48 applied to succeed MSU President Clif Smart, finalists for job to be named this week

Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader
Updated ·2 min read
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Rob Fulp, chair of the presidential search committee at Missouri State University, provided an overview of how the process will work during an Oct. 2 meeting on campus.
Rob Fulp, chair of the presidential search committee at Missouri State University, provided an overview of how the process will work during an Oct. 2 meeting on campus.

A special meeting of Missouri State's Board of Governors has been called for Wednesday to select finalists in the search for the university's next president.

The virtual meeting is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday but much of it will be closed to the public, which is permitted by the Sunshine Law because it deals with a hiring decision.

President Clif Smart, the 11th president of the university, announced in early September that he will retire in summer 2024.

A presidential search committee was formed with banker Rob Fulp serving as the chair and business leader Amy Counts, a former member of the MSU board, serving as the vice chair.

In all, 48 candidates completed applications to be the 12th president, according to an update posted on the university's website.

Following an extensive review and discussion, the committee agreed to consider 11 of the candidates and they were invited to interview with the committee.

Clif Smart gave his final State of the University address Oct. 2 at the Plaster Student Union.
Clif Smart gave his final State of the University address Oct. 2 at the Plaster Student Union.

The group was described as "diverse in terms of race, sex, age, geographic region, institutional size, and professional background."

A slate of semifinalists were interviewed by the committee Jan. 3-5 at a Kansas City airport hotel. From that group, four candidates emerged as the top options. Their names have not been released publicly.

The university is in the process of conducting background and reference checks on each of the four.

More: End of an era: Missouri State University president Clif Smart to retire from 'job I love'

At the Wednesday meeting, the board is expected to approve the final slate of candidates for the university's top job.

The names of finalists will be announced after the Wednesday meeting.

Each will be scheduled for a two-day visit in Springfield and West Plans during either the second or fourth full week of February.

The university will provide detailed information about how members of the university community and beyond can interact with the candidates while they are on campus.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 48 applied for president's job at MSU, finalists to be named this week