NDSU president resigns, saying ‘It just isn’t fun’

FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State University President Joseph Chapman, stung by criticism of the ballooning cost of his new home and a $22,000 trip to President Barack Obama’s inauguration for himself and his family, announced Wednesday that he is resigning.

Chapman, who has been president of the Fargo university for more than a decade, said his resignation would take effect Jan 2. He said he was not pressured to step down.

“I have been thinking about this for a while,” Chapman told The Associated Press. “Given all the stuff that is going on, for the institution and especially for the students, the people who really matter in all this, it’s just time to do something else.”

“It just isn’t fun,” he added.

His announcement follows criticism of sharp cost overruns on a new home for the university president and the trip to Washington, D.C., paid for by the donation-funded NDSU Development Foundation, that cost more than $22,000.

The state Board of Higher Education, which oversees North Dakota colleges, is scheduled to meet by conference call Thursday. University system Chancellor William Goetz expects it to accept Chapman’s resignation and discuss choosing an interim leader and a permanent successor. He said he hopes a president will be hired by July 1.

Chapman, 67, has been president of NDSU since January 1999. He is paid $413,000 a year, with the Development Foundation contributing $75,000 of that.

The Board of Higher Education says it will likely ask for an audit on spending for the president’s house, which originally was estimated to cost $900,000 and be paid for with private money. The price ballooned to over $2 million, forcing foundation members to agree to cover most of the extra costs.

Chapman and his family took a charter flight to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration using money from the foundation’s discretionary fund because the university plane was being repaired, an NDSU spokeswoman said Wednesday. In comparison, the University of North Dakota said it spent $2,176 to send its President Robert Kelley to the inauguration.

“Many of the events that have come to light in recent weeks are difficult, if not impossible, to explain,” said John Q. Paulsen, a foundation trustee and former president of the state Board of Higher Education. “But at the same time I hope that President Chapman’s tenure here will be remembered for the fact that over that period of time the university made enormous strides.”

Chapman said he may do consulting or write a book.

Associated Press Writer Dale Wetzel in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.