The provost search committee’s pursuit of the university’s next highest academic officer is approaching the primary deadline for applications.

Dr. Stephen Johnson, dean of the Honors College and chair of the committee, said the committee has laid out a timeline, announced the position opening, invited nominations, identified and established communication with potential candidates.

“We’re providing them with information about the position and inviting them to apply,” Johnson said. “We’re in the part of the process where we’re receiving applications and we’ll begin assessing the applicants the week of Feb. 6.”

Johnson said the committee will accept applications after Feb. 6, but he said it would be better for both the applicant and the committee if the deadline is met.

“We’ll continue to receive applications after Feb. 6, but for optimal consideration we have recommended that the application is sent in by deadline.”

Johnson said the committee spoke at the university faculty meeting Jan. 17.

“A short update was given to the faculty about our progress and what’s been happening with the search process,” he said.

The committee meets every Friday at 2 p.m., and Johnson said he expects the committee to get a few different things accomplished at the meeting this Friday.

“We’ll continue to assess potential candidates and their level of interest in the position,” he said. “In anticipation of the next phase of the process, we’ll also begin constructing a template for how we’ll evaluate candidates after the deadline so that we assess each candidate the same.”

Johnson said the search committee’s process is right on schedule, and they will continue with the timeline they laid out.

“The process allowed six to seven weeks to receive applications, and we’re in that phase now,” he said. “As each phase passes, we’ll evaluate where we are.”

Johnson said the committee won’t reveal any specific information regarding the applicants themselves until further into the process when the committee identifies the top few candidates.

“All I can say is we are engaged in conversation with a number of candidates, both internal and external,” Johnson said.

For more information on the provost search and the committee, visit acu.edu/provostsearch or email ACUprovostsearch@acu.edu.