(AUSTIN) – The Advisory Search Committee appointed in January to help find the 12th president of Sul Ross State University has narrowed the field of candidates to three. The 18-member committee, appointed by Donna Williams, chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, selected three finalists from a field of nearly 40 candidates identified during a national search.
The committee, which conducted in-person interviews with several candidates, is recommending the following three finalists to TSUS Chancellor Brian McCall.
William L. Kibler, Ph.D. – Vice President for Student Affairs, Mississippi State University
Dr. Kibler has held faculty and administrative positions in Texas, Florida and Mississippi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in education from the University of Florida, and a doctorate in educational administration from Texas A&M University. His wife, Pam, has worked as a teacher, counselor, community educator and volunteer.
H. Neil Matkin, Ed.D. – Executive Vice President, Louisiana College and Technical College System
Dr. Matkin has held faculty and administrative positions in Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, master's degrees from Golden Gate University in Los Angeles and the University of Dallas, and a doctorate from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dr. Matkin and his wife, Janyth, a native of Odessa, Texas, have been frequent visitors to the Big Bend region for nearly 30 years.
Quint C. Thurman, Ph.D. – Interim President, Sul Ross State University
Dr. Thurman joined Sul Ross State University in 2012 as provost and vice president for academic affairs and has served as interim president since 2013. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from the University of Oklahoma, and completed a doctorate in sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His wife, Caryn, is head pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Marfa.
Chancellor McCall will meet with each finalist in the coming weeks before naming a sole finalist. Additionally, faculty, staff and the community will have an opportunity to meet the finalists during public receptions scheduled June 10 on the Sul Ross State University Alpine campus and June 12 on Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College’s Uvalde campus. Times and campus locations for the public receptions will be announced in the coming days.
The Advisory Search Committee comprised a representative cross-section of faculty, staff, alumni, campus and community leaders, and representatives from the Texas State University System.
Sul Ross State University, located in Alpine, and Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College, which has three campuses in Del Rio, Uvalde and Eagle Pass, are part of the Texas State University System.
