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SALT LAKE CITY -- University of Utah officials declined to comment Wednesday on a news report that U. President Michael Young is a candidate to head the University of Washington.
A spokesman for the U. directed questions to the University of Washington, whose Board of Regents was meeting Wednesday "to evaluate the qualifications of applicants for public employment."
The previous UW president, Mark Emmert, left in October to become president of the NCAA. Former provost Phyllis Wise is serving as interim president. The school has said it intends to fill the position before the start of the 2011-12 academic year.
The regents received a list of candidates last month from a search committee that was also asked to recommend a short list of three to five names for final interviews, according to a report in The Seattle Times.
KTVX-TV reported Tuesday that Young is on that list.
A UW spokesman declined to comment on the candidates, saying the presidential search process is confidential.
David Jordan, chairman of the Utah Board of Regents, also declined to comment on Young's situation.
"I'm sure with the talented presidents we have at our institutions, they get inquiries about their availability for other positions all the time," Jordan said.
The chairman of the U.'s board of trustees, Randy Dryer, did not return phone calls. Several trustees told the Deseret News they had no knowledge of whether Young was a candidate for the position.
The job would likely give Young a significant pay bump. His total compensation for 2008-09 -- including deferred compensation and retirement pay -- was $415,296, while Emmert earned $905,004, according to figures compiled by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Young served as dean of George Washington University Law School before he replaced former U. President Bernie Machen in 2004.
If he got the job, Young would move to the UW, a Pac-12 school, at the same time that the U. is set to join the conference.
E-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com
