The first of five final candidates for the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs will visit Eastern today for interviews with the campus community.

W. Hubert Keen, current special assistant to the university system provost at State University of New York, will be on campus and meeting with various campus constituents from Thursday to Friday afternoon.

“Generally I recommend campus constituents come to the university senate’s meeting or the open session meeting,” said Bonnie Irwin, chair of the vice president for academic affairs search committee and English professor.

Both meetings will be held in the 1895 room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The university senate’s meeting will occur between 1 and 1:50 p.m., and the open session meeting will occur between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m.

“I will introduce Keen, and generally the candidate will then have a brief statement to make about themselves. After that is complete, we will open up the floor for questions,” Irwin said.

Irwin said Keen has experience in all of the area of academic affairs including budgeting, strategic planning and project development.

Keen has experience in almost every major administrative level.

Keen served as interim president of the College at Old West Bury in State University of New York. Prior to that, he served for four years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at York College in the City University of New York.

Keen also has served for six years as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the College of Cortland in the State University of New York, and he also served as chair of the department of biological sciences in the same system.

Keen earned his doctorate in ecology from Kent State University.

Prior to his administrative experiences, Keen taught biological sciences for several different universities, including Eastern Kentucky University, Pikeville College in Kentucky, Kent State University, Cuyahoga Community College and State University of New York.