MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota native has been chosen president of Norway's largest university.

Fifty-two-year-old Curt Rice will take over as rector of Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences on Aug. 1. The school's board made the announcement last week.

Reports say Rice currently is a professor in the Department of Languages and Linguistics at the university in Tromso, Norway.

In a statement, Rice said University College "plays an important role in providing skilled professionals in many sectors, such as education, health and technology."

Rice received his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Augsburg College in 1984. He grew up in Rochester and graduated from Rochester Mayo High School in 1980.

His parents live in Bemidji, and his wife, Tove Dahl, runs a Norwegian language camp just outside Bemidji.

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