And then there were four.

The provost search committee has narrowed down more than 60 candidates, and President Michael Adams is scheduled to choose the final person in September to replace Provost Arnett Mace.

During the next two weeks, the four candidates – Jere Morehead, vice president for instruction at the University; Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, dean of arts and sciences at University of South Carolina; Robert Newman, dean of humanities and associate vice president for interdisciplinary studies at the University of Utah; and Sallie Keller-McNulty, dean of engineering at Rice University – will present information on their background in public sessions at the Chapel. The first session will feature Morehead this Friday afternoon.

“They will have five to 10 minutes to make a brief presentation on their background. Then we will open it up for questions,” said Bill Potter, head librarian and chair of the search committee. “We expect to have about 45 minutes of questions, which is really the primary purpose of doing this.”

The provost oversees instruction, research, public service and outreach and student affairs. All of the University’s 16 deans report to the provost, and the sessions encourage students, faculty and staff to ask questions about the candidates’ qualifications in each area.

The public sessions were introduced to the University Council in March by member Susan Mattern-Parkes to give the council a larger say in the search after a trend of inside hires.

Adams immediately said the decision was “ill-advised” because it would diminish the quality of candidates and later vetoed the motion because of Georgia’s “stringent open records law.”

But Bill Potter, head of the previous two provost searches, said he is “absolutely” confident the committee has chosen the best four candidates. Adams has the sole discretion to appoint the final person, who will train this fall with Provost Mace and take over the position in January.

Mary Anne Fitzpatrick: At the University of South Carolina since 2005, Fitzpatrick is the founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and an Educational Foundation distinguished professor of psychology. She was also deputy dean at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science. She is former president and a Fellow of the International Communication Association and has received its Career Achievement Award. Her public session is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.

Jere Morehead: At the University since 1986, Morehead is vice president for instruction at the University and the Meigs Professor of Legal Studies in the Terry College of Business. He was named vice president for instruction in 2007 after serving on an interim basis in 2006. He served as vice provost for academic affairs, associate provost and director of the Honors Program and executive director of Legal Affairs. His public session is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.

Sallie Keller-McNulty: At Rice University since 2005, Keller-McNulty is the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. She was a group leader in statistical sciences at Los Alamos National Laboratory and professor and director of graduate studies in the Kansas State University department of statistics. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Statistical Association. Her public session is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Robert Newman: At the University of Utah since 2001, Newman is dean of humanities, associate vice president for interdisciplinary studies and a professor of English. Newman has established several interdisciplinary programs, including international studies, environmental humanities, disability studies and the Asia Center. He has increased development funding to the College of Humanities by an average of 300 percent annually and increased external grant funding by an average of 1,300 percent annually. His public session is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26.