The Southern Arkansas University Board of Trustees is likely to decide Thursday afternoon who will be hired as the next president of SAU.
The Board will convene at 3 p.m. in the Reynolds Center Grand Hall. They will adjourn to executive session, and it is anticipated the group will return to have a final vote to make a selection for President.
This meeting follows a thorough two-day interview process for each of the three final candidates: Phillip Marc Wilson, Ed.D., President of Rich Mountain Community College; Trey Berry, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at SAU; and Cornelius Wooten, Ph.D., Vice President for Administration and Finance at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The interview visits by each candidate began with a trip to SAU Tech to meet with the administration, faculty and staff, and student body. Once returning to the SAU System main campus at SAU Magnolia, the respective candidates had meetings, receptions, and presentations with the faculty, staff, students, administration, community, and Board. Following this process, the stakeholder groups were asked to share their thoughts of the candidates via an online survey. The anonymous survey results will be shared with the Board for their deliberation.
The SAU Board is being chaired by O.A. “Buddy” Franks, who filled the position after former Chair William “Bill” Stringfellow passed away on December 9 following heart surgery. Stringfellow tirelessly headed-up the SAU Presidential Search Committee, and was instrumental throughout the process.
Current SAU System President Dr. David Rankin will retire at the end of this academic year on June 30. Rankin has served SAU for 45 years, and the past 13 as president. In 2002, he set forth with his ambitious “Blue and Gold Vision,” SAU’s first capital campaign. He has almost completed that vision with numerous campus capital projects completed, totaling more than $100 million. The most recent project, the $4.4 million SAU Story Arena and Farmers Bank Reception Center, opened this spring.
