Lorman — The search for Alcorn State University’s next president has been narrowed to two candidates.

The top two choices face a second round of interviews Friday in Jackson, and a president should be announced Nov. 30.

Information about the candidates is confidential until a preferred candidate is chosen Monday, Caron Blanton, the public relations director Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

Conducting the interviews will be the ASU Board Search Committee, comprised of IHL board members and chaired by Trustee C.D. Smith Jr., and the ASU Interview Search Advisory Committee, which is comprised of eight members of the 25-member ASU Campus Search Advisory Committee.

The Campus Search Advisory Committee is comprised of five ASU alumni, 13 faculty or staff members, three students, the ASU Board of Directors Chairman Robert Gage and the mayors of Natchez, Vicksburg and Port Gibson.

Interviewers will meet with the IHL Board Monday morning to recommend a preferred candidate, and the board will then name the top choice and share his or her background and qualifications with the public.

The preferred candidate will then travel to ASU’s campus Tuesday, Nov. 30 to meet with various campus groups, allowing the groups to provide final feedback to the board.

IHL Commissioner of Higher Education Hank M. Bounds said if the campus meeting takes place outside of the Natchez, the Natchez campus can still participate via web cam.

The board should make an announcement at the end of the day Nov. 30 that the preferred candidate has been hired or that the search will continue, Bounds said.

“I’m hoping we will be able to name a president,” Bounds said.

“That’s the goal.”

According to the results of public listening sessions, the next ASU president should be a strong leader who understands the unique rural aspect of the university as a land grant institution, chairman of the IHL search committee, Smith said.

“From what I heard, there was a theme of wanting to ensure the next president is student focused, someone who understands the uniqueness of Alcorn, someone who is a leader and not a micromanager and someone who wants to be there for the long haul,” Smith said.

Friday’s interviews will take place at 9 a.m. Friday at the Norman C. Nelson Student Union, UMC, although some board members will participate via teleconference.

The public can attend the interviews, but the search committees might meet in executive session either day, an IHL press release said.

Interviews for Jackson State University’s next president will also take place Friday in Jackson.

The interviews are scheduled around the board’s regular meeting, taking place at 8:30 a.m. today at UMC.

“(The search has) been a very good process,” Bounds said.

“I am very pleased with activity of (the ASU) campus, and we have a good campus search committee representative of individuals from every group.”