     The South Dakota Board of Regents has picked 4 finalists to be the next president of Black Hills State University. Regent and search committee chairman Jeff Partridge says all 4 will make campus visits to Spearfish this Monday and Tuesday
Only one of the finalists has ties to South Dakota. Dr Matt Cecil, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Northern Kentucky University, is a native of the state and a past faculty member at South Dakota State.
Steve Elliott has lived next door to South Dakota for the past 20 years as a faculty member of administrator at Wayne State College. He’s been Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2016.
Dr Frederich Chilson is Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho, but has also taught at the University of Montana Western, Eastern New Mexico University, and Adams State University.
Dr Angie Fincannon is Dean of the College of Business at Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne and a past vice chancellor for advancement at Indiana University Purdue University. She was also volleyball coach, faculty member, dean, assistant provost, and athletic director at Taylor University.
During their campus visits, the finalists will meet with constituents and the regents to discuss their candidacy further.
Among the constituent groups they’ll interact with include faculty members, students, administrative and professional staff, civil service employees, BHSU Foundation representatives, university alumni, and the Spearfish community.
The finalists will also meet individually with the Regents and the campus representatives of the search committee.
Current Black Hills State President Dr Laurie Nichols announced in April that she is retiring next June. Nichols is a former president of the University of Wyoming and has also held administrative posts at Northern State and South Dakota State.