BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today appointed Dr. Casey Ryan of Grand Forks to the North Dakota Board of Higher Education.
Ryan served as president of Grand Forks-based Altru Health System from 1997 to 2014. The governor selected Ryan from three finalists chosen by a nominating committee.
If confirmed by the state Senate, Ryan will begin serving a four-year term on the Board of Higher Education on July 1. Current board member Kari Reichert did not seek reappointment.
A Grand Forks native, Ryan graduated from Grand Forks Central High School in 1967 and from Colorado College in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He received his undergraduate medical training at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, graduating in 1975, and completed his internal medicine residency in 1978 at the Mayo Clinic graduate school in Rochester, Minn.
In addition to being a practicing physician, Ryan previously was a teacher, course director and assistant dean at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and has served on its Faculty Academic Council since 2015.
The Board of Higher Education has eight voting members appointed by the governor, including a student member, and two non-voting members who represent the North Dakota University System’s faculty and staff. The board oversees the system’s 11 public colleges and universities.
Also awaiting Senate confirmation is board member Kathleen Neset of Tioga, who was reappointed to the board last week.