The president of the North Dakota Council of College Faculties has been named to Gov. Doug Burgum’s Task Force for Higher Education Governance.
Dr. Debora Dragseth of Dickinson State University will replace Bismarck State College Institutional Research Analyst Dr. Ellie Shockley. Shockley recently changed jobs, causing a conflict of interest. Dragseth becomes the voting member, while Shockley will remain on the Task Force in a non-voting capacity.
Dragseth said she’s excited about being on the task force. But she said there are some issues she considers to be non-negotiable.
"One is academic freedom," Dragseth said in an interview. "That needs to be a part of any new or tweaked governance model."
Dragseth said a new model should also retain faculty and staff input.
"Shared governance is critical to any higher education system," Dragseth said.
Dragseth said she also wants to make sure that campus identity and individuality aren’t sacrificed in any new governance model.
"We don't want 11 cookie-cutter campuses," Dragseth said. "It's a fine balance of keeping each campus unique and mission-driven, serving that community the campus resides in."
