Two interim state university presidents were named Wednesday by the board of trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU).

Devinder Malhotra, a vice president at St. Cloud State University, has been named interim president of Metro State University, based in St. Paul.

Malhotra, who holds a doctorate in economics, will succeed Sue Hammersmith, who is retiring in June after six years as Metro State's president.

The board also named Lisa Larson as interim president of North Hennepin Community College. Acting president since June, Larson was previously vice president for academic and student affairs at Hennepin Technical College.

In addition, the board approved three major appointments to MnSCU's central administration:

John O'Brien was named senior vice chancellor of academic and student affairs for the system, which includes seven state universities and 24 two-year colleges. He had been serving as the interim vice chancellor since June and was previously president of North Hennepin Community College.

Devinder Malhotra

Ramon Padilla was named vice chancellor of information technology and chief information officer. He had been vice chancellor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since 2011.

Leon Rodrigues was named MnSCU's chief diversity officer. He was previously chief diversity officer and an associate professor at Bethel University.

Maura Lerner