North Dakota University System Chancellor Bill Goetz (right) welcomes new VCSU President Steve Shirley at a reception held Monday afternoon at the VCSU Student Center. Goetz said Shirley will bring energy, ideas, and a sense of vitality to the campus, while having the students’ concerns at heart. (Sheila Anderson/VCTR)

A 35-year-old man who graduated from Fargo South High School and the University of North Dakota has been named the new president of Valley City State University.
    Steven Shirley, the vice president and dean of student affairs at Dakota State University in South Dakota, was named Monday to replace Ellen Chaffee, who is retiring.
    ‘‘I love this state and I’m passionate about it,’’ Shirley said. ‘‘This is really a homecoming for me. I’m excited to be in this part of the state and this part of the region.’’
    The two finalists were both from South Dakota. The state Board of Higher Education on Monday interviewed Shirley and Blake Faulkner, president of the online campus and system vice president for international affairs at National American University in Rapid City.
    John Q. Paulsen, the board president, said both candidates were highly qualified.
    ‘‘In the final analysis, however, Steven Shirley’s professional experience more closely parallels the expectations of the Valley City State University presidency,’’ Paulsen said.
    Valley City State and Dakota State are both ‘‘laptop, technology-based campuses,’’ Shirley said.
    ‘‘It’s a good fit for my background,’’ he said.
    “This is the third laptop university I’ve been at,” Shirley said. “I think technology plays an awfully important role in curriculum and the way we develop classes.”
    Shirley, a 1990 Fargo South graduate, received his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees from UND. He previously spent seven years as a business faculty member at the University of Minnesota-Crookston.
    ‘‘He knows everybody in North Dakota,’’ said David DeMuth, a Minnesota-Crookston professor who worked with Shirley. ‘‘I’m thrilled that the state would look past age and hire someone with vigor.’’

--Times-Record & Associated Press reports

Outgoing Valley City State University President Ellen Earle-Chaffee (left) welcomes her predecessor, Steven Shirley, to the university’s top spot. Shirley will assume his new position July 1. (Sheila Anderson/VCTR)

For full story, see Tuesday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.