Minnesota’s Chancellor of the Exchequer is retiring in August

The chancellor of a Minnesota state college and university says he plans to retire in the summer.

Devinder Malhotra announced on Wednesday that he plans to finish the remainder of his current contract, which runs until the end of July, and then retire.

“Serving as Chancellor of the State of Minnesota for the past six years has been a distinct honor and the greatest privilege of my professional life,” Malhotra said in a statement. “I continue to be humbled and inspired by the strength, determination and resilience of our students, who often have to overcome many challenges to persevere and complete their educational journey. It is exciting to have the unwavering support of the Board of Trustees and to work alongside the 14,000 dedicated faculty and staff who provide exceptional oversight for the educational experience of our students and for the communities our colleges and universities serve.”

Malhotra has led the system since 2017 after serving as interim president of Metropolitan State University from 2014 to 2016 and provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of St. Cloud State from 2009 to 2014.

He also helped guide the system through the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the system launch its Equity 2030 initiative, which aims to eliminate educational equity gaps at each of the system’s colleges and universities by 2030.

In its statement, Minnesota State said it will provide more information about the search for his successor in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Malhotra said he plans to do a lot more before he retires.

“There is work to be done in the coming year to fulfill our obligations to our students and our great nation,” Malhotra said.

The state of Minnesota includes 26 community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving approximately 300,000 students, making it the third largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the nation.