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Dick Niemiec'65
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A health industry executive who has dedicated himself to the development of quality health and educational programs has been named to the post of interim president at Beloit College.
Dick Niemiec, recently retired senior vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, will assume the interim leadership of the 1,300 student liberal arts college in Beloit, Wis., on June 1. The announcement was made today to a gathering of students, faculty and staff in the College’s Eaton Chapel by chair of the Beloit Board of Trustees James Sanger. Niemiec will succeed John Burris, president of the college since 2000, who will step down at the end of May.
Niemiec is a 1965 graduate of Beloit College and was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the College. He is also profiled in the current issue of Beloit College Magazine acknowledging the establishment of the Edwin F. Wilde, Jr. Distinguished Service Professorship honoring an undergraduate professor, mentor and friend. The professorship is the gift of Mr. Niemiec and his wife Joan, and is the first endowed professorship without departmental affiliation to be established at the College.
A mathematics major as an undergraduate, Niemiec did graduate work in statistics at the University of Missouri. After a brief teaching stint in Chicago, he joined Honeywell in Minneapolis as a systems analyst. In 1973, he began a 33 year career with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota which culminated in his appointment as senior vice president for corporate affairs in 1986.
Throughout his working career, he has been active as a volunteer serving causes related to health and education. A former member of the National Board of Governors of the American Red Cross for the past six years, he is vice chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Foundation and of the international Kobe College Corporation. He also serves on the boards of the Tubman Family Alliance, working to prevent family violence in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area , and the YMCA of Greater St Paul.
The Beloit board of trustees approached Niemiec following the recent announcement by John Burris that he would step down at the end of this academic year. He leaves to become president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a leading scientific and educational research foundation based in North Carolina.
Sanger told the audience that “In the month and a half since John's announcement that he would be stepping down, we initiated two searches. We are in the early stages of our search process for president, and the board's objective is to select a new president to lead the college beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year. Our search process for an interim president has benefited from the assistance and support of many within the college community and beyond.
“In seeking an interim president, we looked for an individual with a dedication to Beloit College, and the management skills needed to keep us moving in one direction - forward. We sought a person who would play an active role in leading the College, as we search for the right individual to serve as our 11th president. We wanted someone who understands higher education, is committed to the liberal arts, and has a proven record of working with people and managing complex organizations. We looked for a person who can inspire current, and future, students, staff, faculty, alumni and parents, while strengthening our ties to the community.
“We found these qualities in a Beloit College graduate who has proven his dedication to quality education through his creative and generous support of the College. He is an executive with a commitment to his own community. He enjoys national and international recognition for his ability as a business leader, and for his extensive experience in volunteer leadership with diverse organizations focused on improving and changing the world.
“He believes in the liberal arts, and especially in the transforming quality of Beloit College, because this is an institution that changed his life. The recent gift to the College from Dick and his wife Joan provides an example to all of the importance of our form of education, and the way in which Beloit can change and enhance lives.”
Mr. Niemiec was present at the announcement which came following a vote by the full Board confirming the appointment. “I am overwhelmed by this honor,” he told the gathering. “But not so overwhelmed that it will slow us down in our efforts to build Beloit College for the future. I feel there cannot be any greater honor –or challenge--than to be called upon by your alma mater to lead it, particularly during a period of such great potential, when the work of so many dedicated people must be carried forward without missing a beat.
“I want to thank the Board for this opportunity. We will not slow in our resolve or in our preparation for the next phase of Beloit’s impressive history. We have a major task before us in selecting one to lead Beloit in the coming years, and I am humbled by the confidence and the faith that this community—my community of Beloit—has placed in me.”
The interim president will take up residence on the campus in the coming weeks with his wife Joan Gunther Niemiec, a graduate of Luther College with master’s degrees from Northern Illinois University and the University of Minnesota. She is a former member of the Minneapolis City Council and former director of community planning for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
The Niemiecs have three children: Sara, Randall and Jessica and three grandchildren: Isabel, Winifred and Cole .
To listen to the announcement by board chair Jim Sanger, click here 