MnSCU finalists make their cases The two men in the running to be the public system's chancellor revealed differing styles. One will be chosen today. By JENNA ROSS, Star Tribune Last update: February 1, 2011
Will the next leader of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities be more likely to throw out the phrase "market share"? Or "pedagogy"? Will he say resumé or vitae? Client or student?
In a flurry of interviews Tuesday, the two finalists for chancellor of the public system displayed very different styles. William Sederburg is a former legislator who touts his success in making higher education a political priority. Steven Rosenstone is a former dean focused on improving the quality of education.
MnSCU's pick on Wednesday could reveal a great deal about what the board hopes for the future of the public system comprising seven state universities and 25 community and technical colleges.
Rosenstone, 59, vice president for scholarly and cultural affairs at the University of Minnesota, touched on tuition, politics and branding. But he returned often to the theme of improving the quality of what students learn. "If we don't have a very powerful answer to the question, 'What's so darn special about a MnSCU education,' then we're going to be in trouble,'' he said.
When he started as dean of the U's College of Liberal Arts in 1996, graduation rates were "horrendous," facilities were antiquated and "the quality of education was OK." "There was just a whole long list of things that needed to be different if the student experience was going to be what we wanted it to be," he said. He and his team performed "a makeover," he said.
Sederburg, 63, is Utah's commissioner of higher education, a job similar to MnSCU chancellor. He often started his responses with "In Utah, we ... " He spoke about his experience evaluating the performance of college presidents, forming relationships with governing boards and illustrating higher education's effects on a state's economy.
Sederburg said he recently enlisted the support of the Chamber of Commerce in setting a statewide goal to increase the percentage of students who earn a degree.
"We have mobilized around this concept of the 66 percent goal," he said, "and starting soon, there are going to be ads supporting that [goal] paid for by the Chamber of Commerce."
Sederburg touted his past as a college president -- of Ferris State University and Utah Valley University -- and before that, a Michigan state senator.
"Serving in the legislature, it's kind of hard to explain to people, but once you're in that club, you're in that club," he said. "That experience is invaluable."
He and the governor of Utah play tennis together, he said.
Rosenstone noted his political science background and the summer -- "oh, 150 years ago" -- he worked as a legislative intern in Washington D.C.
Years later, as a U official, he lobbied for building and renovation projects, meeting with legislators and sparking "huge student engagement," he said. Dozens of students showed up at the Capitol for days, he said.
Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168
