Larry Skogen has integrity in his little finger.

In his thumb, he has competency.

Between them, touching on each digit of his right hand as he outlined his management philosophy, Skogen noted commitment, optimism and teamwork.

Those principles appeared to sit very well Thursday with a committee designed to find the next president of Bismarck State College.

Skogen, a North Dakota native now living in New Mexico, was the fifth of five candidates the search committee interviewed this week. The group will reconvene Monday, when it will begin to make its list of finalists. Those names - an exact number hasn't been set - will be forwarded next week to the State Board of Higher Education.

The goal is to find a replacement as soon as possible for retired President Donna Thigpen, who left the school earlier this year.

Noting that he was "the caboose" - the interviews were scheduled alphabetically by last name - Skogen thanked the panel for its patience. For their part, the 15 committee members seemed pleased with the interview, nodding in agreement with most of Skogen's answers, particularly his views on BSC's future.

The next president at Bismarck State will have to be someone who embraces technology and the distance-education model, two intertwined areas where the school has invested considerable time and money. Construction has begun on a new $15.4 million technology center - to be called the National Energy Center of Excellence - that will prepare students for careers in the technology and energy fields by a combination of traditional and online courses.

The success of the center was the first priority Skogen listed when asked about his potential presidency. At least twice he used the phrase "flat world,"a nod to the globalization made possible through technology.

"We're in the 21st century now, and education is changing dramatically," said Skogen, who currently is the academic dean and deputy superintendent for academic affairs at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. "The old standby that location, location, location is everything isn't true anymore. You're sitting at a point right now with these new programs where you guys are really ready to take off."

If it does take off, Skogen might make a fine pilot.

In addition to heavily promoting the advancement of technology in the classroom at each of his previous stops, the former Hettinger resident was an officer in the Air Force until his retirement from service in 2001.

Skogen graduated from Dickinson State University in 1978 with a degree in education, and taught for a year in Cooperstown before rejoining the Air Force. He earned his commission and taught at the United States Air Force Academy from 1986 to 1989. He was executive officer, director of research and assistant professor of history there from 1992 to 1994.

Skogen has a doctorate in history from Arizona State University and a master's in history from Central Missouri State University. He has been at his current position since 2001.

When he saw the ad for the BSC job, Skogen said he had to apply. His parents still live here, and Skogen would very much like to be a part of what could be tremendous growth at Bismarck State.

"Ihave a personal desire to come back to North Dakota,"he said. "The whole time I was in the military, Ikept my North Dakota citizenship. I have a desire to come back to the state Idearly love."

Other priorities for the next president at BSC, Skogen said, would be recruitment-retention of students and making sure the distance-education programs held their value.

"The biggest challenge is (maintaining the) quality of education, whether it's in the classroom or online," Skogen said. "Academic education counts. You don't want to become a diploma mill. The quality of the online education ought to match the quality of the classroom education. If it doesn't, you've got a problem."

Asked about his experiences with student retention, Skogen drew a laugh from the committee when he mentioned the unique circumstances at the New Mexico Military Institute. Staff there hollers at students and makes them do push-ups from time to time, so, yeah, he's dealt with some retention issues. He said he imagined those things would not be concerns at BSC.

The bottom line, Skogen said, was to make sure the school was affordable and accessible, and that it offered programs students needed.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)