Presidential Search Committee Announces Five Finalists

SALISBURY, MD---Five finalists for the Salisbury State University presidency were announced today by the Presidential Search and Screening Committee.

The finalists will visit the campus and meet with constituent groups in the next three to four weeks. The Presidential Search Committee, composed of members of SSU's faculty, staff and alumni, the Salisbury community and the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, will then forward the names of three of the finalists to the Board of Regents who will interview the candidates and make the final presidential decision. It is anticipated the new SSU president will be announced in April. The starting date is July 1.

The five finalists are: Dr. Wilson B. Bradshaw, provost and vice president of academic affairs, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Barbara S. Haskew, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Middle Tennessee State University; Dr. Samuel A. Kirkpatrick, senior fellow, American Association of State Colleges and Universities; Dr. Michael Rao, chancellor, Montana State University-Northern; and Dr. Richard H. Wells, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Indiana State University.

The Presidential Search Committee, chaired by Dr. Thomas W. Jones, dean of the SSU's Henson School of Science and Technology, reviewed applications of some 90 candidates from throughout the nation for the position. SSU's presidential search began this summer following the resignation of Dr. William C. Merwin, who left Salisbury State to become president of Florida Gulf Coast University. Since September, Dr. Joel Jones, former president of Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, has served as interim president at Salisbury State. Joel Jones will continue in that position through the end of the spring semester.

At Salisbury State some 6,000 students in 30 undergraduate and eight graduate programs pursue liberal arts and professional degrees. SSU has a national reputation for excellence in undergraduate teaching and learning. In its most recent review of public institutions, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazineranked SSU among the top 10 percent nationally, U.S. News & World Report included SSU on its list of top 10 public regional universities in the North and The Princeton Review ranked SSU among the nation's 331 best campuses, both public and private.

A rarity among public universities nationwide, all four of SSU's schools have multimillion dollar endowments: Perdue School of Business, Henson School of Science and Technology, Fulton School of Liberal Arts and Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies.

Salisbury State is part of the University System of Maryland, the 12th largest public university system in the nation with 13 different institutions. Located on the Eastern Shore 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and 20 miles from the Chesapeake Bay, Salisbury is 2 1/2 hours from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Norfolk, VA, and Wilmington, DE.