The University of Minnesota Crookston has officially named Dr. Megan Bell as the Associate Vice Chancellor for the Business, Arts, and Education division. Bell, who has served in the role in an interim capacity since August 2025, will begin her permanent appointment on June 15.
Bell was selected following a nationwide search and is grateful to have been chosen as the permanent candidate for the position.
“I was excited and honored to have been selected. There was a national search conducted, and so to come out as the chosen candidate from that process was really an honor,” said Bell. “I’m an alum of the university, and so being able to serve the campus in a new way is really exciting, and I’m really looking forward to this next chapter.”
A member of the faculty since 2004, Bell served as the communication program lead for several years before moving into administration. Her teaching expertise includes News and Social Media Communication, Intercultural Communication, Visual Communication, and Publication Design and Management.
Bell’s connection to the Crookston campus spans generations, going back to her grandfather, Russell Tollefson, who was a graduate of the Northwest School of Agriculture, the residential high school located on the Crookston campus from 1905 through 1968. As an alumna of UMN Crookston herself, graduating in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in scientific and technical communication before earning her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of North Dakota in communication and public discourse, Bell has consistently called Crookston home.
“Having those family ties here back to the Northwest School of Agriculture, when my grandpa and great uncles and aunts attended here, one of the things that came from that is that my grandpa always talked about this place as something really special and something really important,” said Bell. “So I have, even since I was in high school or maybe even grade school, thought of the University of Minnesota Crookston as a special and important place in the Crookston community. So it’s really an honor to teach here, and now an honor to serve in a leadership role in this next stage.”
In her role, Bell provides leadership to the division’s faculty, academic programs, and staff. Reporting directly to the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, she collaborates with the Academic Affairs Council and serves on the Chancellor’s senior leadership team. Her responsibilities include leading unit-level strategic planning, overseeing faculty hiring and evaluation, and creating faculty development programs to support teaching and research while helping maintain the department’s growth over time.
“I think we have a lot of a really solid foundation, and so building on that and continuing to grow our programs, and we’re always looking for students and want to grow both campus and online, so continuing to build upon the good work that’s been done already,” explained Bell.
Bell will have some time to adjust to her new role and office before students return in person, as all summer courses at UMN Crookston are online. She is looking forward to having students back on campus this fall.
“I’m super excited for students to return. The students are the greatest part about this campus, and the thing that we are all here for, to make sure that our students have a great education, a good experience, whether it’s being involved in clubs or what you’re doing in the classroom, and how you’re working with your faculty.”
The business, arts, and education division at UMN Crookston comprises the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education Department, the Business Department, and the Early Childhood Development Center.
