Presidential Search Committee to interview eight candidates The University of North Dakota Presidential Search Committee met Monday, Nov. 5, and trimmed the list of candidates to eight. The committee, chaired by Paul LeBel, UND dean of Law, had planned to meet Nov. 6 to consider any applications filed up until midnight Monday, Nov. 5; there were no further applications and the meeting was canceled. The following eight candidates, in alphabetical order, were selected by the committee for screening interviews in Minneapolis Nov. 27-28: * Dennis Elbert, Dean, College of Business and Public Administration, University of North Dakota * Phyllis Johnson, Beltsville Area Director, USDA Agricultural Research Services * Robert Kelley, Dean, College of Health Sciences, University of Wyoming * Thomas Keon, Dean, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida * Kathleen Long, Dean, College of Nursing, University of Florida * Gary Olson, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University * Bruce Smith, Dean, Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota * Greg Weisenstein, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of North Dakota After the Nov. 27-28 screening, the committee will reduce the candidate pool to six to eight unranked candidates for campus interviews during Jan. 9-25. During a Jan. 28 meeting, the committee plans to select at least three candidates to recommend to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, which is scheduled to interview final candidates Feb. 4-5.