ST. PAUL — Larry Dietz has been selected as interim president of St. Cloud State University, effective July 1, 2024.

The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities announced Dietz's selection in a Wednesday, April 17, news release.

“I am pleased that Dr. Dietz has agreed to come out of retirement and lead St. Cloud State University as interim president for the next two years,” Scott Olson, chancellor of Minnesota State, said in the release. “Larry’s extensive knowledge and experience in public higher education are the perfect combination for SCSU at this time, and I am confident that under his leadership, the university will move forward to serve its students and employees successfully, the Central Minnesota community, and the entire state.”

Dietz was a finalist for the post along with Henry Morris, a vice president at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Dietz was unavailable when St. Cloud LIVE reached out for comment on Wednesday.

Dietz most recently served as Illinois State University president from 2014 to 2021. He will succeed current St. Cloud State University President Robbyn Wacker, who is leaving her post at the end of her contract on June 30.

Wacker is SCSU’s 24th president and its first female permanent president. She is also the first openly gay president in the university’s 154 years. She took over in 2018 for Ashish Vaidya, who was named interim president after Earl Potter died in a 2016 car crash on Interstate 694 in Brooklyn Center.

“Getting to know our students and feeling like family of sorts has been a real gift,” Wacker told St. Cloud LIVE in November 2023, after she announced her intention to leave SCSU. “As a first-generation student myself, coming and seeing the students and their excitement about being here and how they transformed from when they first arrived firsthand is totally remarkable.”

Per publicly available state employee payroll data, Wacker’s salary as SCSU’s president was an estimated $349,000 in fiscal year 2022.

• Larry Dietz served Illinois State University as president from 2014 to 2021, vice president for student affairs from 2011 to 2014, and tenured associate professor from 2011 to 2021.
• He served Southern Illinois University Carbondale as vice chancellor for student affairs and special assistant to the chancellor from 2006 to 2011, as vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management and special assistant to the chancellor from 2000 to 2006, and as tenured associate professor from 2000 to 2011.
• He served the University of Missouri-Kansas City from 1985 to 2000 in various capacities including vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management from 1998 to 2000, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management from 1995 to 1998, associate vice chancellor for student affairs from 1988 to 1995, and assistant vice chancellor for student affairs from 1985 to 1988.
• He holds a bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and a master’s and a doctorate from Iowa State University.

Source: The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

• Born in Murphysboro, Illinois, in 1948, Dietz was raised on a dairy farm outside of DeSoto, Illinois, according to his biography on the Illinois State University website.
• Dietz is married to Marlene Dietz, owner/president of Dynamic Leadership Development consulting firm, according to Illinois State University website.
• The couple was honored at Illinois State on August 26, 2022, with the unveiling of the Dr. Larry and Marlene Dietz Welcome Desk in the Bone Student Center, according to an Illinois State University media release. The center was renovated during Dietz’s presidency, and the desk commerates the Dietzes' dedication and contributions to the school.
• They have two adult children and four grandchildren, according to Illinois State University website.
  

Local

SCSU President Robbyn Wacker will leave at end of school year

Wacker will leave her position on June 30, 2024, upon completion of her contract, according to a news release. A search for an interim president will be launched in spring. Wacker has led the university since 2018.

Nov 28, 2023

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By  Lauren Breunig

Larry Dietz will be the 25th person to lead St. Cloud State University when his tenure as interim president begins on July 1, 2024. Here is a list of all of St. Cloud State’s presidents over the school’s many eras over its 155-year history.

St. Cloud State University (1975-present)

• 2018-present: Robbyn Wacker
• 2016-18: Ashish Vaidya, interim president
• 2007-16: Earl H. Potter III
• 2000-07: Roy H. Saigo
• 1999-2000: Suzanne R. Williams, interim president
• 1995-99: Bruce F. Grube
• 1992-95: Robert O. Bess, interim president
• 1982-92: Brendan J. McDonald
• 1981-82: Lowell R. Gillett, interim president
• 1971-81: Charles J. Graham

St. Cloud State College (1957-75)

• 1965-71: Robert H. Wick
• 1952-65: George F. Budd

St. Cloud State Teachers College (1921-57)

• 1947-52: John W. Headley
• 1943-47: Dudley S. Brainard
• 1927-43: George A. Selke
• 1916-27: Joseph C. Brown

State Normal School at St. Cloud (1873-1921)

• 1915-16: Isabel Lawrence, acting president
• 1902-15: Waite A. Shoemaker
• 1895-1902: George R. Kleeberger
• 1890-95: Joseph Carhart
• 1884-90: Thomas J. Gray
• 1881-84: Jerome Allen
• 1875-81: David L. Kiehle

Third State Normal School (1869-73)

• 1869-75: Ira Moore

Source: St. Cloud State University