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SALT LAKE CITY — After “an extensive national search,” a 21-member search committee has selected two women and two men as finalists for the presidency of Weber State University, according to an announcement Friday by the Utah System of Higher Education.
The finalists include:
• Katherine P. Frank, provost and vice president for academic and student life at Central Washington University and professor of English;
• Frank R. Lamas, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at California State University, Fresno;
• Brad L. Mortensen, vice president of university advancement at Weber State University; and
• Melody Rose, president of Marylhurst University in Oregon.
The new president will succeed Charles Wight, who stepped down earlier this year after serving five years as Weber State’s president.
In early May, Wight was appointed president of Salisbury University in Maryland.
The selection of two female finalists raises the possibility that a majority of the state's eight colleges and universities could be led by women. Presently, half are led by women, and combined, those institutions enroll 70 percent of students who attend state colleges.
The finalists will be on Weber State’s Ogden campus next Wednesday to meet with faculty, staff, students, trustees and administrators. Each finalist will participate in a public meeting, during which they will field questions from attendees.
The 50-minute meetings will be held in Shepherd Union Ballroom C starting at 1 p.m. with Mortensen, followed by Frank at 2 p.m., Lamas at 3 and Rose at 4.
On Thursday, the Utah State Board of Regents, which has the sole authority to hire college and university presidents, will interview each of the candidates and possibly select a new president late in the afternoon.
In her role as provost and vice president for academic and student life at Central Washington University, Frank focuses on institutional sustainability and student success, which include the transition to a new university budget model, complete general education redesign and the opening of an eighth off-campus instructional site.
Previously, she served as dean of arts and sciences at Northern Kentucky University in Newport, where she led the university’s largest college. She has also served as dean of humanities and social sciences at Indiana University East in Richmond and as chairwoman of English and foreign languages at Colorado State University, Pueblo.
Frank earned a bachelor’s degree from Bates College and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington.
Lamas leads 53 departments and programs in his role as vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at California State, Fresno. He has more than 30 years of administrative experience in higher education. Lamas was also an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, in the Department of Higher Education.
Weber State University president to step down June 30
Charles Wight, president of Weber State University, announced Thursday that he will step down effective June 30 because he is a finalist in other presidential searches.His research interests include social and academic determinants of retention/student success among college students and leadership. He previously served as board chairman of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Lamas earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Potsdam and his master’s and doctoral degrees at the State University of New York at Albany.
Mortensen has served Weber State University since 2004, the past 11 years as vice president of university advancement. In this role, Mortensen has developed partnerships and philanthropic resources that promote educational access, student success, inclusiveness, and faculty and staff vitality. He recently began guiding Weber State's efforts to support regional economic development. Mortensen has chaired the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Northern Utah.
Previously, Mortensen worked for the Utah System of Higher Education, in the Utah governor’s office, Arizona Legislature and two policy fellowships. Mortensen earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a doctorate from the University of Utah.
Rose has 25 years of experience in public and private higher education, most recently as president of Marylhurst University, a private Catholic institution near Lake Oswego, Oregon. In May, the university’s board of trustees voted to close the 125-year-old university by the end of the year after "a steady decline in enrollment since the end of the Great Recession," according to a university press release.
In the press release, the university trustees thank Rose “for her expertise and leadership during these challenging times and express our continued trust in her as she shepherds our community through this transition.”
Earlier in her career, Rose spent 20 years with public institutions. As chancellor of the Oregon University System, she oversaw all seven public universities after having spent 17 years at Portland State University. At Portland State, she founded the Center for Women’s Leadership, served in faculty governance and provided leadership as department chair, vice provost and dean.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz and two master’s degrees and a doctorate degree from Cornell University.
Founded in 1889, Weber State University serves 28,247 students and offers educational programs ranging from certificates to graduate degrees at eight locations, including its Ogden and Davis campuses.
