President Bill Perry said he would appoint an interim vice president for business affairs for the period between when Jeff Cooley, current vice president for business affairs, retires and when the permanent selection is made.

Perry said he would make the decision on the interim vice president by the middle of November.

Cooley retires on Dec. 31. A search advisory committee was formed, and the search for his replacement has begun.

The new vice president for business affairs could be in place by April 1, said Robert Augustine, committee chair for the search advisory committee for the vice president for business affairs.

Perry will consult with committees on campus before making his decision on who will be the interim vice president.

“It’s not a long, involved process, but I’ll want to talk to some key constituencies,” he said.

Perry will have conversations with the Faculty Senate, Student Senate, Staff Senate, the vice presidents and the Council of Deans about who might be effective in the position.

“I know we have people who can do it,” he said. “It’s just a matter of going through our consultation process, getting information from folks and then making a decision.”

The interim vice president will be someone from inside the university, Perry added.

“A knowledge of the operation of the business affairs unit, of course, and past strong performance will be the two main things I’m looking for there,” he said.

Perry said it’s possible the interim vice president could be a candidate for the position, but it won’t be a qualifying factor.

The job description for vice president for business affairs was posted online last week at www.eiu.edu/~graduate/vpba/search.php.

Augustine said advertisements have been forwarded to The Chronicle of Higher Education, National Association of College & University Business Officers, and electronic posting boards for the Chicago Tribune, The Indianapolis Star, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Augustine said the committee met Monday to review the procedures for reviewing applicant files.

Emily Zulz can be reached at 581-7942 or at eazulz@eiu.edu.