Gramm may still be in running at A&M
Posted on 03/24/2002 8:29:14 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Gramm may still be in running at A&M
03/24/2002
HOUSTON - U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm might not be out as a candidate to become the 22nd president of Texas A&M University.
Two unnamed candidates are still being considered for the post, along with three candidates named by a search committee Tuesday, A&M System Regents Chairman Erle Nye told the Houston Chronicle.
"There's been a fair amount of confusion, and I regret that," Mr. Nye, of Dallas, said after a board meeting in College Station. Mr. Nye said he could neither confirm nor deny that Mr. Gramm, R-Texas, is one of the two unnamed candidates.
Mr. Nye said the two prefer to remain anonymous.
The 24-member search committee said Tuesday that it would invite three candidates to campus to interview for the position. President Ray Bowen is stepping down in June.
The three candidates are Robert Gates, a former director of the CIA who heads a Washington, D.C., think tank; Richard Herman, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Jon Whitmore, provost at the University of Iowa.
The news release said the committee would submit its final evaluations "once the interviews are completed." It did not say other candidates would be interviewed.
A&M representatives said Friday that they were surprised to learn of unnamed candidates.
Mr. Gramm's wife, Wendy, an A&M regent, declined to say whether her husband is in the running. She has recused herself from the selection process.
Mr. Gramm's spokesman issued a statement Tuesday that seemed to indicate the senator was no longer a candidate for A&M job.
Larry Neal said Friday that Mr. Gramm at the time believed news accounts saying that there were only three candidates. Mr. Neal declined to say whether the senator, who is not seeking re-election, is a candidate for the A&M job.
State law says finalists for a university president or chancellor position must be publicly nominated by regents at least 21 days before the position is filled.
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