Eight months after the man picked to serve as provost for Kennesaw State University withdrew from the job, the college has selected three new finalists to fill the position.

Campus interviews with the finalists will be held next week, and President Dan Papp said Wednesday he expects to fill the position next month.

The finalists include the interim provost, Ken Harmon, who has filled in since Lendley Black stepped down in July 2010 to be the chancellor of the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Harmon's campus interviews are scheduled for Dec. 1.

David Cordle, a dean at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, is scheduled to be on campus Tuesday. Interviews with Michael Gealt, a dean at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will be held Nov. 30.

The three finalists will meet with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni as part of the daylong interviews.

This the college's second attempt at finding a provost. The job was offered to Timothy Chandler in February, but he withdrew a month later following community debate over an academic paper he co-authored in 1998. Some accused Chandler of being a Marxist and un-American because the paper cited Communist philosopher Karl Marx. Chandler continues to work as senior associate provost at Kent State University in Ohio.

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In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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