A University dean could be moving from the Classic City to the Carolinas.

George Benson, dean of the Terry College of Business, has been named one of five finalists to be the next president of the College of Charleston, according to a press release from the South Carolina college.

“It’s always flattering to be approached by other schools, particularly when it’s for a job with more responsibilities. But it would take a very special opportunity to entice me to leave UGA,” Benson wrote in a prepared statement e-mailed to The Red & Black.

In fall 2004, Benson turned down an offer to take over as dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona at Tucson.

Benson, who has led Terry since 1998, will visit Charleston on Oct. 16 to tour the campus and meet with faculty and students.

If chosen, Benson will serve as the 21st president of the college, which is the oldest in South Carolina and has a student body of about 9,800.

Other candidates for the position include:

_�Katherine S. Conway-Turner, provost and vice president of academic affairs at the State University of New York at Geneseo.

_�Stephen L. Jones, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense.

_�Ralph W. Kuncl, provost of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

_�Richard H. Wells, chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

During his eight years at the University, Benson has raised more than $35 million for the Terry College and led the establishment of two new research centers: the Institute for Leadership Advancement and the Center for Information Systems Leadership.