University of Minnesota regents pick Rebecca Cunningham as new president

The next University of Minnesota president will be Rebecca Cunningham, an emergency room physician and vice president for research and innovation for the University of Michigan.

"I'm feeling very excited, and a fair amount of relief, and just really honored," Cunningham said in a news conference Monday evening.

Regents selected Cunningham from a pool that included three finalists with deep experience in different facets of higher education. Their vote capped a whirlwind couple weeks, during which each finalist toured all five U campuses.

Also in the running were Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. Bloomberg and Holloway couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Each of the finalists participated in public interviews Monday. During hers, Cunningham said: "I'm serious and purposeful when I make a decision to take a new position. I take that position because I think I can help create impact and advance the priorities that you have and that I'm able to do so in service."

She added that she cares about Minnesota, adding that she has family here. She said she hopes "to really be here in a firm way, to put down roots."

The U president is responsible for overseeing a system that includes five campuses, which together educate more than 68,000 students and employ more than 27,000 people.

"We fully understand that one of the most important decisions, if not the most important decision, we make is the hiring of a president," Board of Regents Chair Janie Mayeron said in a meeting earlier this month.

The next president will take over at a time when U leaders are trying to reverse enrollment declines at some locations, determine the future of U medical programs and repair strained relationships with the state lawmakers who play a crucial role in determining their funding. University leaders across the country are also increasingly asked to weigh in on contentious cultural issues, such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The search for a new U leader began last year, when then-President Joan Gabel announced she'd be leaving to become chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh. Former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger has been serving as interim president since June.

The position drew 46 applicants, a decline compared to other U presidential searches. Zach Smith, an executive partner for WittKieffer, the search firm the U hired to help with the process, previously told the Star Tribune that several factors appeared to contribute to the decrease. He said the job has grown more complex, some of the university's rankings have risen and many leadership searches have seen a "slight decrease" in candidates since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heading into Monday's meeting, undergraduate student government leaders said they were looking for a president who's sympathetic to their financial concerns and willing to work on new projects to help students access food and reliable housing. That includes limiting tuition increases.

"It's tough because even a 1% increase can be several hundred dollars, and that doesn't make college doable for those students that are on the edge," said Sara Davis, vice president of the undergraduate student government.

Patrick McCormick, director of communications for the Council of Graduate Students, said the group wants a president who values all five campuses and who builds relationships not just with high-level administrators but with students and faculty as well. They also want someone who is invested in the U.

"If the university wants to steer the ship in a sound direction and set it on a real long-term course, you need to find someone who wants to stand at the helm of not just the best ship they can get on, but this ship in particular," McCormick said.