TTU President Candidate Pool Narrowed to 3

The search advisory committee for a new president of Tennessee Technological University narrowed the candidate pool to three finalists after completing interviews yesterday and today.The three finalists will visit the TTU campus next week to meet with a variety of university constituent groups, including faculty and staff, students and the community.The finalists are:• Susan Elkins, vice president of Extended Programs and Regional Development and dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Tennessee Tech University;• Philip Oldham, provost and senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; and• Ralph V. Rogers, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University Calumet.The series of campus meetings will take place at the Nursing and Health Services Building auditorium next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, April 17-19. Open receptions for community members, alumni and friends of the university will be scheduled at Progressive Savings Bank in Cookeville each evening. A detailed schedule will be posted at www.tbr.edu once visit arrangements have been made. All of the campus forums will be streamed live through a link available at that website as well.The finalists were chosen from among eight first-round candidates who interviewed with the search advisory committee. Nine candidates were selected from the original pool of 37, but one withdrew before the interviews were completed. The successful candidate will replace TTU President Bob Bell, who announced his retirement effective July 1 after leading the university for 12 years.Members of the search committee will participate in the campus meetings and gather feedback from constituents. Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan will take input from the committee members and make the final recommendation for the next president to the Board of Regents for approval within the next few weeks.The Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system, governing 46 post-secondary educational institutions. The TBR system includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 27 technology centers, providing programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to more than 200,000 students.