Dr. Mike Rao, former President of Mission College in the California Community College system, was named Chancellor of Northern in July of 1998 and moved to Havre with his new bride, Monica, in September. He arrived on a campus stressed by nearly a decade of budget cuts and enrollment declines, and set about rebuilding trust, expanding the governance structure, and stabilizing enrollments. He left in July of 2000 for a position as President of Central Michigan University.