Eugene Sander will be the interim executive vice president and provost once Provost George Davis returns to the faculty at the end of June, President Robert Shelton announced yesterday.

“”I’m extremely pleased he’s agreed to do it,”” Shelton said. “”He was clearly the person to ask.””

Sander, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said he plans on working hard to make the transition between current Provost George Davis and his future permanent replacement as smooth as possible.

“”When you run a big organization like this, you can’t exactly afford to take six months off,”” Sander said. For that reason, Sander said he plans on meeting with Davis and Shelton during the coming months to ease the transition.

Sander, who also serves as vice president of university outreach, said he has no desire to apply for the permanent provost position.

He said he thinks he can live up to the difficult task of being provost, but believes he is more suited to his current position in outreach.

“”I will be acting as a great cheerleader for the (provost) candidates,”” Sander said.

Shelton said the fact that Sander has no intention of seeking the position permanently was a “”positive feature but not a decisive one”” in the decision-making process, which included more than 50 candidates for the interim position.

If candidates are aware Sander isn’t vying for the position, Shelton said it will ultimately make the job more attractive because applicants will perceive a wide-open field.

Sander said he plans to return to his posts as agriculture dean and vice president of outreach as soon as his six-month term is over. Shelton said both positions will be filled on an interim basis during Sander’s term as provost, probably by two separate people.

The names of those people will be released soon, Shelton said.

Shelton also announced that Vicki Chandler, director of the BIO5 Institute and regents professor of plant sciences, will head the search committee for a new permanent provost.

Chandler said she hopes to find the most qualified person for the job, regardless of whether he or she comes from within the UA.

“”This will be a national-level search,”” Chandler said. “”I think getting a strong administrator who is also a well-respected academician is critical.””

Shelton said he hopes to have the rest of the search committee finalized by the end of the week, and eventually have a group of between 20 and 25 members.

Shelton said students will be represented on the committee by Associated Students of the University of Arizona President-elect Tommy Bruce.

Chandler said she wants to keep the campus well-informed during her committee’s search.

In the meantime, Sander said he is looking forward to working with the team in the provost’s office, and he is confident the leadership team in his college will be able to handle the temporary change as well.

“”It isn’t like I’m starting from scratch in any way, shape or form,”” Sander said.

Sander said he hasn’t had much time to set any goals for his term as provost, but he thinks certain issues, such as finding new administrators for the College of Public Health and the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, along with the UA’s budget cuts, will loom large in his agenda.