DULUTH — Charles Nies, a vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of California, Merced, has been named the University of Minnesota Duluth's next chancellor.
Nies, a Minnesota native, is expected to start July 1, pending approval by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents at its meeting May 9 and 10.
Nies will take over for interim Chancellor Dave McMillan, who has been serving in that role since Chancellor Lendley Black retired in summer 2022.
In a news release Wednesday, March 27, Nies said he is honored to serve as chancellor at UMD and called it "a coming home opportunity."
"I am also excited to join the Duluth and University of Minnesota communities," Nies said. "UMD is filled with wonderfully creative and brilliant students, faculty and staff, and I look forward to the discovery that has been and will continue to be our mark of excellence.”
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In a forum at UMD earlier this month, Nies said he grew up in Hutchinson, Minnesota, approximately 60 miles west of the Twin Cities. He graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul with a bachelor's degree in psychology and theology, according to his curriculum vitae. He has a master's degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate in education administration and leadership from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington.
Nies previously served as assistant dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Miami University in Ohio.
Nies was selected from a field of three finalists for the job. The two other finalists were Dwight Watson, former chancellor and professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and Fernando Delgado, president of Lehman College, City University of New York, and former executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at UMD.
“Dr. Nies is an experienced, strategic leader who is ready to tackle UMD’s challenges and celebrate its success,” University of Minnesota Interim President Jeff Ettinger said in the release. “He will continue to build UMD’s great partnerships with the Duluth community, region and the University of Minnesota System. UMD is poised for a bright future under his leadership.”
If approved by the Board of Regents, Nies' hiring will come amid declining enrollment, budget shortfalls, sweeping reviews of academic programs, and tense contract negotiations with UMD's faculty union.
John Schwetman, president of the University Education Association-Duluth and an associate English professor at UMD, said the union reached a tentative contract agreement last week.
While the union remained neutral on the chancellor candidates, Schwetman said Nies is "an excellent choice." He said changes in leadership are "an inflection point" for UMD's future.
"We really do offer a great education here, and Duluth is an excellent place to be a student, but we still have some work to do on just defining ourselves for that larger audience," Schwetman said. "We've had sort of transitional leadership, which has been fine and understandable, but I think it'll be nice to have someone committed to a longer term and really ready to be creative about how we define ourselves as a campus."
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Nies will need to assemble an administration, with UMD’s three vice chancellors either serving in interim roles or set to retire. Amy Hietapelto is interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; Sue Bosell is interim vice chancellor for finance and operations; and Lisa Erwin, vice chancellor for student life and dean of students, will retire in July.
Like UMD, the University of Minnesota system is also undergoing a leadership transition.
Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, the vice president of research and innovation at the University of Michigan and former emergency room physician, was recently named the University of Minnesota system's next president. Like Nies, Cunningham is expected to start in July and will replace interim President Ettinger, who has held the role since former University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel left last year to lead the University of Pittsburgh.
As UMD chancellor, Nies will lead the Duluth campus, while Cunningham will oversee the entire university system and serve as chancellor of its flagship Twin Cities campus.
This story was updated at 12:46 p.m. March 27 with quotes from John Schwetman. It was originally posted at 11:30 a.m. March 27.
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