Ed Schafer

Schafer was appointed interim president of the University of North Dakota on November 9, 2016, by the Board of Higher Education. He said he had no intention to apply to become the next permanent president. Schafer signed a contract on December 2, 2015, to fill in for former University of North Dakota president Robert Kelley upon Kelley's retirement, which took place on January 14, 2016. Schafer reportedly accepted the interim post with "some hesitancy".

Despite his lack of academic leadership experience, Schafer became the highest-paid administrator in the state's entire higher education system history to that time. He was paid $33,216 per month for his work from January 15 to June 30, 2016. Schafer's contract paid him $2,250 per month more than retiring President Kelley had been earning after more than seven years in that position.

Among the tasks Schafer inherited was overseeing the final stages of the Fighting Sioux naming issue that erupted over objections by various tribes, ethnic groups, and First Nation peoples identifying as Sioux, as well as many other groups and thought leaders, because of the University's use of the Sioux name for its sports teams. On Schafer's first day as interim president, the University's Graphic Identity RFP Evaluation and Recommendation Team met to begin reviewing the 16 proposals from design firms for a new logo design for the Fighting Hawks. Five months later, near the end of his interim term, Schafer revealed the new logo at a news conference on June 22, 2016, calling the logo's debut a "historic moment".

On March 15, 2016, the selection of Mark Kennedy as the 12th president of the University of North Dakota was announced. Kennedy's term began on July 1 of that same year.

Schafer left the Secretary of Agriculture position at the end of the Bush administration in January 2009.

Schafer had wide support in the Senate. His hearing was originally scheduled for January 30, 2008, but was moved up by request of North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad so that Schafer could attend the State of the Union address as a cabinet member. That confirmation hearing was held on January 24, with senators asking Schafer questions on various topics such as US beef exports to Japan and South Korea, the Department of Agriculture's ability to deliver on programs passed by Congress, policy on sugar, and cotton prices. On January 28 he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Later that day, as Secretary of Agriculture, Schafer attended the State of the Union Address with other members of the President's cabinet.

In his February 28, 2008, testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Schafer said he "would not endorse an outright ban on 'downer' cows entering the food supply or back stiffer penalties for regulatory violations by meat-processing plants in the wake of the largest beef recall in the nation's history."

Under Schafer's leadership, the Agriculture Department promised to improve animal welfare and human food safety. On August 27, 2008, the USDA announced a proposed change in the rule regarding the treatment and handling of downer cattle. In a reversal of his February testimony to the Senate, Schafer said that "to maintain consumer confidence in the food supply, eliminate further misunderstanding of the rule and, ultimately, to make a positive impact on the humane handling of cattle, I believe it is sound policy to simplify this matter by initiating a complete ban on the slaughter of downer cattle." As Schafer had predicted in his February 2008 testimony, Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company subsequently went out of business.

Schafer's long-held interest in conservation led him to help arrange the U.S. Forest Service's May 2007 purchase of the 5,200-acre Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota. The Elkhorn Ranch was established by former United States president Theodore Roosevelt as his main working ranch in the North Dakota Badlands, and is now protected as a unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

In October 2007 Schafer was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to be the next Secretary of Agriculture.

The Humane Society of the United States received video showing multiple instances of workers abusing and torturing cattle who had fallen and were unable to walk into kill pens on their own, videographed in October and November 2007. The Humane Society and many meat animal experts, ethicists and nutritionists objected to the use of downer cattle, or non-ambulatory cattle for human food, because of health, food safety, and because the cruelty showed ethical lapses on Hallmark's part in overseeing its employees' behavior.

In 2003 Schafer competed during the show's fifth season, when he also served as the captain of the "High Flyers" team. His team took 2nd place in the competition, losing to the "Jet Doctors" in the season finale.

In 2002 Schafer was appointed as civilian aide to the United States Secretary of the Army.

In 1999-2000 Schafer served as chair of the Republican Governors Association. He did not seek reelection as governor in 2000.

When Schafer ran for reelection in 1996, he and Myrdal defeated Lee Kaldor, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, and Barbara Pyle, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Schafer and Myrdal received about two-thirds of the vote.

In 1995 Schafer served as Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.

Schafer was elected twice as the 30th governor of North Dakota, holding office from 1992 to 2000. He is a Republican and a self-styled conservative.

In 1990 Schafer unsuccessfully challenged then-U.S. Congressman Byron Dorgan as Dorgan ran for reelection. Schafer captured 35% of the vote to Dorgan's 65%. He entered the 1992 North Dakota gubernatorial campaign as the Republican nominee. He and Republican lieutenant governor nominee Rosemarie Myrdal defeated the Democratic nominee for governor, former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth, and the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Julie Hill. Schafer and Myrdal captured nearly 58% of the vote, to 41% for Spaeth and Hill.

During his time in office, he helped to build a closer trading relationship with China in concert with other North Dakota government officials, federal government trade specialists and private sector business leaders. These efforts assisted in the development of China into a primary export market for North Dakota's products and services in the 1990s.

Ed Schafer rose through the ranks at Gold Seal, working in several divisions of the company until serving as company president from 1978 to 1985. At its height Gold Seal generated more than $50 million in annual revenues, making it one of North Dakota's largest privately held firms.

Schafer attended the University of North Dakota, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1969. There he became a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of Denver in 1970.

Edward Thomas Schafer (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who was the 30th governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000. Schafer also served as the 29th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009, appointed by President George W. Bush. From January to July 2016 he served as interim president of the University of North Dakota.

Schafer took a full-time job after graduation with his family's firm, the Gold Seal Company. Gold Seal was a North Dakota-based manufacturing company founded by his father, Harold Schafer, in 1942.