These individuals have been appointed to permanent cabinet-level administrative positions at Bemidji State University over the past six months:

Karen Snorek
Vice President for Finance and Administration

Karen Snorek joined BSU and Northwest Technical College on July 1 as the new vice president for finance and administration, replacing Bill Maki, who was appointed president of Minnesota’s Northeast Higher Education District, a consortium of five community colleges

Snorek has more than two decades of higher education experience in Minnesota and has served as vice president of finance and operations at South Central College in Faribault, Minn., since 2006. She was vice president of finance and facilities at Riverland Community College in Austin from 1996-2006, and was business manager at Minnesota Riverland Technical College from 1992-96.

Before beginning her career in higher education administration, she worked eight years in a variety of accounting positions at Owatonna Tool Company. She has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Megan Zothman

Chief Human Resources Officer

Megan Zothman was named chief human resource officer for Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College  in October. She had been a human resources specialist in Bemidji State’s Office of Human Resources since March 2014.

Zothman has been recognized for her performance by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, winning its 2015 Human Resources All-Star Award.  Before joining the BSU/NTC human resources office, Zothman was an executive team leader for Target Corp., overseeing human resource at stores in Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Minneapolis.

She has bachelor’s degrees in retail merchandising and business–entrepreneurial management from the University of Minnesota.

Bill Blackwell Jr.

Director, American Indian Resource Center

Bill Blackwell Jr. started July 1 as director of the American Indian Resource Center. Blackwell, a 2012 graduate of BSU and member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, will serve BSU and NTC after spending the past three years in fundraising leadership role at Leech Lake Tribal College.

Blackwell also worked as the college’s admissions and outreach coordinator, following earlier work in retail management. He has a bachelor’s degree in Indian Studies and a certificate of instruction in Ojibwe from BSU, as well as a master’s degree in tribal administration and governance from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Lynn Johnson

Director of Distance Learning

Lynn Johnson became director of distance learning for BSU on July 1 after serving as interim director for the past four years. She joined the university in 2001 as associate director of distance learning.

Johnson has responsibility for managing online and off-campus instruction and degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as establishing partnerships with other colleges and universities. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling, both from Moorhead State University.