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SOU candidates narrowed to three By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � The secret search is over. Three candidates have been named finalists for the president�s position at Southern Oregon University. Oregon University System Chancellor Joe Cox announced Friday that the finalists are Marvin C. Henberg, a vice president at Linfield College; Bryan M. Johnston, a dean at Willamette University; and Elisabeth A. Zinser, chancellor of the University of Kentucky at Lexington. The candidates will visit SOU next week for interviews with school representatives � from students to state Board of Higher Education members � as well as community members. A president is expected to be appointed Friday during a special meeting of the state board in Ashland. The appointee will replace former president Stephen Reno, who left last summer to serve as chancellor of the university system of New Hampshire. Interim President Sara Hopkins-Powell applied for the permanent post but stepped out of the race earlier this month; she says she will return to her position as provost and vice president for academic affairs next year. "We�re extremely pleased with the caliber of our finalists," search committee chair and state board member Bill Williams said in a written statement. "All are highly experienced academic administrators and top-quality educators. "We�re excited to bring them to the campus to meet the SOU community and the OUS board." The public will have the opportunity to meet the candidates during individual receptions in the Stevenson Union�s Redford Lounge. Each reception is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Henberg�s reception will be held Monday, while Zinser and Johnston will meet with community members Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The candidates: � Marvin C. Henberg, 52, is vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Linfield College, a private school in McMinnville. He has previously served as director of Linfield�s environmental studies program and director of the honors program at the University of Idaho. Henberg said he is attracted to SOU because of its liberal arts and sciences curriculum, as well as its emphasis on teaching and students. He said he�s "intrigued" and "pleased" by its focus on environmental science and the arts. Henberg said he hasn�t spent much time in Ashland, but enjoys rafting on the Rogue River. He holds a bachelor�s degree from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, a master�s degree from Oxford University in England and a doctorate from the University of Texas, Austin. � Bryan M. Johnston has served as dean of the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University in Salem since 1998. A state representative from 1994 to 1998, Johnston also served as interim president at Willamette from 1997 to 1998. He was associate dean of the College of Law from 1984 to 1991 and director of the Center for Dispute Resolution from 1986 to 1989. Johnston was in a trustees meeting at Willamette on Friday and could not be reached for comment. He holds a bachelor�s degree from Northern Illinois University and a jurist doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago. � Elisabeth A. Zinser, 60, has worked as chancellor of the University of Kentucky at Lexington campus since 1995. The university, which includes a community college and medical center, is overseen by a president; each branch is administered by a chancellor. She was UK�s first female chancellor and, if appointed, would be SOU�s first permanent female president. Zinser has previously served as president of the University of Idaho and Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and has held administrative positions at public universities in North Carolina, North Dakota and Kentucky. Zinser said she�s interested in helping maintain SOU�s tradition as an accessible and public learning institution, while building up its reputation as a community resource for academic research and enterprise. She said she believes SOU "has the potential to come to be known as one of the very finest liberal arts residential learning environments in the West." Zinser, who has family in Northern California and is a frequent Ashland visitor, said she enjoys the outdoors. She holds a bachelor�s degree from Stanford University in California and master�s and doctoral degrees from University of California at Berkeley. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.