VP Dahlberg to serve as VCSU interim president

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Margaret Dahlberg, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs at Valley City State University, has been appointed interim president of VCSU by the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, effective Dec. 16, 2017. Dahlberg succeeds Tisa Mason, who resigned the VCSU presidency to accept the presidency of Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.Dahlberg is returning to a familiar role as interim president. She served in that same capacity from July–December 2014, between the departure of former president Steve Shirley to Minot State University and the arrival of Mason.Formerly professor of English and chair of the communication arts department, Dahlberg was appointed interim vice president for academic affairs in April 2009. In January 2010, she was named vice president for academic affairs (VPAA).As VPAA, Dahlberg directs all facets of the VCSU academic program and has led the university’s accreditation efforts. She has also taken the lead role in the VCSU strategic planning process.Dahlberg holds three degrees in English: a doctorate and a master’s degree, both from the University of North Dakota, along with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville. As a child, she attended the Model School of Valley City State Teachers College when her father, H.O. Pearce, served as school superintendent. The Pearce family moved to Platteville, Wis., during Dahlberg’s childhood, but she returned to Valley City State as an English professor in 1996.She and her husband, Paul Dahlberg, make their home in Valley City. The couple has three adult sons, who all attended VCSU.