Interviews under way for Mississippi State provost office

Contact: Kay Fike Jones

The first of three finalists is interviewing on campus for the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at Mississippi State University.

Roderick J. McDavis, dean of the University of Florida's College of Education, is meeting with faculty, staff, students, and administrators through Wednesday [April 22].

The second finalist, Jane L. Winer, will interview April 27- 29. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, she was a finalist for MSU's top academic post in 1994 following the retirement of Bill McDaniel.

The third candidate, Nancy A. Marlin, is scheduled for May 5-7. She is provost of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Mississippi State's provost and vice president for academic affairs reports directly to the president and, in the president's absence, is the university's chief administrative officer.

The provost is responsible of all academic undergraduate and graduate programs of studies, as well as for academic planning, policies and procedures.

Derek J. Hodgson, who currently holds the office, will step down by June 30 to return to classroom teaching and research at the university. He also is considering other options.

The provost search committee is being led by Leslie E. Bauman, chair of the Robert Holland Faculty Senate and a professor of physics and chemistry.