Four finalists named for Vice President for Academic Affairs

BEMIDJI, Minn. (April 8, 2011) — Bemidji State University announces the four finalists for its position of vice president for academic affairs. The finalists are: Dr. Munir Quddus, professor of economics and dean of the College of Business, Prairie View (Texas) A&M University; Dr. William Colclough, dean of the College of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse; Dr. Cheryl Contant, vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean, University of Minnesota, Morris; and Dr. Inessa Levi, professor of mathematics, Columbus (Ga.) State University.

On-campus interviews begin April 12 and continue through April 28.

The finalists seek to fill a position that has been held on an interim basis by Dr. Nancy Erickson since 2009.

• Dr. Munir Quddus
Quddus has been a professor of economics and dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M since 2001. From 1996-2001, he was an economics professor and chair of the economics and finance deaprtment at the University of Southern Indiana. From 1993-94, he held positions of chief academic officer and visiting economics professor at North South University, the first private university in Bangladesh. Quddus is an active researcher and author and is involved in a broad variety of community and professional activities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dhaka University in Bangladesh, and earned master’s and doctorate degrees in economics at Vanderbilt University.

Quddus will be interviewing on campus Tuesday and Wednesday, April 12-13.

• Dr. William (Bill) Colclough
Colclough has been dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, since 2000. He spent one year as interim vice president for administration and finance in 2006-07 and one year as interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in 2007-08. He spent a decade as associate dean for the College of Business administration and as director of the school’s MBA progam. He has been a professor in the school’s Department of Finance since 1990. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Winona State University and a doctorate in economics from Iowa State University.

Colclough will be interviewing on campus Thursday and Friday, April 14-15.

• Dr. Cheryl Contant
Contant has been vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean at the University of Minnesota, Morris since 2008. From 1998-2008, she was professor and director of the city and regional planning program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to that, she spent nearly a decade as an associate professor in the graduate program in urban and regional planning at the University of Iowa, serving as program chair from 1992-95. She also has been a fellow with the American Council on Education and an affiliated professor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She is involved in a number of community and professional organizations. She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Utah and holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering and a doctorate in infrastructure and planning management, both from Standford University.

Contant will be interviewing on campus Thursday and Friday, April 21-22.

• Dr. Inessa Levi
Levi is a professor of mathematics at Columbus State University, where she spent one year as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 2009-10. From 2004-09, she was dean of arts and sciences at Western Illinois University, and also spent two years as associate dean for research and graduate studies at the University of Louisville from 2002-04. Prior to moving into administrative roles, she progressed through the tenure-track ranks at the University of Louisville, becoming a full professor in 2002. Her writings have covered topics such as algebra, semigroup theory, application and student learning. Levi earned both her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Levi will be interviewing on campus Wednesday and Thursday, April 27-28.