June 16, 2003

Douglas Allen recommended as president of Ridgewater College

Contact Public Affairs: Linda Kohl, Public Affairs, (651) 296-9595 or Nancy Conner, (651) 296-0541

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor James H. McCormick said today he will recommend that the Board of Trustees appoint Douglas W. Allen as president of Ridgewater College, with campuses in Hutchinson and Willmar.

Allen, 46, is vice president of educational services at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The chancellor's recommendation will be considered by the Board of Trustees at a meeting Wednesday.

"Dr. Allen's experience as a senior administrator within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System has given him a broad background in the kinds of issues that presidents must address daily," McCormick said. "From academics to student services to financial management to library administration, he has had a breadth of responsibilities."

Allen has been at Anoka-Ramsey Community College since 1997, first serving as dean of academic affairs at the college's Cambridge campus. He became vice president of education services in 2000. Previously, he served as associate dean of Mount Marty College in Watertown, S.D., and was an English instructor at North Dakota State University.

He holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of St. Thomas and a master's degree in English and a bachelor's degree in sociology from South Dakota State University.

Ridgewater College is a community and technical college serving about 3,000 students, measured on a full-year-equivalent basis. Colleen Thompson Michels, the current president, is retiring July 27.

If the appointment is approved by the Board of Trustees, Allen would begin July 28 as president of Ridgewater College.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System comprises 33 state universities, community colleges, technical colleges and combined community and technical colleges located on 53 campuses across the state. The system serves approximately 235,000 students annually in credit-based courses and another 130,000 in non-credit courses.