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Trocki named as new MSU-N chancellor

Tim Leeds Havre Daily News [email protected]

Montana State University President Geoff Gamble announced this morning in Helena that Frank Trocki, 62, is the new chancellor of Montana State University-Northern in Havre. “I am honored to be selected as MSU-Northern's chancellor. I look forward to working with Northern's faculty, staff, alumni, friends and, especially, its students in enhancing the university,” Trocki said in a press release. ““I will dedicate myself to making Northern affordable and accessible to any student who desires a quality and diverse education.” “Frank Trocki is a great choice for the students of Northern and the Hi-Line community. I have confidence he will bring vision and strong leadership to the task of making Northern the best it can be for students,” Gamble said in the release. Gamble scheduled a forum at Northern at 12:30 p.m. today, where he is expected to introduce the new chancellor and his wife, Joan. Trocki will take over from interim Chancellor Rolf Groseth, who has been at Northern since January 2008. Groseth took the position after Alex Capdeville, who was appointed chancellor in 2000, announced his retirement effective the end of December 2007. Trocki is vice president of business development for Lincoln Educational Services/Lincoln College of Technology. Trocki earned his doctorate in education from West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., And earned master's and bachelor's degrees in industrial technology from Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Mass. He had served as vice president of education and interim president for Lincoln College of Technology Indianapolis for three years, interim president for University College of the Caribbean for one year and president of Elexon Ltd. For seven years. The 18-member local search committee, chaired by Groseth, reviewed the applications of 68 people interested in the position, narrowing the field down until they made recommendations on the finalists to Gamble. Gamble and the committee selected three finalists who visited the campus the first week of June. “All three finalists were exceptional leaders, but our committee felt that Dr. Trocki had the best combination of an experienced and steady administrative hand and the potential to move both existing and proposed academic and support programs forward for the benefit of our students in the shortest amount of time,” Groseth said. The other two finalists who visited the campus were Paul Dauphinais and Gregory Sojka. Dauphinais had been president of Garrett College in McHenry, Md. He holds a doctorate in American and Canadian history from the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, and a master's in information systems management he earned from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., while serving in the Navy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Mass. Prior to his three years as president at Garret, Dauphinais had served as chief academic and administrative officer for the Matanuska-Susitna College of the University of Alaska-Anchorage and as president of York County Technical College in Wells, Maine, and as dean and chief academic and administrative officer for the McCook Community College in McCook, Neb. Sojka served the last two years as the special projects consultant to the Board of Trustees for the University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Ohio, and was the president and the provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Rio Grande prior to holding that position. Sojka earned a doctorate in English from Indiana University, a Master of Arts in American Literature from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in secondary English education from State University of New York College, Fredonia, N.Y. Prior to his work at the University of Rio Grande, Sojka worked as academic vice president and professor of English at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, and academic dean and associate professor of English and American studies at the University of Wyoming.

 

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