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St. Cloud State University's interim president, Larry Dietz, is leaving his role early. 

Dietz has been serving as interim president since last July. His tenure was supposed to last two years. 

But in a letter to the campus community on Monday, Dietz announced that he will be leaving by the end of this year to deal with health challenges in his family.

Scott Olson, chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, announced that a national search will begin immediately for the next SCSU president. He said the goal is to have a new leader in place by January.

Dietz spent 50 years as a university administrator, including as president of Illinois State University, before retiring in 2021. He 

 to take the two-year St. Cloud State post after former SCSU President Robbyn Wacker stepped down.

“We have made many strides in a short period of time, but we have more work to do over the next six months to address the challenges we face,” Dietz said. “I am confident that we will meet those challenges and SCSU will continue to focus on the future.”

In recent years, St. Cloud State has faced budget challenges, including program cuts and employee layoffs. Its enrollment fell from a peak of more than 16,000 students a decade ago to just over 10,000 last year.

Olson said Dietz has “helped the university to identify and make difficult decisions, always with the goal of strengthening SCSU for the future.” He said Dietz will continue to lead with “compassion, wisdom and humor” over the next several months until a permanent leader is chosen.

Officials expect to share a timeline of the search process in the next few weeks.

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Kirsti Marohn

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Larry Dietz took the two-year post last July, but announced Monday that he will be leaving by the end of this year to deal with health challenges in his family.

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St. Cloud State University's interim president to depart early

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