Southeast regents hire from within for new provost

Almost 19 years after joining Southeast Missouri State University as an assistant professor of biology, Dr. Bill Eddleman has been selected for one of the campus' top jobs -- its new provost.

The provost is Southeast's chief academic officer, responsible for eight colleges and schools, a news release from the university stated.

Eddleman replaces Ron Rosati, who left Southeast in the summer for a position at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business, served as interim provost.

Eddleman will start his new job Jan. 1. Having served as vice provost and dean of the School of Graduate studies, Eddleman said he works with McDougall daily.

"Part of the [provost] duties have fallen to me," Eddleman said.

Eddleman said he's looking forward to working with everyone on campus to offer high-quality programs to students.

"Of course, as long as I've been on campus, I know a reasonable percentage of the faculty. It's going to be a good experience working with people all over campus," he said.

In the release, Eddleman said he is the third generation on his mother's side of the family to be employed by Southeast. His grandfather worked in the university's power plant, and his aunt served as a maid in the Towers Complex, the release stated.

"I really love this place," he said in the release. "To come back here where my grandfather and aunt worked and to do something for the good of the students, region and the university is really the best thing."

Eddleman holds bachelor's and master's degrees in fisheries and wildlife from the University of Missouri-Columbia, the release stated. He earned a doctoral degree in wildlife ecology from Oklahoma State University and did postdoctoral work at the University of Wyoming, the release stated.

He was assistant and then associate professor of natural resource science at the University of Rhode Island for 6 1/2 years before coming to Southeast.

One of his goals as provost is a "relatively seamless transition."

Eddleman said it was a "very weird experience" -- for him and his colleagues -- interviewing for the provost's job.

"When you interview in a situation like this, you have to try and try and try to think 'I'm just one of the candidates. I have to act accordingly,' rather than, 'Hey, you all are my buddies.' It was an interesting experience," Eddleman said.

Board of regents president Doyle Privett of Kennett, Mo., called Eddleman a "great hire."

Privett said he knows Eddleman through Boy Scouts, which Eddleman is involved in, and from when Eddleman was dean of extended learning.

"I have always been real impressed with Dr. Eddleman," Privett said. "He will do a really fine job as provost for the university."

Because Eddleman already is at Southeast, it should be easier for him to hit the ground running, Privett said.

"I'm glad that we have a new provost in place that's a full-time provost that can lead the academic side of the university," he said. "That's a very important job in the university."

Regent Jay Knudtson participated in a teleconference Tuesday morning.

"The president made the recommendation to the board of regents. I felt the process was conducted in a very professional and fair way," Knudtson said. "We look forward to moving forward under Dr. Eddleman's leadership."

Parker Executive Search of Atlanta coordinated the national search for a provost, and a nine-member search panel began considering applicants in September.

The university contracted with Parker Executive Search for $45,000, plus expenses incurred, senior associate to the president Brady Barke said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

University president Kenneth Dobbins said the search process is designed and laid out in the faculty handbook.

"So we felt that if it's going to be a national search, we needed to have a firm help us with that, and we did that last time, too," he said.

More than 60 candidates expressed interest in the position. "I don't know how we would second-guess who was actually going to apply. ... I think a national search with a nationally known search firm validates that he [Eddleman] was the best candidate," Dobbins said.

Now the university will conduct an internal search to replace Eddleman as vice provost and dean of graduate studies.

Eddleman will receive an annual salary of $185,000, according to a separate email from Barke.

Dr. Hamner Hill, chairman of the search committee, has said Rosati made $158,000 a year.

Eddleman was chosen from four finalists for the position.

Hill said internal candidates always have an advantage, and Eddleman is "trusted and respected by everyone on campus."

"That's an extraordinary advantage," Hill said.

Other finalists were: Jeffrey Morin, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Dr. Larry Daniel, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville; and Dr. Gersham Nelson, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address: 1 University Plaza, Cape Girardeau