Posted: June 18, 2025
Contact: Noelle Hawton, Noelle.Hawton@MinnState.edu, 651-201-1801
ST. PAUL, Minn., June 18, 2025 – The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities has unanimously re-elected Dawn Erlandson to the role of vice chair, a one-year term.
“Serving as vice chair this past year has been such a privilege,” Erlandson said. “I am honored and humbled by the confidence my fellow trustees have put in me with this re-election.”
Dr. Yang has devoted her career to serving students at Minnesota State colleges and universities, both in the classroom and in leadership roles on campus and at the system office. She has a proven track record of fostering student success, increasing enrollment and retention, and championing inclusion and belonging efforts.
Dr. Yang currently serves as provost and vice president of academic and student affairs at Century College in White Bear Lake, Minn., a position she has held since 2021. In this role, she has worked to increase student success and narrow equity gaps through data-driven, evidence-based practices and strategies. She implemented a comprehensive approach to recruitment and retention across academic and student affairs, which has maintained or grown enrollment at the college during her tenure. She has also supported innovations in academic programs, delivery models, and strategic scheduling.
Erlandson has served on the Board of Trustees since 2012. She served as vice chair from 2017-2018 and was elected vice chair again in June 2024. She is the president of Aurora Strategic Advisors, Inc., where she leads public affairs and marketing communications efforts for local, state, and national clients.
She served as chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Community College Trustees from 2019-2020, the chair of UPSTREAM, a national environmental organization, the founding executive director of the Great Plains Institute, the market mechanisms coordinator for President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development, and as board president of the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Foundation.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamline University.
About Minnesota State
Minnesota State includes 26 community and technical colleges and seven state universities serving approximately 270,000 students. It is the fourth-largest system of two-year colleges and four-year universities in the United States.
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