UND is hosting a set of three finalists next week to interview for the role of chief operating officer for campus.
The candidates are in line to follow high-level administrator Alice Brekke, who is currently scaling down her workload as part of a phased retirement plan offered through last year's employee buyouts. Brekke, the vice president of finance and operations, keeps track of the university budget and facilities, overseeing a wide swath of campus activity.
Though she's looking forward to pursuing her outside interests, she described her retirement as a bittersweet experience.
"I've spent 39 years at this institution and it's been a wonderful community here," Brekke said.
The university is now wrapping up the search for her replacement with final interviews on campus scheduled March 20-26. As part of that, each candidate will sit for an open forum at 3:30 p.m. on their respective days at UND.
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The candidates, and their schedule of events, are as follows.
• Robert Kohrman was formerly vice dean for fiscal affairs at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, based in Detroit. He resigned his position there in 2017 after overseeing a number of administrative roles. His campus forum is March 20 in the Memorial Union Lecture Bowl.
• Jed M. Shivers is a decade-plus associate dean of finance from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, located in New York City. At one time prior to that, he served as chief administrator for the Yale University School of Medicine. His campus forum is March 22 in the East Discovery Hall of the Energy and Environmental Research Center.
• Ana Karaman is vice president of financial and operational initiatives at Webster University, in Webster Groves, Mo. Before that, she served in similar roles at the University of San Francisco and Samford University, in Alabama. Her forum is March 26, also in the Lecture Bowl.
