Finalists Named for Lake Superior College Presidency

ST. PAUL, Minn., October 30, 2025 - Minnesota State has named four finalists in the search for the next president of St. Cloud State University. The candidates are Matt Cecil, Lisa Foss, Rodney Hanley, and Gregory Tomso.

The candidates were recommended by a search advisory committee that was comprised of students, faculty, staff, and community leaders, and was chaired by Kenneth Janz, president of Winona State University. The candidates are scheduled to conduct campus visits the week of November 3. The campus visits provide an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to meet each of the candidates and offer feedback. Details of the candidates' campus visits and the process for providing feedback are available at stcloudstate.edu/presidentialsearch.

Matt Cecil currently serves as interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, a position he has held since August 2024. Prior to that he served as special advisor to the president at Northern Kentucky University from January 2024 to July 2024, as provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Northern Kentucky University 2021 to 2024, interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Minnesota State University, Mankato, from 2019 to 2021, and as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities from 2016 to 2019 at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He also held faculty positions at several universities previously including at Wichita State University, South Dakota State University, the University of Oklahoma Norman, and Purdue University. Dr. Cecil holds a bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University, a master's from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. He is scheduled to visit St. Cloud State University on November 6.

Lisa Foss is the senior director for U.S. Practice, University Design Institute at Arizona State University, a position she has held since 2024. Also, since 2021, she has served as a senior consultant for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Previous appointments include as executive director for the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset from 2023 to 2025 and senior advisor for brand-strategy integration for the advertising agency BVA in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between 2021 and 2024. She has held multiple positions at St. Cloud State University. From 2017 to 2021, she served as vice president forplanning and engagement and chief strategy officer for the university. She has also served St. Cloud State as an adjunct faculty member, associate vice president and associate provost for strategy, assistant vice president for institutional effectiveness, and director of marketing and communications. Between 2018 and 2019 she served as a chancellor's fellow for Reimagining Minnesota State. Dr. Foss holds a bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State University, a master's from St. Cloud State University, and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She is scheduled to visit St. Cloud State University on November 5.

Rodney Hanley is the president of Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, a position he has held since 2023. Prior to that, he served as president at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, between 2018 and 2023. From 2014 to 2018 Dr. Hanley was the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fisk University in Tennessee. He also served as provost and vice president for academics at Lakehead University in Canada and as acting vice president for research, economic development, and innovation at Lakehead University, as well as dean of science at the University of Winnipeg. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hanley served as a biology professor at several universities including Lake Superior State University, Fisk University, Lakehead University, and the University of Winnipeg. Prior to that he was an associate professor of earth system science and policy at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Hanley holds a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University, master's degrees from Eastern Illinois University and the University of Cambridge, and a doctorate from the University of Kansas. He is scheduled to visit St. Cloud State University on November 5.

Gregory Tomso is currently on sabbatical through August 2026 from his previous appointment as vice president, academic engagement and student affairs at the University of West Florida, a position he has held since 2021. Prior to that, he was the director for the Kugelman Honors Program at the University of West Florida between 2017 and 2021 and English department chair at the University of West Florida from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Tomso also served the University of West Florida as associate professor of English, associate director of Kugelman Honors program, and assistant professor of English starting in 2004. He was an assistant professor of English for Ithaca College, New York, between 2001 and 2004. Dr. Tomso holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a doctorate from Duke University. He is scheduled to visit St. Cloud State University on November 7.

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The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is expected to consider Chancellor Scott Olson's recommendation for president of St. Cloud State University at its November 19, 2025, meeting. The anticipated start date of the new president is January 1, 2026.

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Minnesota State includes 26 community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving approximately 270,000 students. It is the third-largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the United States.