Campus beat: Moorhead State's 'President Edna' to retire

Many know her as "President Edna," informally dropping the last name. Some call her "Hurricane Edna."

The contrary monikers of Edna Szymanski, president of Minnesota State University Moorhead, speak to two sides of her personality: her kindness and her forcefulness.

"It's funny: She's very direct. She gets things done," said Jim Gartin, president of the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp. "But she's also so incredibly warm."

Szymanski, 61, announced Wednesday that she will retire next summer, after seven years as president. She and her husband, Michael, plan to travel, garden and simply "spend more time cherishing each other," she said by phone.

It's "perfect timing," Szymanski said. The university will soon celebrate its 125th anniversary, and "there's a lot of good momentum."

She touted the university's progress with businesses. The university regularly hosts industry leaders for breakfast and asks them three questions: "What are we doing well? What can we do better? And how can we better prepare students to meet your needs?"

The university has used that feedback to quickly adjust its curriculum, Gartin said. "It's powerful."

While in charge, Szymanski has grappled with "hard issues" and made a few unpopular decisions — including curtailing a campaign to bring Division I hockey to the school, said Russel Ferguson, past president of the Student Senate.

But Ferguson said he'll remember her as "the president who went out and fundraised more money for our university than any other president."

He'll also recall their first meeting. When Ferguson apologized for his bad mood — he had just broken up with his girlfriend — Szymanski spent a half-hour discussing it with him.

"No matter what I brought up," he said, "to her, it was always worth talking about."