The Minnesota State higher education system on Wednesday named Gregory Tomso to be the next president of St. Cloud State University. Chancellor Scott Olson made the recommendation during a Minnesota State Board of Trustees meeting in St. Paul, and the board unanimously approved it.
“References paint a picture of (someone who offers) collaborative, creative leadership,” Olson said of Tomso. “He has a proven track record of growing retention and growing enrollment.”
Tomso, 54, is currently on sabbatical through August 2026 from his previous appointment as vice president of academic engagement and student affairs at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. He increased enrollment at West Florida 17% enrollment over five years and promoted programs that raised the university’s student retention rate to 89%, according to Olson.
“I’m excited to step into the role of president because I’ve seen firsthand how faculty, staff, students, administrators and community leaders in St. Cloud are making great strides towards the future,” said Tomso, who spoke after the board officially approved his appointment. “One thing I appreciated about my visit here and to campus and to St. Cloud is that I was able to have many, many frank conversations … about what we need to do and how we need to do it.”
He added that, as someone from the South, famous Southern hospitality has nothing on Minnesota nice, and he and his partner, Dr. Conor Cronin, are looking forward to moving here.
“As president, I will continue to listen,” Tomso said. “I will continue to learn, and I will pick up the torch as the lead storyteller for SCSU because there are so many great things going on.”
SCSU will have a welcome event for Tomso from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Cascade Room at Atwood Memorial Center.
The university system received lots of feedback during the search for the next president of SCSU, especially from students and faculty, Olson said. Students in particular said they appreciated Tomso’s inclusive approach.
Olson said that 99 candidates initially applied for the position, and 14 went through Zoom interviews before four finalists, including Tomso, were selected.
The other three finalists for the position included: Matt Cecil, interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside; Lisa Foss, senior director for U.S. practice at the University Design Institute at Arizona State University; and Rodney Hanley, president of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.
They were recommended by a search advisory committee of students, faculty, staff and community leaders.
Tomso has been at West Florida since 2004. He was also the director for the school’s Kugelman Honors Program, English department chair and director of the faculty garden. He was an assistant professor of English at Ithaca College, in New York, from 2001-04. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and his doctorate from Duke University.
Of the finalists, Foss was the only one with previous connections to SCSU. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the school and, from 2017-21, served as vice president for planning and engagement and chief strategy officer for the university. She also was an adjunct faculty member, associate vice president and associate provost for strategy, assistant vice president for institutional effectiveness, and director of marketing and communications.
MnSCU conducted a national search to replace Interim President Larry Dietz, 77, who in July announced he was leaving his post early due to persistent health issues in his family. Dietz had taken over as the university’s president in July 2024 after former SCSU President Robbyn Wacker announced in the fall of 2023 that she would be leaving at the end of the academic year. Wacker was president for six years.
“I want to thank Larry Dietz,” Olson said before he announced his recommendation. “We don’t often see people like you, especially as an interim president. Thank you for all the work you have done over the past 18 months.”
Dietz, other SCSU employees and other St. Cloud community leaders attended the board of trustees meeting, many easily identified by their red-and-black attire.
“I am joyful for our new president,” Dietz said. “I am also very hopeful … Our increased collaboration with the St. Cloud community has allowed us to dispel myths and educate them about the work we do.”
He added that he will take a “piece of Minnesota” in his heart once his tenure as interim president ends next month and he returns home to Illinois.
Over the past decade, SCSU enrollment has fallen by about 6,000 students, or 38%, and that trend continued with enrollment for the current school year. Dietz, however, noted that enrollment has stabilized around 10,000 students over the past few years.
Last June, Minnesota State also approved a 6.5% tuition increase at the university, the second largest in the Minnesota State systems.
Greenwood Asher & Associates, which specializes in recruiting and retaining higher education talent, led the search. Winona State President Kenneth Janz served as chair of the search committee.
The anticipated start date of the new president is Jan. 1.
“Our road ahead is clear — we’re going to invest in our students, our staff, our faculty, our campus,” Tomso said. “Whatever challenges we face, will face them together.”
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