Jon McTaggart, president and CEO of American Public Media Group, will be the 33rd recipient of Bemidji State University's Distinguished Minnesotan Award

First presented by Bemidji State in 1981, the Distinguished Minnesotan Award acknowledges the contributions of current or former residents of the state who have performed exemplary service to the people of Minnesota or the United States.

The Distinguished Minnesotan award was presented annually from 1981-2009, and was not awarded in 2010 or 2012. The honoree traditionally gives Bemidji State’s commencement address. The university’s 96th Commencement ceremony will be held May 8 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji.

For more information on Bemidji State University’s commencement ceremony, visithttp://www.bemidjistate.edu/commencement.

About Jon McTaggart

Jon McTaggart is chief executive officer of American Public Media Group, the parent company of Minnesota Public Radio, American Public Media and The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn., Southern California Public Radio in Los Angeles and Classical South Florida in Miami.

McTaggart has been deeply involved in the growth of the group since 1983, beginning as an MPR station manager in Bemidji. He has since served in multiple capacities, including general manager, vice president of business development, senior vice president for new media, senior vice president of content and media and chief operating officer. In addition to his roles at American Public Media, McTaggart has led strategic planning, communications, fundraising and business development as executive director of a hospital foundation in Reading, Pa., and advancement and external relations as vice president of a liberal arts university in Riverside, Calif.

He is a member of the Second Harvest Heartland board and has previously served as a board member for the BSU Foundation and National Public Radio.

He and his wife Debra live in Maplewood, Minnesota, and have two daughters and three grandchildren.

McTaggart earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from Bemidji State and holds a master’s degree in public administration from Kutztown University.

Contact

• Maryhelen Chadwick, communications and marketing specialist, BSU Alumni and Foundation; (218) 755-2122, mchadwick@bemidjistate.edu

Links

• McTaggart’s official bio at Minnesota Public Radio:http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/people/mpr_people_display.php?aut_id=30245

• McTaggart on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jonmctaggart

Recipients of Bemidji State University’s Distinguished Minnesotan award

1981 Sigurd Olson, naturalist and author

1982 Karl Kassulke, athlete and handicap advocate

1983 Janet Dearholt Esty, businesswoman and entrepreneur

1984 Frederick F. Manfred, author

1985 Dr. John Najarian, transplant surgeon

1986 Dr. Harlan Cleveland, political scientist

1987 Muriel Buck Humphrey Brown, advocate for the disadvantaged

1988 Elmer L. Andersen, businessman and former governor

1989 Curtis L. Carlson, businessman and philanthropist

1990 William S. Marvin, businessman and community leader

1991 Meridel LeSueur, writer and social activist

1992 Veda Ponikvar, newspaper publisher

1993 Nellie Stone Johnson, political and social activist

1994 Cheryl Dickson, leader in humanities programming

1995 William H. Kling, innovator in public radio

1996 Jerry Willet, businessman and former state senator

1997 Ann Bancroft, explorer of the North Pole and South Pole

1998 Bob Bergland, congressman and former U.S. secretary of agriculture

1999 Coya Knutson, congresswoman

2000 Jon Hassler, author and educator

2001 Libby Larsen, composer

2002 Rosalie Wahl, Minnesota Supreme Court justice

2003 Edgar Heteen, entrepreneur and snowmobile pioneer

2004 Herb Brooks, men’s ice hockey coach

2005 Gerald Vizenor, author and educator

2006 Kathleen Blatz, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court

2007 Paul Wellstone, U.S. Senator & Shiela Wellstone, advocate against domestic abuse

2008 Dr. Alex Cirillo, Jr., vice president for community affairs, 3M

2009 Don Shelby, television anchor

2010 [no award given]

2011 Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows & Doors

2012 [no award given]

2013 Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, senior military assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense

2014 Trudy Rautio, Carlson Companies CEO

2015 Jon McTaggart, president & CEO, American Public Media Group