4 finalists for president of Dixie State

College and university bosses from Nevada and Utah have been named finalists for the Dixie State College presidency, the Utah Board of Regents announced Tuesday.

The four finalists were recommended by the Presidential Search Committee of regents and Dixie faculty, students and community members. They came from a pool of 74 candidates representing 31 states, the regents reported.

"The search committee was pleased with the number and quality of candidates who were nominated or who applied," said Regent Jerry C. Atkin, the search committee chairman. "We are recommending four highly qualified individuals, any one of which will be a great president."

Regents will meet at Dixie on Tuesday morning to interview the finalists in private and could announce a selection later that day.

The finalists are:

• Lee G. Caldwell, Dixie executive vice president of academics. Credentials include leadership positions at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Indiana University and the University of Utah. Caldwell has worked in the high-tech industry and has a doctorate in management policy and strategy from Texas A&M University. Caldwell has a law degree from Brigham Young University.

• Christine Chairsell, interim vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the University and Community College System of Nevada and Nevada State Director of Community Colleges. Credentials include acting president of Nevada State College at Henderson and Dean of Special Programs at the Community College of Southern Nevada. Chairsell has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

• Bradley J. Cook, UVSC vice president for academic affairs. Credentials include assistant professor in educational leadership and foundations for Brigham Young University, director for government relations at International Bechtel Inc. in Kuwait (1991-1993), and special assistant to the president for the American University in Cairo, Egypt. He has a doctorate in Middle Eastern studies and international education from the University of Oxford.

• Mark H. Spencer, associate commissioner for finance and facilities for the Utah System of Higher Education and executive director for the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority. Credentials include leadership at UVSC and the College of Eastern Utah and assistant to the dean for the College of Education at Ohio State University. Spencer has a doctorate in educational administration, public administration and finance from Ohio State.