Metropolitan State University narrowed down its search for a new president from five candidates to three finalists.

Sacramento State’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Joseph Sheley was among the finalists.

Sheley said he was offered a job from the chancellor of the Minnesota State colleges and universities for the presidential position, but decided not to take the opportunity. “It wasn’t a bad offer. It wasn’t a bad opportunity, but when I weighed the two (universities) up against each other, (Sac State) is where I want to be,” Sheley said.

The offer from Chancellor James McCormick was pending approval from the Board of Trustees.

Sheley said this meant the offer was not set in stone, but rather it was a 99 percent certainty he would have gotten the position as president at Metropolitan State. All that was left was for the Board of Trustees to officially announce that it had accepted the chancellor’s recommendation.

“More often than not, the chancellor’s recommendation is who the next president will be,” said Melinda Voss, public relations director for the Minnesota State colleges and universities system.

Sheley said the offer was a generous one and that he was flattered by the opportunity, but he felt he was not ready to leave Sac State.

“My passion for this university is strong; it always has been,” Sheley said. “We are going through difficult times with the budget cuts. I care about this place and want to work through those difficulties.”

Sheley was in Minnesota on March 17 and 18 for the initial interviews as one of the five candidates. As a finalist, Sheley went back to Minnesota on March 27 when he met with the chancellor again and received the offer to be the next president.

Although Sheley did not accept this position, he said he eventually would like to become president of a university.

“I wouldn’t have gone through all this if I wasn’t entertaining the options. I want to become a president in the right circumstances,” Sheley said. “Sac State has a bright future, and I want to be a part of that future.”

Sheley said that becoming a president involves a different set of challenges than provost.

In his current position, Sheley’s focus is on the academic aspect of Sac State, and working to integrate all the academic colleges on a common path.

“The challenges for any president are to move beyond that and work on joining all the units on campus to reach common goals,” Sheley said, referring to all academic and student-run divisions on campus.

Getting the community involved with the university and working on improving external relationships are things that presidents work on improving. Trying to integrate all these aspects is one of the biggest challenges of being a president, Sheley said.

The search for president at Metropolitan State resumed. The chancellor made a decision about who his new recommendation would be.

The two remaining finalists for president were Kevin Kelvin Eke and Sue Kiefer Hammersmith.

Hammersmith has served as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay since 2002.

Eke has served as provost and vice president for Academic and Student Affairs at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania since 2002.

All three finalists, including Sheley, met with the chancellor, along with one to three members of the Board of Trustees, during the final interviews.

“From the two remaining finalists, the candidate that emerged was Sue K. Hammersmith,” said Linda Kohl, associate vice chancellor for Public Affairs. “She has accepted and has been recommended by the chancellor to the Board of Trustees.”

A special meeting will be held on April 16 when the Board of Trustees will meet to consider the chancellor’s recommendation and make the final decision, Kohl said.

Pending approval of the Board of Trustees, Kohl said Hammersmith will likely begin her position as Metropolitan State’s newest president on July 1, which is when the new fiscal school year begins.

Hammersmith is also a professor of social change and development and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and more recently served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Ferris State University before becoming Wisconsin-Green Bay’s university provost.

Metropolitan State has campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis and serves more than 9,000 students.

The new president will replace William Lowe, who has been serving as interim president at Metropolitan State since former president Wilson Bradshaw left to take on a new position in Florida.

Isela Reyes can be reached at [email protected].