An ISU committee is one step closer to choosing the next president of Iowa State.

The 27-member Presidential Search and Screening Committee met Nov. 10 and began the process of evaluating candidates for the position, which has been open since Aug. 13. It was left vacant after former ISU President Martin Jischke accepted the position as president of Purdue University in Indiana and has been filled temporarily by Interim President Richard Seagrave.

The search process will continue at the closed Nov. 21 meeting, said Benjamin Allen, head of the committee.

The ISU faculty, staff, students and alumni making up the search committee have met five times since August, and they expect to be meeting two to three times in the next three weeks, said Allen, dean of the College of Business.

He said the committee recently has begun reviewing the applications in private meetings.

“We’re in the stage now where there’s closed sessions,” he said.

Though Allen would not disclose the number of applicants in the pool, he did say a large number of people were nominated for the position.

“I will say we have over 100 nominations, and though not all are applicants, we have a strong group,” he said.

Clarkson Kelly, member of the state Board of Regents, said the applicants have been strong because the role of ISU president is very desirable.

“This position is one of the top positions in education in the United States, particularly in land-grant universities,” Kelly said. “We have had a lot of good applicants.”

Allen said “nominations” are people who have not applied, but have been suggested as a good candidates for the position.

“If someone is nominated, we contact them and see if they are a prospect,” he said. “Then we try to convert them to be an applicant.”

Choosing finalists is an involved process, Allen said.

“Once they become applicants, we have discussions, screen them quite a bit and have their references called. The process is very thorough and very time-consuming,” he said. “We want to do it right.”

Allen said the group hopes to select four or five finalists to take public tours of the university. The Board of Regents will make the final selection.

“We have to have finalists identified and scheduled for campus visits in January,” Allen said. “That is what the Board of Regents scheduled for us and we think we can meet that deadline.”

Kelly said the search is on schedule.

“When you deal with this sort of thing, it’s best to have it move slowly — to have faculty, administration and students of the university look at [the candidates] very carefully, to winnow them out in order bring a smaller group to the Board of Regents for the final decision,” he said.

Allen said he did not know when the new president would take office because the five finalists for the position will not be chosen until January. He said university presidents usually take office during the summer, but each case depends on the person’s job flexibility.

“I think the process is going very, very well,” Allen said. “We have a very capable and reputable committee. They are critical in the process of discovery and debate and coming to a consensus.”

Although the selection process has begun, Allen said the committee is still accepting applications.

Kelly said he is optimistic about the quality of the candidates because of the large number of applicants.

“There is no question that we will be able to select from the very best,” he said.