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Chancellor buyout rejected

A proposal to give the Board of Higher Education $854,000 to buy out the contract of University System chancellor Ham Shirvani has failed in the state Senate.

This – after the North Dakota Student Association gave Shirvani a vote of no confidence.

Supporters of the proposal claim Shirvani is not inclusive, and doesn’t communicate well.

"What this amendment is about is providing an environment of trust, respect and a system office leadership that moves us all forward," said Sen. Tony Grindberg (R-Fargo), the author of the amendment. "In my opinion, it should be defined as a shared vision."

"It's not the vision, it's the process and the speed with which these changes are taking place," said Sen. Connie Triplett (D-Grand Forks). "They have not allowed for input from the relevant stakeholders -- university and college presidents, faculty, staff and students need to be heard before policies are changed."

But opponents of the amendment say the Chancellor needs to be given a chance to succeed.

"We don't determine through amendments who's going to be the director of Human Services, even though we don't like him or her," said Sen. Raymon Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), the chairman of Senate Appropriations. "We don't have any authority over who that person is. The only authority we have is the authority of the purse."

"We've seen the same community from which this effort is coming get rid of the last Chancellor," said Sen. John Andrist (R-Crosby). He's referring to Chancellor Robert Potts, who resigned after clashing with then-NDSU President Joe Chapman.

"A lot of us, I hope, still feel that we need a strong system and a strong Chancellor and a strong Board of Higher Education."

The amendment failed 24 to 23.

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