The IHL Board of Trustees has invited eight individuals for interviews as part of the University of Mississippi’s chancellor search, according to Adam Ganucheau of Mississippi Today. Here is where they come from:
Michael Benson has served as the President of Eastern Kentucky University since 2013. Previously, he was the president at Snow College and Southern Utah University, where he was the youngest president in the Utah System of Higher Education at 36. He holds degrees from Brigham Young University, St. Andrew’s College Oxford and the University of Notre Dame.
Kelly Damphousse has served as Chancellor of Arkansas State University since 2017. Previously, he served as Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. Damphousse was born in Canada and was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. He holds degrees from Texas A&M University, Harvard University and Sam Houston State University.
Sharon Gaber has served as President of the University of Toledo since 2015. Previously, she served as Provost at the University of Arkansas and Interim Provost at Auburn University. In 2018, Education Dive named her as one of five higher education leaders to watch. She holds degrees from Occidental College, USC and Cornell University.
Bill Hardgrave has served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Auburn University since 2018. Previously, he was the Dean of the Harbert School of Business at Auburn and was a candidate for Chancellor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville earlier this year. He holds degrees from Oklahoma State University, Missouri State University and Arkansas Tech University.
Chris Howard has served as President of Robert Morris University since 2016. Previously, he was the President of Hampden-Sydney College and served in the United States Air Force. Howard is a Rhodes Scholar and currently sits on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. He holds degrees from the Air Force Academy, Oxford University and Harvard University.
Cal Mayo is a founding partner of Mayo Mallette PLLC, a law firm in Oxford. He has represented the University of Mississippi in a number of high profile cases, like the Nutt v. Ole Miss Athletics Foundation case in 2017. He was a member of the search committee for Chancellor in 2009. He holds degrees from the University of Mississippi and the University of Virginia.
Robert Robbins has served as President at the University of Arizona since 2017. Previously, Robbins was the President of the Texas Medical system and the Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is the author of over 300 peer-reviewed articles and holds degrees from Millsaps and the University of Mississippi Medical School.
Fred Slabach has served as the President of Texas Wesleyan University since 2011. Previously, Slabach was the Director of the Mississippi Democrat Party, served in the Department of Agriculture and was the Dean of the Texas Wesleyan Law School. He holds degrees from Mississippi College, Columbia University and the University of Mississippi School of Law.
