Minnesota’s public university systems are both searching for new leaders as they face urgent pressure to justify their costs and recruit students increasingly questioning the value of their education.

The Minnesota State system of colleges and universities is narrowing in on finalists to replace Chancellor Devinder Malhotra, who will retire later this year. The University of Minnesota began scrambling last week to develop a plan to replace President Joan Gabel, who will leave this summer to take a job in Pittsburgh.

The leaders who replace Malhotra and Gabel will take over at a critical time for the institutions, which serve more than 360,000 students combined. State lawmakers are increasingly pushing administrators to explain why they need additional funding amid enrollment declines. Students and workers are calling for higher wages, lower tuition and more support as they continue to grapple with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

This moment presents a chance to “write a new chapter in higher education in Minnesota,” said Roger Moe, chair of the Minnesota State system board of trustees. He noted that the two systems “complement each other” and what happens at one often impacts the other.

The new executives will replace leaders who took noticeably different approaches to leadership and to politics at a time when lawmakers are weighing whether to grant them hundreds of millions in additional funding.

“The contrast between the chancellor and the president of the university is just a startling contrast,” said Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, who chairs the House higher education committee. “One is present almost all the time, and one is present very seldom.”

Glaring differences in style

Malhotra, 75, spent decades in academia before coming to St. Cloud State University to serve as provost in 2009. The system selected him to serve as interim chancellor in 2017 and trustees eventually decided to keep him in the role after twice rejecting candidates recommended by search firms.

Malhotra faced criticism from some lawmakers and activists who wanted him to be tougher on college presidents accused of misconduct and from union leaders who wanted more clarity on which issues should be hashed out at the system- or college-level.

He earned praise for his accessibility. Jennifer Erwin, a leader with the AFSCME union that represents many of the system’s maintenance workers and clerical staff, said Malhotra repaired fractured relationships with the unions by ensuring he or his staff were available to answer pressing questions.

“It doesn’t sound like people are too worried about the transition,” Erwin said, as long as “we don’t take any steps backward.”

Pelowski said Malhotra set the standard for budget proceedings, staying for 90 minutes to field questions and hosting breakfasts with lawmakers.

Pelowski said Gabel met with him twice; she said they met three times. Her senior vice president for finance and operations, Myron Frans, has appeared on behalf of the U at many recent committee meetings. He previously worked as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Management & Budget and the Department of Revenue.

“She has been the least active, I would say, of a leader of the university in a critical budget year,” Pelowski said. He said he felt she should have been in the Capitol, particularly after the U asked for additional funding to cover a revenue shortfall and tuition freeze.

Gabel, 55, also spent decades working in academia, landing multiple leadership roles previously held only by men. She will be the first female chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh and was the first female president at the University of Minnesota. She previously worked as a provost at the University of South Carolina.

In a statement, she pushed back on Pelowski’s criticisms, saying “any assertion that I have not been involved in our legislative process is patently false.” She said she has met and testified before state and federal lawmakers and hosted them on campus.

Since the legislative session began, Gabel said she has met regularly with students and employees, attended athletic events and more than two dozen donor meetings, met with university governing boards, represented the university at eight other associations and hosted a workshop with university presidents to discuss safety issues.

Gabel described Malhotra as a strong leader, friend and partner. “But he and I have very different jobs and responsibilities within two uniquely different university systems,” she said, adding that her job requires her to oversee many of the daily operations at the U’s Twin Cities campus.

Some student government leaders say Gabel has a knack for remembering their names and credit her with reaching out during difficult times. But they’ve also raised concerns about her roughly $1 million annual compensation and her decision to take a paid position on the board of Securian, a private company that has business with the U, a post she has since resigned.

Time of turnover

The transitions at Minnesota’s university systems mirror a trend across the country.

“There is an enormous amount of turnover right now happening in higher education,” said Jim Finkelstein, a professor emeritus at George Mason University who studies contracts for university presidents.

He attributes the turnover to a few factors: A significant number of executives are approaching retirement age. Some are seeking a change after grueling years navigating the pandemic. A growing number are leaving before their contracts expire due to political changes or tensions with their systems.

Malhotra announced last fall that he intends to retire in August. The system hired search firm Greenwood Asher & Associates to find his successor and received 33 applications. The system expects to appoint the next chancellor in May.

Gabel’s contract with the University of Minnesota had been set to run through June of 2026. The Board of Regents learned Monday morning that she would be leaving to become chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh.

The announcement came at a tenuous time for the U, whose leadership Pelowski now describes as “decapitated.” The terms for four regents — including Chair Ken Powell — expired earlier this year. Those members remain on the board until lawmakers fill their seats.

Powell said the board will first appoint an interim president and then focus on developing a “thoughtful, transparent and broadly inclusive” search process. He said the board intends to create an advisory committee to gather input on what qualities the next president should possess. He expects the search will take four to six months after that committee is formed.

Powell said the system has “strong and steady senior leaders” in place who are focused on supporting students and staff. He added: “I have no doubt that our mission-driven work to serve the state of Minnesota will continue uninterrupted while we seek a top leader to be the University’s next president.”