Message from President Cook 9/21/2023

September 21, 2023

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students of NDSU,

We are writing today in response to reactions we’ve received about the reorganization in the Office of the Provost. We offer our sincere apologies for doing a poor job communicating and explaining the new structure. We also understand that this has prompted a larger conversation about women in leadership at NDSU. We’ve been in communication with university governance, heads and chairs, faculty, staff, and students, and will continue to engage with these groups to understand how to best improve our efforts moving forward. Thank you to all who are speaking out about these issues. We appreciate that you hold us accountable and ask you to continue to do so.

We further understand that the reorganization as described in the email was unclear. The Faculty Senate has asked for additional information, and we’ve provided responses, along with a draft organizational chart, on the Provost’s website. We also want your feedback on how the changes may be improved. For now, please use the Share Your Ideas link on the President’s website. That form allows signed or anonymous input.

We again would like to stress our deep regret with how we communicated these changes and acknowledge how these changes compounded deep frustrations about the status of women leaders on campus. We are committed to gaining your trust and support to improve through ongoing dialogue and collaborations.

Sincerely,­­

David Cook, President
David Bertolini, Provost