BISMARCK – North Dakota University System (NDUS) has announced the hiring of Meredith Larson as vice chancellor for Operations/Chief Operating Officer. She will report to Interim Chancellor Brent Sanford.

She began work Monday, Aug. 11.

“Meredith brings nearly two decades of public service and a distinguished legal career to this key leadership role. She currently serves as an assistant Attorney General for the State of North Dakota and as legal counsel to the State Board of Higher Education. In these roles, she has advised the SBHE and multiple NDUS institutions on legal matters spanning compliance, employment law, governance, open records and meetings, and risk management. We look forward to her leadership and the positive impact she will bring to the North Dakota University System,” Sanford said.

Larson earned her undergraduate in psychology and her Juris Doctor in 2006 from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, where she currently lives. She began her legal career at the Grand Forks County State’s Attorney’s Office, where she spent more than 15 years as a prosecutor focused on interpersonal crimes and served as legal adviser on major civil initiatives, including the development of Grand Sky, the region’s pioneering drone technology park.

In addition to her legal and public service career, Larson is committed to community engagement and education. She has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law and continues to lecture at law schools across the country. Her volunteer service is reflected in leadership roles with professional organizations, the Grand Forks Rotary Club and the Community Violence Intervention Center.