The man who will become the new University of Northern Iowa president will be known by this afternoon. Regent Nicole Carroll told other members of the board Wednesday that are down to the finalists after the search committee started with 45 applicants.
“It turned out to be a significant amount of time, and everybody was really very dedicated to the process. And we should be really very proud of the effort that was put forth in the whole process,” Carroll said. The 45 candidates were narrowed down to nine who were invited for interviews in Minneapolis.
Carroll said they invited 4 of the 9 to interviews on campus and there were three that accepted the offer to appear on campus for a two-day interview process that she described as being “intense” with interviews with “a multitude of constituencies and groups.” One candidate pulled out, leaving two finalists.
“The committee has recommended that two of the candidates be forward on to the Board of Regents for the opportunity to be considered (as) the 10th president of UNI,” Carroll said.
The board will interview the two finalists, William Ruud, president of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania; and Michael Wartell, former chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, today in a closed meeting in West Des Moines.
They are expected to select one of the two and announce their decision by early afternoon. The person chosen will replace retiring President Ben Allen on the Cedar Falls campus.