth College in Illinois, where he was named Professor of the Year. He earned a Ph.D. in international business from the International School of Management in Paris. His master of business administration degree is from Arizona State University and his bachelor’s degree in political science was earned at Brigham Young University.
Timothy M. Downs, Grand Island, N.Y., provost and chief academic officer, Niagara University. Downs has provided leadership and supervision for all facets of Niagara University’s academic affairs work since 2011, managing budgets in excess of $12 million. As provost, Downs helped redefine the first-year student assessment process at Niagara to better place students in courses for academic success. His previous experience includes time spent as dean of humanities, business, and education at Pennsylvania’s Gannon University, dean of graduate studies and research at Emporia State University in Kansas, and assistant vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. He holds a Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Oklahoma, a master’s degree in communication studies from West Virginia University, and a B.A. degree, also in communication studies, from California State University, Sacramento.
Joe Gow, La Crosse, Wis., chancellor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. As chancellor since 2007, Gow provides academic leadership to about 1,000 faculty and staff serving more than 10,000 students in three colleges on the La Crosse campus. He works closely with the university’s Board of Regents and president to maximize a $224 million all-funds budget and about $20 million in assets held by the UW-La Crosse Foundation. Prior to his time in Wisconsin, Gow was provost and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Nebraska Wesleyan University, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Winona State (Minn.) University, and an associate dean and director of communication studies at Alfred University in New York. His Ph.D. in speech communication is from Pennsylvania State University, where he also earned a B.A. degree in journalism. He holds a master’s degree in speech communication from the University of Alabama.
Copies of the finalists’ cover letters and professional vitae are posted online at http://www.northern.edu/presidentsearch/Pages/finalists.aspx. The Board of Regents will meet in executive session with the finalists during their campus visits in Aberdeen. No action will be taken at these meetings.
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