North Dakota Student Group Votes No Confidence in Chancellor

An assembly that represents students at North Dakota’s 11 public universities has voted no confidence in the chancellor of the state university system, Hamid Shirvani, The Forum, a newspaper in Fargo, reported. The no-confidence measure was approved by a 53-to-2 vote, with seven delegates abstaining, during a meeting of the North Dakota Student Association on Saturday. A large majority also supported a legislative proposal to buy out Mr. Shirvani’s contract for $800,000. The buyout proposal has been floated by a Republican state senator from Fargo but has not been formally introduced yet. Mr. Shirvani, who has been in office for less than a year, has faced criticism from some legislators over his plans for overhauling the state higher-education system and over his leadership style. Leaders of the state Board of Higher Education have said Mr. Shirvani has their support.