SEMO REGENT COULD APPROVE A NEW PROVOST NEXT MONTH

Southeast Missouri State University could name a new provost next month, culminating a lengthy search that has school President Dr. Ken Dobbins offering apologies.

"I want to offer this word of apology to those who are concerned that the provost search has not been concluded," Dobbins said in a letter Wednesday to faculty and staff. "I am sorry that the process has taken so long."

He said he hopes to make a hiring recommendation in time for the Board of Regents to act at its May 12 meeting.

A search committee in February chose five finalists, who then visited the campus for interviews.

In early March, the search committee recommended three finalists to Dobbins. They were Dr. Jane Stephens, executive vice chancellor at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg; Dr. W. Hubert Keen, special assistant to the system provost for the State University of New York at Albany; and Dr. Stephen Bowen, vice provost for instruction at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich.

Bowen was invited back to the campus for a second set of interviews in mid-March. He was accompanied by his wife.

In his letter, Dobbins said Bowen subsequently withdrew his candidacy. He said Bowen cited "personal reasons which would make it impossible for him to accept the position."

Dobbins said Thursday that Bowen bowed out two or three weeks ago.

Dobbins said Stephens would be re-interviewed. She is scheduled to visit Southeast today and meet with school officials, including members of the Board of Regents.

She also is slated to talk with faculty, staff and students at an open forum from 2-3 p.m. today in the University Center Party Room.

In his letter, Dobbins has asked faculty and staff to e-mail comments to him after Friday's meetings.

Dobbins said his other duties as president have delayed the search process. He singled out his efforts in Jefferson City to lobby lawmakers regarding state funding for the school.

"These matters have kept me from devoting to this search process the time it deserves if we are to make absolutely certain that the individual chosen as our chief academic officer is the right person for the job, with support from all constituencies," he wrote.

Speech professor Dr. Tom Harte chaired the search committee. He welcomed Dobbins' decision to avoid a hasty decision.

Dobbins said his schedule remains so tight that today was the only opportunity for Stephens' second visit until May.

A former history professor at Southeast, Stephens said during her visit in February that it was "fun to be back."

Stephens was hired as a history instructor at Southeast in 1978. She moved up through the faculty ranks to a position as history professor. She served as academic associate in the provost's office from 1989 to 1993, and then as assistant provost from 1993 to 1994.

She then accepted a job as vice chancellor at the South Carolina school. In that role, she has served as the chief academic officer for the school.