University President Michael Adams announced the retirement of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Arnett Mace during the annual State of the University speech in January.

Since the announcement, inquiring minds have wondered who will fill the No. 2 administrative post at the University.

A history of inside hires led University Council member Susan Mattern-Parkes to introduce an item to the council at a March meeting – giving the council a larger say in the provost search and hiring process.

The four-part item stated the council would be kept up-to-date about the search at University Council meetings, a list of finalists would be announced to the council, finalists would make presentations before the council and it would vote on a final candidate, to be placed under advisement of the search committee.

Immediately after the motion passed, Adams said he thought the decision was “ill-advised,” and he said it would diminish the quality of candidates to apply for the position.

Weeks later Adams released a statement vetoing the motion, which Bruce Hollett, chair of the University Council Executive Committee, read at the committee’s monthly meeting. Adams cited the state’s “stringent open records law.”

He later relayed the message to University Council, three weeks after releasing the statement.

Chair of the Provost Search Committee Bill Potter said the search is “wide open” and all candidates are being considered.

The committee will take applications and nominations through June and will then narrow down the pool to 10 to 15 applicants.

Potter, who has chaired the two previous provost searches, said applicants usually are easy to weed out. He said keeping the privacy of the individuals applying for the job is important, especially in a down economic time, because applicants’ current jobs could be at stake.

Three to five final applicants will be selected by August, and Adams then has the sole discretion to appoint the person of his choosing.

Potter said Adams most likely will make the announcement of the new provost in September and that person will take over in January.

“We’ll have the new person named and the new person will come work with Dr. Mace while Dr. Mace is still a provost,” Potter said.