BISMARCK, N.D., Oct. 29, 2025 – State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler on Wednesday encouraged North Dakotans to apply for a pending vacancy on the state Board of Higher Education.
Board member Levi Bachmeier, of West Fargo, is resigning from the SBHE to accept Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s appointment to succeed Baesler as superintendent of public instruction. Bachmeier’s successor on the Board of Higher Education will serve out his four-year term, which ends June 30, 2029.
The application deadline for the position is 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. Applications may be emailed to the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction at dpipa@nd.gov or sent by regular mail to the NDDPI at 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 201, Bismarck, ND, 58505.
To be considered, candidates for a Board of Higher Education appointment must fill out a one-page application and provide a resume and no more than six letters of reference. They must have lived in North Dakota for the previous five years, and they may not have been employed or paid by the North Dakota University System within the last two years.
The governor appoints members of the Board of Higher Education. The superintendent of public instruction is chairwoman of a five-member committee that screens applicants and forwards a list of three suggested appointees to the governor for each opening.
The nominating committee’s makeup is outlined in the North Dakota Constitution. Its members are Baesler; North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Jon Jensen; Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, which represents schoolteachers and public employees; state House Speaker Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield; and Sen. Kyle Davison, R-Fargo, the state Senate’s president pro tempore.
The Board of Higher Education has eight voting members. Seven are chosen for four-year terms, while the eighth represents North Dakota University System students and is appointed for one year. The board also has two nonvoting advisory members who represent the university system’s faculty and staff.
Bachmeier’s successor would begin serving on the Board of Higher Education immediately upon his or her appointment. The governor’s choice would need to be confirmed by the North Dakota Senate during its 2027 session to continue serving on the board.