Former president of Illinois State University announced as SCSU’s interim president

A former president of Illinois State University will be leading St. Cloud State University starting this summer.

Wednesday morning, Larry Dietz was announced as the school’s interim president starting on July 1 by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

“I am pleased that Dr. Dietz has agreed to come out of retirement and lead St. Cloud State University as interim president for the next two years. Larry’s extensive knowledge and experience in public higher education are the perfect combination for SCSU at this time, and I am confident that under his leadership, the university will move forward to serve its students and employees successfully, the Central Minnesota community, and the entire state,” Scott Olson, the chancellor of Minnesota State, said in a prepared statement.

As reported last November, Robbyn Wacker — who has led the school since 2018 — announced her intent to leave the school at the end of her contract on June 30.

Dietz, who was president of Illinois State University from 2014 until he retired in 2021, also served as Illinois State University’s vice president for student affairs. Prior to that, he was the special assistant to the chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, as well as vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management and special assistant to the chancellor.

In addition, he previously worked at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Iowa State University.

The announcement comes the same day the system announced Shari Olson as the interim president of Northland Community & Technical College in East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls.