BISMARCK – The State Board of Higher Education has appointed Brent Sanford, former North Dakota lieutenant governor, as the interim president of Bismarck State College, effective Thursday.

Dr. Dan Leingang has been serving as the acting president of BSC since Jan. 2 after the departure of former President Doug Jensen. Leingang is currently the BSC vice president for academic affairs, and he has chosen to remain in that position. The SBHE will now begin the process to fill the permanent presidential position.

“Our highest priority remains prioritizing the success of students at Bismarck State College and to continue to ensure a smooth transition of leadership,” said Tim Mihalick of Minot, State Board of Higher Education chair. “Our goal is to sustain the work that has been done to position BSC as a polytechnic institution. Brent Sanford has leadership experience in business and state government and can ensure that connection between workforce and BSC remains strong and continues to serve both BSC students and the community.”

Sanford graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1994. He worked for Eide Bailly from 1994 through 2002 and then became the chief financial officer of Transwest Trucks in Colorado. He moved back to his hometown of Watford City in 2004, taking over his family-run car dealership.

He was elected to the Watford City Council in 2006 and was elected mayor in 2010. Sanford served as lieutenant governor for the first six years of former Gov. Doug Burgum’s two-term tenure. After leaving state government, Sanford worked as a consultant with Minnkota Power Cooperative on its Project Tundra — a venture to capture and store carbon beneath North Dakota soil — and also with the North Dakota Petroleum Council to recruit immigrants to work in the North Dakota oil industry.

Most recently, Sanford has been working with the BSC Office of Workforce and Economic Development on workforce-related initiatives to create a robust workforce pipeline from higher education to industry in high-demand and high-priority occupations.