Four finalists for the top job at Illinois State University are slated for a series of public forums on campus later this month, pending final approval from the board of trustees.
ISU's governing body will vote during a regularly scheduled meeting Friday on whether to approve the slate of finalists presented by the 29-member presidential search committee.
That committee spent three days last week interviewing 11 semi-finalists in closed session meetings, narrowing the pool down to five people before one candidate withdrew from the process for personal reasons.
Forums for each of the final four candidates have been scheduled to run from 1:30-2:45 p.m. on Feb. 19, 22, 26 and 29 in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center.
The university plans to publicize the candidates' names and related information — curricula vitae, or CVs, and biographies — 24 hours before the candidate is scheduled to appear for a forum. That information will be available via a dedicated page on ISU's website.
ISU's presidential search committee has been working alongside Atlanta-based firm Parker Executive Search since October to find the university's next permanent leader.
Aondover Tarhule, hired in 2020 as ISU's provost and vice president of academic affairs, has been interim president since February 2023.
A total of 41 people applied for the job, which closed for applications on Jan. 10.
