(BISMARCK, ND) – Former North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford is no stranger to a leadership position.
He served as Watford City’s mayor from 2010 until 2016, was the Chief Financial Officer for a trucking company in Denver, took over a family-run car dealership and, as Lieutenant Governor, presided over the North Dakota State Senate during legislative sessions.
As now, he’s added the role of President to his title. Earlier this week, Sanford was named interim President at Bismarck State College.
“I’m excited to jump in at Bismarck State,” he said. “It’s a really great institution of higher learning, and frankly, at the tip of the spear for workforce solutions right now.”
Sanford previously held a position with the college’s Office of Workforce and Economic Development on workforce-related initiatives to create a robust workforce pipeline from higher education to industry in high-demand and high-priority occupations.
“With the business model Bismarck State has of being closer to industry and to what those needs are for the jobs of the next decade, we’re already there providing those certificates, two-year degrees and associate degrees,” he said.
Sanford said he’d entertain taking the interim job as a full-time position.
He says he’s currently performing the duties a full-time president would do.
“There’s no asterisk on it being interim,” he said. “You’ve got all the duties and powers of the presidency, and I’m excited about it.”
He says the full-time job is up to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education.
“The board would ultimately decide,” Sanford said. “We have an interim agreement for a year, and that is with a pretty easy out for either side.”
He says the board is ‘excited’ to have him as the interim president, and ‘seeing what the future might hold.’
