By Joseph Lyell —

Board of trustees Chairman David Grissom said at least 47 candidates are being considered in the search for U of L’s next president. Before the Feb. 15 deadline, 138 names had been submitted.

“I’ve had a chance to see some of the applicants. I can assure you that it’s a deep and rich pool that we’ll have to consider,” Grissom said.

On March 8, trustees will meet with search firm representative Bill Funk to narrow the field down to eight to ten candidates. Grissom said those candidates will then be brought in for interviews with the board and Funk.

Grissom said the field will then be reduced to three or four finalists, who will be subjected to a “deep dive” interview with trustees.

These finalists and their spouses will also be invited to meet the community in public forums. If they decline, they will instead meet with faculty and student representatives.

Grissom said the board hopes to complete the process and select a new president by late-April or early-May.

The board also passed a resolution updating the university’s agreement with the foundation allowing Earl Reed to chair the foundation board of directors.

The agreement originally said the foundation chair must be a trustee of the university, but that condition has been waived for Reed. The resolution will remain in effect until the 2019 annual foundation board of directors meeting, or until Reed ceases to serve as foundation chair.

The board passed a resolution setting aside funding for the ACC Network television studio to be completed by fall 2018.

Interim President Greg Postel said the studio’s funding will come from athletics funds, but the studio will be used by students as well. The production center will be located on Arthur Street, near The Nine Apartments.

The responsibilities of the ad hoc special litigation committee were broadened after the board passed a resolution that expanded their jurisdiction to include any actions it deems necessary in serving the university on matters related to potential litigation of Tom Jurich and Rick Pitino.

Grissom said this gives the committee the authority to work on litigation matters, but they will always come back to the full board to get approval before actions are taken.

Photo by Arry Schofield / The Louisville Cardinal