Dean L. Bresciani is the former president of North Dakota State University (NDSU) in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

. He served from 2010 to 2022.

Early life and education

Bresciani is a native of

Napa Valley, California Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. He grew up on his family homestead in rural northern California. Bresicani attended

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

in Arcata, California, where he graduated with his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1984. In 1985, he received his master's in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,028 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan Are ...

. He received his doctorate in higher education finance, with a doctoral minor in economics, from

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, in 1996. His dissertation was titled, "Explanation of Administrative Costs: A Case Study."

Career

Bresciani was the vice president of student affairs from 2004 to 2008 and full professor in the department of

educational administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...

through 2010 at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

. Previously, he worked in senior administrative roles in student services and student affairs at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and in various roles at the

University of Nebraska at Kearney The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney. History In March 1903 the Nebraska Stat ...

, including director of residence life. Bresicani has also served in administrative and faculty positions at public universities in Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, and California. In 2017, Bresciani was named a presidential finalist for

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

. He later withdrew his candidacy. He has held national leadership positions in professional organizations, including council chair for the

Association of Public and Land-grant Universities The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization of public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and higher education organizations. It has member ca ...

and

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He is a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, EDUCAUSE, Association for the Study of Higher Education, National Association of College and University Business Officers, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

North Dakota State University

Dean L. Bresciani was named the 14th president of North Dakota State University on May 24, 2010, succeeding Joseph A. Chapman and interim president, Dick Hanson. He began his term as president on June 15, 2010. During his 12-year term, NDSU regained its R1 status in 2021 from the

Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adva ...

. The NDSU Foundation also announced the statewide record for fundraising with the six-year "In Our Hands" campaign that raised $586.7 million. Major projects during his presidency include completion of Cater Hall, Aldevron Tower, A. Glenn Hill Center, Sanford Health Athletic Complex, and Sugihara Hall. Ground was also broken for the Peltier Agricultural Complex, Nodak Insurance Company Football Performance Complex, and Grandmother Earth's Gift of Life Garden. In 2015, Bresciani was selected for the NCAA Division I Presidential Forum. Bresciani was the first president from any North Dakota college or university to join a major leadership group in the NCAA. Bresciani plans to become a distinguished professor in health sciences upon his resignation from the presidency in 2022. In his 2021 State of the University Address, Bresciani announced his entire estate would be left to NDSU. On April 28, 2022, the President Dean L. Bresciani Endowed Chair in Leadership was announced by the NDSU Foundation. The endowment will support leaders on the NDSU campus. Fargo mayor

Tim Mahoney (North Dakota politician) Timothy Mahoney is an American politician and physician who is currently serving as the 35th Mayor of Fargo, North Dakota. Having been appointed deputy mayor by Mayor Dennis Walaker in 2006, Mahoney took the role of acting mayor on December 2, 2014 ...

officially recognized May 16, 2022, as Dean Bresciani Day to commemorate his last day in office.

Controversies

In 2013, an investigation was launched into whether NDSU violated open records laws by intentionally deleting nearly 45,000 emails from Bresciani's university account after an open records request from North Dakota lawmakers. Later, lawyers from both NDSU and the North Dakota University System (NDUS) said the emails had been recovered and were likely deleted due to an auto-purge function. In 2016, Bresciani sent “inappropriate” text messages regarding later reversed media rules for the NDSU athletics coverage. The same year, Bresciani was critiqued by North Dakota lawmakers and the NDUS

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Mark Hagerott for purchasing a business-class ticket for a week-long trip to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The travel policy was later changed to note all system presidents must travel coach. In 2021, Bresciani was censured by the NDSU faculty senate for appointing then-interim

provost (education) A provost is a senior academic administrator. At many institutions of higher education, they are the chief academic officer, a role that may be combined with being deputy to the chief executive officer. They may also be the chief executive office ...

Margaret Fitzgerald to the permanent role, despite a national search and interview process. The senate cited Bresciani's circumvention of policy for the censure. Bresciani's contract was not fully renewed by the State Board of Higher Education in 2021. This is largely credited to a single critical performance review of Bresciani which external observers broadly recognized as unfounded.

Awards and honors

* 2022, President Dean L. Bresciani Leadership Endowed Chair, North Dakota State University Foundation and Alumni Association, Fargo, ND * 2022, Faculty Senate Resolution of Recognition and Contributions, North Dakota State University Faculty Senate, Fargo, ND * 2022, Chief Executive Leadership Award, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VI * 2021, Outstanding Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Award, U.S. Department of Defense and ESGR, Fargo, ND * 2016, Distinguished Leadership Award, North Dakota Forest Service * 2015, Presidential Excellence Award, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Region IV-West * 2013, Higher Education Distinguished Alumnus Award, Bowling Green State University * 2013, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, North Dakota State University * 2012, Distinguished Alumnus Award,

* 2008, Administrator of the Year,

* 2007, Newsmaker Image Award,

* 2004, Frank Porter Graham Honor Society * 2004, Order of the Golden Fleece,

* 2004, Pillar of the Profession Award, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators * 2004, Student Advocacy Award,

* 2000, Foundation of Excellence Award, Association of College and University Housing Officers – International * 1994, Mortar Board Honor Society Inductee for Outstanding Teaching Service,

* 1985, President's Award for Distinguished Service, Bowling Green State University * 1984, Man of the Year,

* Honorary inductee of

Golden Key International Honour Society The Golden Key International Honour Society (formerly Golden Key National Honor Society) is an Atlanta, Georgia-based non-profit organization founded in 1977 to recognize academic achievement among college and university students. Golden Key has ...

(2005) and

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...

National Service Fraternity (2007)

References

Citations

NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani Biography
*Huebner, R. (2022, May 13). ''Bresciani looks back on 12 years as NDSU president: 'I wish I could do it again'.'' The Forum. https://www.inforum.com/news/fargo/bresciani-looks-back-on-12-years-as-ndsu-president-i-wish-i-could-do-it-again?

External links

NDSU - Office of the President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bresciani, Dean L. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Presidents of North Dakota State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni Bowling Green State University alumni University of Arizona alumni University of Nebraska at Kearney Texas A&M University people People from Napa County, California University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty