Armstrong appoints Levi Bachmeier, Patrick Sogard to North Dakota Board of Higher Education

BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced today he has appointed Levi Bachmeier of West Fargo and Patrick Sogard of Williston to four-year terms on the State Board of Higher Education starting July 1.

“Levi and Pat bring valuable experience in education policy, finance and operations to the State Board of Higher Education as our colleges and universities are being challenged by changing demographics and learning models. Our University System is still the best workforce recruiting tool we have, and we need our campuses to align their offerings with workforce needs, adapt to trends and thrive, not just survive,” Armstrong said. “We’re thankful for their willingness to serve and the passion for higher education shared by all the candidates.”

Bachmeier has served as business manager of the West Fargo School District since 2019. From 2016 to 2019 he served as an education policy adviser and policy director for then-North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Bachmeier previously taught high school social studies for two years with Teach for America and spent a summer as a policy analyst fellow at the U.S. Department of Education. A native of West Fargo, Bachmeier earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. He currently serves on the North Dakota Board of Public Education and North Dakota Career and Technical Education Board, in addition to coaching track and field.

Sogard has chaired the board of American State Bank & Trust Co. in Williston since 2003, also serving as a trust officer from 2000 to 2005. He previously worked as an attorney in private practice from 1986 to 2000. A native of Alamo, N.D., Sogard studied at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned his bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and his law degree from the UND School of Law. He is a past board member of Mercy Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Elementary School, both in Williston, and currently serves on the board of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.

Both appointments are subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Bachmeier will succeed board member Casey Ryan, a Grand Forks physician who is completing his second term on the board, the maximum allowed by the state Constitution. Sogard will succeed board member Jeffry Volk, a retired Fargo consulting engineer who has served on the board since 2021.

The Board of Higher Education has eight voting members appointed by the governor, including one student member, and two non-voting members who represent the North Dakota University System’s faculty and staff. The board oversees the system’s 11 public colleges and universities.