Leech Lake Tribal College Names Three Finalists for Presidential Search

Three finalists chosen from a pool of 26 applicants will visit Leech Lake Tribal College's Cass Lake campus over three consecutive days beginning March 30 as the college moves toward naming its next president by mid-April.

Dr. Lane Azure visits first on March 30, Dr. Margaret "Maggie" Ross on March 31, and Dr. Beatrice Bridglall on April 1. Each visit is structured as a full day of campus and community tours, meetings with faculty, staff, students, and constituent groups, sessions with Tribal Council and administration, and a formal interview with the Board of Trustees. Public forums are scheduled at 1:30 p.m. each day in the Cedar Hall Drum Room on the Cass Lake campus; no RSVP is required to attend. A second open forum window of 4:40 to 5:15 p.m. is also listed in the full interview schedule on the college's website.

Azure currently serves as dean of students at Warwick Public Schools in North Dakota and has previously held roles as a tribal college president and K-12 superintendent. His academic background includes a bachelor's degree in mathematics education from Minot State University and a doctorate in education with an emphasis in institutional analysis from North Dakota State University. He is the son of the late Martin "Chib" Azure of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the late Laura (Rondeau) Azure of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and he began his career working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Ross currently serves as Interim President at Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, an institution where she previously served as Dean of Students. She is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a descendant of the Santee Dakota, and she founded both a youth leadership nonprofit and a tribal education consulting business.

Bridglall holds dual roles as Interim Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Iḷisaġvik College in Alaska and as director of strategic initiatives and partnerships for the nonprofit Student Freedom Initiative, where she has worked to increase student persistence and retention across more than 75 minority-serving institutions. She has authored six books, with her most recent examining the role of community colleges in a post-pandemic world.

The search was launched last year after former president Helen Zaikina-Montgomery departed the role. Stacie Lyon has been serving as interim president since then. The finalists were formally named on March 13, 2026.

LLTC officials have tentatively set April 15 as the date to announce the next president, with the Board of Trustees planning a public reception alongside the announcement. The new president is anticipated to begin July 1, 2026. During deliberations, the Association of Community College Trustees will provide oral in-depth reference reports on each finalist. Questions about the search can be directed to ACCT Search Consultant Dr. Sandy Caldwell at (307) 389-4193.