Southeast Missouri State is in no rush to find AD

~ The university hopes to have a search firm in place by end of September

It apparently will be at least several months before Southeast Missouri State has a new athletic director.

Kathy Mangels, Southeast's vice president for finance and administration, said the university again will use a search firm to help with the process. She said the hope is to have a search firm in place by the end of September.

"We'll work on it over the fall semester," Mangels said of hiring an athletic director. "We don't have an exact time frame."

Southeast is in the market for an athletic director after John Shafer retired June 30 after about 2 1/2 years on the job.

Mangels said the university is in the process of putting out requests for proposals for search firms to assist in the process. The requests are expected to be out by early August.

"It'll take a couple of months to work through the process [of hiring a search firm]," Mangels said.

Southeast used a search firm in its most recent search for an athletic director that resulted in Shafer's hiring. The university also had a search firm conduct its athletics review in 2008.

Cindy Gannon, Southeast's associate director of athletics/senior woman administrator, is serving as Southeast's interim athletic director until the position is filled.

Gannon also served as the interim athletic director between Don Kaverman, who was let go in October 2008, and Schafer.

"Right now our main focus with athletics is on starting school, getting the seasons started," Mangels said. "Cindy does a great job. We've got a lot of confidence in her. We feel like everything is in great hands as we work through the fall semester."