Four finalists have so far been selected from a field of about 90 applicants for the chancellorship of the University of Washington, Tacoma. Screening interviews by the search committee are continuing, and additional finalists may be added to the group of candidates who will visit the campus later this quarter.

The chancellor’s position became available when UW Tacoma Chancellor Vicky Carwein, who was hired in 1995 as the first permanent head of the campus, left to assume the presidency of Westfield State College, in Massachusetts.

Finalists for the position so far are Michael J. Field, vice president for academic affairs and provost at Shawnee State University, in Ohio; Thomas L. Krepel, president of Chadron State College, in Nebraska; Steven G. Olswang, interim chancellor of the UW Tacoma; and Patricia Spakes, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

The candidates are being invited to spend several days meeting with UWT faculty, students, staff, community members and community college presidents, as well as with members of the University of Washington community. Dates for the campus visits are being arranged.

The search committee is chaired by Ginger MacDonald, director of UWT’s education program, and Bruce Bare, dean of the College of Forest Resources at the UW.

”We have a strong pool of applicants,” said MacDonald, in a statement, “and we are excited to introduce the top candidates. During their visits they will have enough time to meet with many constituent groups and do a public presentation.”

The impressions candidates make on the campus and on the community will help the search committee determine which candidates to put on a short list to UW President Mark Emmert, who will make the final hiring decision.

“The chancellor’s job is a key leadership position within the University,” said Emmert, in a statement. “But it’s also a key leadership position for the South Sound. UW Tacoma’s next chancellor will have to be an energetic, experienced leader who can help propel the campus to the next level of stature and accomplishment.”

An upper-division and master’s-level campus, UW Tacoma opened in 1990 with a single academic program serving community college transfer students.
It now offers 19 majors within seven academic programs including business; education; nursing; social work; interdisciplinary arts and sciences; urban studies; and computing and software systems. Enrollment at the campus, beginning its 15th year serving the South Sound, is about 2,200.