
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990                   TAG: 9003092195
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                                 LENGTH: Medium

UVA BOARD JOINS HUNT FOR LEADER

Gov. Douglas Wilder's new appointees to the University of Virginia's governing body will be included in the search for a new president of the school, the rector of the university said Thursday.

Edward Elson, temporary rector of the UVa Board of Visitors and chairman of the five-member presidential search committee appointed by the board, said he appointed all the remaining members of the 16-member governing body to the search committee so they will know everything that occurs regarding the search.

The new board members should be oriented to the search as quickly as possible, Elson said in a short announcement after a closed meeting of the committee in the Rotunda.

The search group was believed to be meeting Thursday with University of Georgia President Charles Knapp, who has been identified in published reports as one of three finalists to replace UVa President Robert O'Neil.

The search committee was left without three of its original members when the term of Rector Joshua P. Darden expired Feb. 28 and Wilder chose not to renew the terms of Charles L. Brown and Lemuel E. Lewis, two board members eligible for reappointment.

The committee had hoped to recommend candidates for the presidency to the full board before old members' terms expired on Feb. 28, a goal that drew criticism from Wilder's office.

People close to Wilder said the governor saw the rush to appoint a president as a way to shut out his appointees.

Wilder appointed seven new members to the board Feb. 26. They are Hovey S. Dabney, Leigh B. Middleditch Jr., Patricia Kluge, Dr. J. Thomas Hulvey, Evans D. Jessee, Arnold H. Leon and Freddie Nicholas.

During the next 15 days, the board will interview candidates to fill the position of O'Neil, who is leaving to become director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.

In addition to Knapp, the finalists for the UVa post have been identified in published reports as former UVa Law School Dean Richard A. Merrill and University of Connecticut President John T. Casteen III.

by CNB