UND Names Melissa Gruys Nistler College Dean
Gruys, a Cleveland State management professor, will take over the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration deanship on January 2, 2026.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in People
The University of North Dakota has named Melissa L. Gruys dean of its Nistler College of Business and Public Administration. She will succeed Patrick O'Neill, who has served as interim dean since July 2025.
Why it matters
The appointment fills a leadership post at a Grand Forks college that has been under interim direction for more than a year. Gruys brings more than two decades of higher education experience to a college that is growing in enrollment and has a new building.
Gruys has more than 25 years of higher education experience and has served about a decade as dean of business colleges at Cleveland State and Purdue University Fort Wayne. The source does not detail her specific achievements in those roles.
The players
Melissa L. Gruys
Gruys is a professor of management at Cleveland State University Monte Ahuja College of Business with more than 25 years of higher education experience.
Patrick O'Neill
O'Neill joined the University of North Dakota in 1987 and has served as interim dean of Nistler College since July 2025.
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public research university in Grand Forks that houses the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration.
The details
Gruys is a professor of management at Cleveland State University Monte Ahuja College of Business and will assume the Nistler deanship on January 2, 2026. The university announced the appointment, which replaces Patrick O'Neill, who has been interim dean since July 2025.
Timeline
July 2025: Patrick O'Neill began serving as interim dean of Nistler College.
January 2, 2026: Melissa L. Gruys assumes the role of Nistler dean.
Market Landscape
The Nistler College appointment follows a year of interim leadership at a business school in Grand Forks that is growing in enrollment. Gruys's move from Cleveland State to a North Dakota public university adds a dean with experience at two other business colleges.
For Grand Forks students and prospective business majors, the leadership change at Nistler College is the most immediate shift, since the college now has a permanent dean after more than a year under an interim. The source does not describe changes to tuition, programs, or admissions.
The takeaway
A permanent dean brings continuity to a growing business college, and readers following higher education leadership can track how Gruys sets priorities after she starts in January 2026.
Further reading
Explore more People coverage for other leadership moves in business and academia.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Grand Forks Herald.
