Who will be the next chancellor of the University of Alabama System?
Less than a month after Nick Saban retired and Kalen DeBoer was hired as the University of Alabama's football coach, UA will now begin the process of replacing the chancellor of its three-campus system.
On Thursday, Finis "Fess" St. John IV announced that he was leaving the chancellor's post he has held since 2018. St. John will become executive director of the Shelby Institute for Policy and Leadership, which will open this fall at UA's Tuscaloosa campus.
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Here's what we know about the search for UA's new chancellor:
Who will pick UA's chancellor?
The UA System board of trustees, which consists of 15 members from across the state, will directly hire St. John's replacement as chancellor, according to the Thursday news release.
Scott Phelps, the UA System board of trustees' president pro tempore, has already appointed a search committee to identify candidates to fill the chancellor's role. The search committee consists of some members of the UA System board of trustees. The news release did not say which board members are serving on the search committee.
The news release said the committee has already initiated its search and "will identify candidates who possess the attributes and qualifications necessary to continue to elevate the UA System and grow its impact across Alabama and beyond as established in the board’s bylaws and rules."
The new chancellor will serve at the board's pleasure.
What's the timeline for hiring a new chancellor?
On April 1, St. John will officially depart and Sid J. Trant will begin serving as interim chancellor.
Trant, the UA System's general counsel and senior vice chancellor of the UA System, will not be a candidate for chancellor on a permanent basis. The UA system news release says Trant will return to his role as general counsel/senior vice chancellor once the new chancellor is chosen.
UA didn't release any other details about the timeline for hiring a new chancellor.
Will the new chancellor have UA ties?
The last four UA chancellors – St. John (2018-2024), Ray Hayes (2016-2018), Robert E. Witt (2012-2016) and Malcolm "Mac" Portera (2002-2012) – were either employed in the UA system or had previously worked in the system when they were appointed.
St. John had served on the UA System board of trustees for 17 years, including three consecutive terms as president pro tempore. Hayes was the UA System's executive vice chancellor of finance and operations before becoming chancellor. Witt was serving as UA president when he was appointed chancellor.
Portera was president of Mississippi State University before becoming the UA System chancellor, but he had more than three decades of experience in administrative and academic roles at UA before he left for Starkville.
What does the chancellor do?
The UA System website describes the chancellor as the "chief executive officer of Alabama’s largest employer and (the state's) largest higher education enterprise."
The chancellor oversees three campuses – the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville – along with the UAB Health System.
The UA System serves more than 70,000 students and has annual economic impact of more than $15 billion across Alabama.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: What to know about the search for the UA System's new chancellor
