MSUM President Anne Blackhurst announces 2023 retirement

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – After leading Minnesota State University Moorhead for eight years, President Anne Blackhurst will call it a career in June of next year.

“It’s a leader’s responsibility to know when the time is right for someone new to take the lead. After an especially challenging year for me personally, I’ve made the difficult decision to retire,” Blackhurst said in a statement.

“President Blackhurst has provided strong leadership for the university and prepared it well to navigate it through some challenging times, including the pandemic. During her tenure as president, the university undertook intensive review of the academic programming and, in particular, experienced an expansion in graduate programs and enrollments. She led the efforts to redesign the university’s facilities to enhance and support the educational experience students need and deserve. Under her stewardship MSUM successfully completed a $60 million-dollar capital campaign, a great accomplishment. Clearly, she has put MSUM on a sustainable path both programmatically and financially. She will leave behind a lasting legacy and a strong forward-looking institutional momentum,” Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra said.

The Minnesota State Chancellor’s Office will begin a nationwide search for her replacement. It will begin this fall with the university’s goal of picking a president in early spring.