Port: Golden parachute for fired NDSU president casts a long shadow amid a budget shortfall
MINOT, N.D. — With North Dakota’s lawmakers in session in Bismarck, higher education officials are in the process of negotiating new budgets with them.
That’s always a fraught exercise, but this year the situation is particularly acute in Fargo, at North Dakota State University, where the newly hired president David Cook is facing a $7.6 million budget shortfall .
That situation is prompting some dramatic budget cuts. The school is looking to reduce its academic colleges from seven to five. About two dozen degree programs are on the chopping block. The athletics budget may be trimmed as much as $200,000.
Yet former NDSU President Dean Bresciani, whose administration contributed mightily to this budget shortfall per recent testimony before a legislative committee, continues to enjoy his lavish golden parachute.
As I reported in July , Bresciani continued to receive his full salary — more than $371,000 per year — until just last month despite exiting that position in May.
