Two Women Among the Four Finalists for President of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees has announced a field of four candidates as finalists to be president of St. Cloud State University. The university, located 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis, enrolls nearly 14,000 undergraduate students and almost 2,000 graduate students. Women are 54 percent of the undergraduate student body.

The candidates have all visited campus this week for a series of interviews and public presentations. Two of the four finalists are women.

Dione Somerville is the vice president for student affairs at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. She has served in that role since 2011. From 2007 to 2011, Dr. Somerville was dean of students at Iowa State University. Earlier, she held student affairs posts at Lorain County Community College in Ohio, the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, and Ursuline College in Ohio. Dr. Somerville is a graduate of Ohio Northern University in Ada, where she majored in English. She earned a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Robbyn Wacker is a tenured professor of gerontology at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. She also serves as senior campaign advisor in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Dr. Wacker joined the faculty at the university in 1990. She served as dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences from 1996 to 2005. From 2011 to 2017, Dr. Wacker was senior vice president and provost. Professor Wacker holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Iowa State University.