Dean L. Bresciani is an American

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

who served as the 14th president of

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

in Fargo from 2010 to 2022.

Early life and education

Bresciani is a native of

Napa Valley, California Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

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

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...

Arcata, California Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. A ...

, 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 Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, it is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

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

Career

Bresciani was the vice president of

student affairs Student affairs, student support, or student services is the department or division of services and support for student success at institutions of higher education to enhance student growth and development. People who work in this field are known ...

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 ...

through 2010 at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in 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 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

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 S ...

, including director of residence life. Bresicani has also served in administrative and faculty positions at public universities in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 2017, Bresciani was named a presidential finalist for

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...

. 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 c ...

and

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

for the

National Association of Student Personnel Administrators The NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education is a U.S.-based student affairs organization with over 13,000 members at 1,400 campuses in 25 countries. Founded in 1919 at the University of Wisconsin, NASPA focuses on professionals ...

. He is a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education,

EDUCAUSE Educause is a nonprofit association in the United States whose mission is "to advance higher education through the use of information technology". Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education in ...

, Association for the Study of Higher Education, National Association of College and University Business Officers, and the

North Dakota State University

Dean L. Bresciani was named the 14th president of

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 Ad ...

. 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 Timothy Edward Mahoney (born August 16, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

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 The North Dakota University System (NDUS) is the public system of higher education and policy coordination entity in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The system includes all public institutions in the state including two research universities, f ...

(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 () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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, the provost is the chief academic officer, a role that may be combined with being deputy to the chief executive officer. In some institutions, they may be th ...

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,

* 2013, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society,

* 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,

* 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,

* 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 international collegiate honor society and non-profit organization based in the United States. It was founded in 1977 to recognize academic achievement ...

(2005) and

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national Mixed-sex education, coeducational Service fraternities and sororities, service Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It is the largest College fraterniti ...

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