The UH System Board of Regents is expected to announce a finalist for the position of UH System President and Chancellor at a meeting today, according to its agenda.
The board will meet at 8:30 a.m. in the Athletics/Alumni Center.
Headed by Leroy Hermes, former chairman of the board of regents, the presidential search committee is scheduled to present a finalist to the board in closed executive session, according to the meeting agenda. Any finalist must be approved by the board in open session.
The UH presidency became vacant earlier this year when former UH President and Chancellor Jay Gogue stepped down to become president at Auburn University.
Serving as the interim UH President since has been John Rudley, otherwise UH’s vice president of administration and finance. He cannot be considered a permanent replacement for the position.
The search committee has whittled the number of applicants significantly from the initial 120 nominations submitted during the summer. At the last Faculty Senate meeting on Sept. 19, Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs David Bell said that the committee had narrowed the search down to 40 candidates, down to 15 and down to between seven and nine. Candidates have been interviewed privately to ensure confidentiality, Bell said.
Once the board makes a decision to appoint the next president and chancellor, the search committee, which includes four regents and five UH faculty members, will permanently disband.
Once a finalist is announced, the candidate will have to wait 21 days before taking office, according to state law, Bell said.
