The University of Minnesota System named three finalists for its next president Friday as school leaders near the end of their months-long search.

Laura Bloomberg, one of the finalists to be president of the University of Minnesota. (University of Minnesota)

Members of the U’s Board of Regents picked Laura Bloomberg, Rebecca Cunningham and James Holloway as the top three candidates for the job. The university president leads five campuses with more than 68,000 students and nearly 27,000 employees.

Bloomberg is president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Cunningham is vice president of research and innovation at the University of Michigan.

Holloway is the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico.

Candidates to visit campuses

The three candidates are scheduled to visit all five UMN campuses before a final interview with the board later this month.

“Selecting the next president is one of the Board’s most important responsibilities,” board chair Janie Mayeron said in a statement. “Reaching this significant step was only possible thanks to the commitment and hard work of members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and hundreds of people from the University community and beyond who have shared their perspectives so far.”

Starting next week, the three finalists will visit campuses in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester and the Twin Cities to meet with students, faculty and staff.

Rebecca Cunningham, one of the finalists to be president of the University of Minnesota. (University of Minnesota)

Holloway’s first visit is scheduled for Monday morning at the University of Minnesota Morris. Bloomberg also will be visiting all five campuses next week. Cunningham’s visits are scheduled the week of Monday, Feb. 19.

After the campus visits, the Board of Regents will hold a special meeting on Feb. 26 for public interviews. They’ll then pick the next president.

National search

The three finalists come after a months-long national search to fill the vacancy left by former U president Joan Gabel, who resigned last year to become president of the University of Pittsburgh.

Before she left, Gabel had a contract that with benefits brought her total compensation to more than $1 million.

During her tenure, she oversaw growth in research and graduation rates but also faced criticism for perceived conflicts of interest. Gabel said the controversies had nothing to do with her departure.

James Holloway, one of the finalists to be president of the University of Minnesota. (University of Minnesota)

Former Hormel Foods CEO Jeff Ettinger stepped in as interim president on June 10.

Search consultants began compiling a pool of candidates in November, and the Presidential Search Advisory Committee interviewed 12 of the 46 candidates found during the recruitment process.

The 46-person pool included five women and 25 people of color.

Of the pool, 89% were men, 11% were women and 39% were Black, Indigenous or people of color, according to the update.

The university wont release names of any other finalists.

The Board of Regents continues to seek public input on its president search and invited feedback on its presidential search website.

Profiles of the finalists can be found online at president-search.umn.edu/presidential-finalists.

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