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GRAND FORKS — Jill Louters, vice chair of North Dakota's State Board of Higher Education, resigned from her position, on Friday, May 13.
Louters' first four-year term on the board was scheduled to conclude at the end of June and she was eligible for reappointment for a second term. In a statement on Friday, Louters said she has accepted a part-time position with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. She also is the superintendent at the New Rockford-Sheyenne School District and will continue in that position.
“It has been a pleasure to serve on the state board and to work with the North Dakota University System and the state’s 11 campuses,” Louters said Friday. “I am resigning my position from the board effective today as I have accepted a new, part-time position as a parent educator with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. This type of parent support is something that is desperately needed at this time and place, and I am anxious to build networks in my area that support these critical constituents.”
NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott and SBHE Chair Casey Ryan offered their encouragement to Louters and thanked her for her service to higher education in North Dakota.
“The board appreciated the school superintendent perspective that Dr. Louters brought,” said Hagerott. “She helped connect higher education to our K-12 public education for the benefit of all students in North Dakota. She truly wanted to see students succeed and her work reflected the compassion and care she has for education throughout the state. We thank her for her service and wish her the very best in her continued educational efforts.”
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The SBHE will have another vacancy at the end of June, when the two-year term of current member Danita Bye expires. Bye is completing a two-year term after it became necessary for former member Dan Traynor to vacate his position. She is applying for her first fall four-year term. Louters had also applied for a second term, though presumably her name will be removed from the list of candidates with her resignation.
The names of the candidates for the SBHE positions were announced on Tuesday, May 3. Those names will be forwarded to Gov. Doug Burgum, who will select the next members. According to an SBHE release, the governor’s office will proceed with the assumption that Louters’ position will remain vacant until a selection has been made through the traditional process based on her original term completion date.
