ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Earl H. Potter III, the president of St. Cloud State University, died Monday in a Twin Cities highway crash. He was 69.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor Steven Rosenstone said Tuesday that Potter died late Monday afternoon in a crash as he drove to the Twin Cities for a foundation board meeting. University spokesman Loren Boone confirmed Potter’s death.
The Minnesota State Patrol said Potter was driving east on Interstate 694 in Brooklyn Center about 5:30 p.m. when his Toyota 4Runner SUV left the road and hit a guard rail. The patrol says Potter overcorrected, causing the vehicle to flip several times and strike some cable barriers.
“Earl’s passing is a huge loss to St. Cloud State University,” Rosenstone said at a campus news conference. “It’s a loss to the state of Minnesota. And it’s a loss to higher education. He was a highly respected leader, both here in Minnesota and across the nation, as well as around the world.”
After spending more than two decades in higher education administration across the country, Potter took the reins at the school in 2007. He was set to serve through at least June 2019 after accepting a three-year extension this winter.
Wanda Overland, the school’s vice president of student life and development, credited Potter for spearheading St. Cloud’s efforts to boost international student recruitment and for weaving the university into the central Minnesota city’s community by serving on various company boards and improving neighborhood outreach.
Overland had already been at the school for a year when Potter arrived on campus. She said he quickly won her over and attributed her long stay in St. Cloud to Potter’s leadership and friendship.
“He probably worked harder than all of us,” she said. “He was a phenomenal human being and a wonderful president.”
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton saw Potter’s commitment to diversifying St. Cloud’s campus firsthand, as the pair traveled together on several trade missions abroad.
“He loved St. Cloud State University, and he loved the students, faculty, and staff with whom he worked,” Dayton said in a statement. “I extend my deepest condolences to all of them and to his family for their terrible loss.”
Rosenstone has named Provost Ashish Vaidya to serve as acting president.
Potter had a knack for making connections between SCSU and the city, its people, its businesses and its institutions, St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said.
“He said many times that the city doesn’t do well unless the university does well and the university doesn’t do well unless the city does well,” Kleis said. “He understood that and he always made sure he invited me to make sure I spoke at every graduation, despite the fact that I had terrible jokes. He always asked me back.”
Kleis was there at the most recent graduation. It was the last time he spent significant time with Potter. They shook hands with graduates, listened to their stories of success and accomplishment.
“I say this often when I talk, that it’s one of the best town-and-gown relationships, I think, in the country,’ Kleis said. “We’ve partnered on a number of things. It’s been a collaborative effort. Earl certainly will be missed, as a friend and a partner. It leaves a big hole, not only that connection but the commitment that has been strengthened throughout the whole organization. So that piece will continue because of his efforts and his leadership.”
Overland said campus leaders are still planning some kind of campus celebration of Potter’s life and tenure.
This report includes information from the Forum News Service.