Zinser A Finalist For West Virginia Post UI President’s Chances Improve With Endorsement By Faculty

University of Idaho President Elisabeth Zinser is one of three finalists for the top job at West Virginia University.

The presidential search committee narrowed its list of finalists from five to three who will be presented to the University System of West Virginia board of trustees. The panel has tentatively scheduled a meeting for May 16-17 to meet with the finalists.

Trustees hope to name the new president June 2. That person will replace Neil Bucklew, who is resigning after nine years as president.

Zinser, 55, has been president at Idaho since 1989.

Other finalists include: G. Jay Gogue, acting vice president/vice provost for agriculture and natural resources, and vice president for research at Clemson University; and David C. Hardesty, Jr., a Charleston, W.Va., attorney who resigned from the university’s board of trustees in order to pursue the president’s job.

Zinser’s chances of landing the post increased Thursday when a group of faculty representatives came out in support of her.

She said while that support gives her hope, “you have to assume that all three candidates are serious candidates.”

WVU has the full scope of programs, including the health sciences, she said. The university presents some interesting opportunities and challenges, such as developing programs around the state, she said.

State lawmakers have put in place legislation which will require all the schools to conduct significant restructuring, Zinser said. But it has also put in place funding to help out.

Zinser should find out whether she is president at West Virginia or Kentucky in mid-June. She said it would be premature to talk about the salaries offered for either position. Bucklew earned a base salary of $113,000 in 1994-95.

Zinser makes more than $120,000 per year at Idaho.