Murray State officials have narrowed their search down to two finalists for the next Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
The final candidates are Robert Fischer, Jr., Dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), and Mark Anderson, Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
The Search Committee will hold a public forum for each candidate 2:30-3:30 pm in Freed Curd Auditorium; Fischer will visit campus Monday, Nov. 7th, Anderson on Wednesday, Nov 9th.
Each candidate will provide an introduction on their background followed by a Q&A session with faculty, students and staff. Evaluation forms will be available at the forums. MSU also plans to livestream these forums online.
Brief candidate bios:
Dr. Fischer completed his Ph.D. in evolutionary biology at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. His expertise is in fisheries and aquatic biology and he has a prolific record of publication, presentation and grant funding in his field. Prior to his appointment at MTSU, Dr. Fischer was Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and also Associate Chair of Biology at Eastern Illinois University.
Dr. Anderson completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has held previous faculty and administrative appointments at the University of Colorado-Denver and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA. As a physical/analytical chemist, Dr. Anderson’s career highlights include an impressive list of publications and presentations, as well as mentorship of numerous student researchers.
In May, MSU began inviting applicants to apply for the position of Provost. Renae Duncan currently serves as Acting Provost after Interim Provost Tim Todd stepped down in March to return to teaching at the college of business. Todd held the office in place of MSU's last full Provost Jay Morgan, who left summer of last year for a position with the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education.
In a letter Wednesday, MSU President Bob Davies thanked the search committee for their work during the screening process.
