YOUNGSTOWN YSU pares list in provost search

A search committee will interview the seven candidates and recommend four finalists for the position.
By RON COLE
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Seven university administrators from Pennsylvania to California have made the first cut in Youngstown State University's search for a new provost.
A university search committee narrowed a list of 40 applicants to these seven:
UDr. Tony Atwater, dean of the college of professional studies and education at Northern Kentucky University.
UDr. Hsien-tung Liu, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
UDr. Paul Schollaert, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Illinois State University.
UDr. David Williams, assistant vice president for institutional diversity at Central Michigan University.
UDr. Mary Ellen Mazey, dean of the college of liberal arts at Wright State University.
UDr. Braja Das, dean of the college of engineering and computer science at California State University in Sacramento.
UDr. Rochelle Kelz, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Indiana University, Kokomo Campus.
"We have an excellent pool of very talented and very experienced people who also represent a good cross-section of what the country looks like in terms of ethnicity and diversity," said Dr. George McCloud, dean of YSU's College of Fine and Performing Arts and head of the provost search committee.
Provost's job: The provost oversees YSU's academic programs and is second in charge on campus behind the president. Dr. James Scanlon, YSU provost since 1992, left YSU in March to become president of Missouri Western State College.
The search committee will interview the seven candidates later this month and recommend four finalists to YSU President David Sweet.
The finalists will make two-day visits to campus in early May, and Sweet is expected to make a selection by July 1.
"I believe the president will have some good choices to make and the university will be well served," McCloud said.
YSU candidate: Dr. William Jenkins, a history professor and coordinator of YSU's general education program, was the only YSU candidate to apply, McCloud said.
"I think there's an appreciation for the need for the university to expand its horizons and bring in people who have fresh perspectives on the world," McCloud said.
"I think there's a general sense on the campus that that's probably a good thing to happen at this stage."
In addition to provost, YSU also is in the middle of looking for a new vice president for financial affairs.
Sweet, YSU trustees and other university officials will conclude campus interviews next week of the four finalists for that position.