Hormel Foundation Chair and former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger named Interim President of University of Minnesota

Hormel Foundation Chairman and former Hormel C-E-O Jeff Ettinger of Austin is the Board of Regents’ choice for interim president of the University of Minnesota, to take over after President Joan Gabel leaves until a permanent successor is named.  Ettinger told the regents he ran a large and complex organization with over 20-thousand employees and an annual budget of nine billion dollars:

Regent Doug Huebsch from Perham supports Ettinger, saying as more and more higher education costs are paid for by philanthropy versus government…

The Board of Regents chose Ettinger over three other finalists, including Myron Frans, former state Management and Budget Commissioner who’s now Senior Finance V-P at the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Crookston Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause, and E- Thomas Sullivan, former president of the University of Vermont who before that was provost and senior V-P at the University of Minnesota.