After first rebuffing the idea, the president of the Board of Higher Education said he will recommend adding an American Indian to the panel that will recruit a new president for the University of North Dakota.

"I've thought about it a lot. Obviously, it's received a lot of attention," John Q. Paulsen said Wednesday. "The more I thought about it, the more I reflected about it, the more it seemed to me that it was appropriate and, in fact, correct and right that there should be a representative of the American Indian community on the search committee."

Paulsen, who himself is a search committee member, has scheduled a telephone conference call board meeting for 11 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the issue.

Paulsen said he had no one in mind to recommend for the spot. He intends to speak to Eddie Dunn, chancellor of the state university system, and William Goetz, who is succeeding Dunn as chancellor next week, to ask for suggestions.

The lack of American Indian representation on the committee caused a stir when its 16 members were announced May 24. Its chairman is Paul LeBel, dean of the university's law school.

David Gipp, president of the United Tribes Technical College of Bismarck, sent a letter to the Board of Higher Education last week, requesting that an American Indian be added to the search committee.

Paulsen declined, saying he had "absolute confidence in the committee to choose a president without regard to race, color or gender."

He said Wednesday he had reconsidered. The committees that handled the search for UND's previous three presidents all had American Indian members, Paulsen said. UND has more than 30 programs supporting American Indian education.

"This is one of the most important constituencies within the University of North Dakota community," he said.

UND's relationship with Indian students and tribes has come under more scrutiny because of a struggle with the NCAA over the school's "Fighting Sioux" athletics nickname.

The NCAA has barred UND from hosting postseason tournaments because of the name, which the association has deemed "hostile and abusive." UND filed a lawsuit in state district court in Grand Forks to challenge the decision.