2008 Woodie Awards
President search could wrap up
Final decision, formal announcement scheduled for Wednesday
Kyle Hansen
Issue date: 5/13/08 Section: News
The new president of SJSU should be announced Wednesday morning, according to a California State University spokeswoman.
Claudia Keith, assistant vice chancellor for public affairs, said that the Board of Trustees interviewed the three final candidates yesterday and should make a formal announcement by the end of its meeting at noon Wednesday.
The new president will replace Don Kassing, who has led the school since 2004 and is expected to retire at the end of June.
SJSU media relations specialist Pat Lopes Harris said that while the board will probably pick one of the finalists to be the new president, there is a possibility that it will not settle on any of the candidates and will start the search over. The selected candidate could also decide to turn down the job, Lopes Harris said.
In 2004, two searches to replace President Robert Caret both failed. After an initial search, the trustees decided not to hire any of the finalists, according to professor Terry Christensen, who was on the advisory committee at the time. A second search led to the appointment of Paul Yu, who resigned after two weeks on the job.
Kassing was appointed interim president after Yu's departure and was later made a permanent president by the board.
Three finalists were selected by a search committee made up of four members of the Board of Trustees and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed. An additional advisory committee also helped to screen candidates.
The final candidates visited campus last week to speak with staff, students and the local media.
Elizabeth Grobsmith is currently the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northern Arizona University, where she is also a professor of anthropology. She previously worked at Utah State University, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Jon Whitmore is the only candidate with experience as a university president. He has been the leader of Texas Tech University since 2003. He also held administrative positions at the University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin and the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Eduardo Ochoa is the only candidate that has worked in the CSU system. He is currently the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Sonoma State. His previous experience includes deanships at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles.
The board's decision will be posted at theSpartanDaily.com as soon as it is made available Wednesday.
Spartan Daily staff writer Kate Taylor contributed to this report.
Claudia Keith, assistant vice chancellor for public affairs, said that the Board of Trustees interviewed the three final candidates yesterday and should make a formal announcement by the end of its meeting at noon Wednesday.
The new president will replace Don Kassing, who has led the school since 2004 and is expected to retire at the end of June.
SJSU media relations specialist Pat Lopes Harris said that while the board will probably pick one of the finalists to be the new president, there is a possibility that it will not settle on any of the candidates and will start the search over. The selected candidate could also decide to turn down the job, Lopes Harris said.
In 2004, two searches to replace President Robert Caret both failed. After an initial search, the trustees decided not to hire any of the finalists, according to professor Terry Christensen, who was on the advisory committee at the time. A second search led to the appointment of Paul Yu, who resigned after two weeks on the job.
Kassing was appointed interim president after Yu's departure and was later made a permanent president by the board.
Three finalists were selected by a search committee made up of four members of the Board of Trustees and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed. An additional advisory committee also helped to screen candidates.
The final candidates visited campus last week to speak with staff, students and the local media.
Elizabeth Grobsmith is currently the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northern Arizona University, where she is also a professor of anthropology. She previously worked at Utah State University, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Jon Whitmore is the only candidate with experience as a university president. He has been the leader of Texas Tech University since 2003. He also held administrative positions at the University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin and the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Eduardo Ochoa is the only candidate that has worked in the CSU system. He is currently the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Sonoma State. His previous experience includes deanships at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles.
The board's decision will be posted at theSpartanDaily.com as soon as it is made available Wednesday.
Spartan Daily staff writer Kate Taylor contributed to this report.
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