While Eastern is nearing the end of its search for a new president, Western Illinois University is also wrapping up the same endeavor.

Eastern’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee is conducting interviews Wednesday and Thursday with eight finalists in Indianapolis, and in the next several weeks it will bring in the top three to five candidates for campus interviews, Bud Fischer, biological sciences professor and committee member, said.

On-campus interviews begin March 18 and the committee will then submit recommendations to the Board of Trustees by April.

The search began in October of this year. Interim President Lou Hencken took over in late July when Carol Surles, Eastern’s eighth president, resigned to seek treatment for breast cancer.

Western, a university similar in size and budget to Eastern, has also been searching for a new president.

On Wednesday, Western’s Presidential Search Committee reviewed information on the five candidates that visited its campus between Feb. 4 and the 22 to come up with three to five unranked candidates to recommend to the Board of Trustees.

The five that interviewed on Western’s campus were Reginald S. Avery, provost and academic vice president at Alma College; Alan E. Dillingham, provost at St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Alvin Goldfarb, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Illinois State University; Michael T. Marsden, provost and academic vice president at Eastern Kentucky University and Perry D. Moore, provost at Wright State University.

All of the candidates hold position-required Ph.D.s, however, Eastern’s presidential search Web site says a doctorate or terminal degree is “preferred.”

The recommendations to Western’s BOT, which are confidential, detail the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses and the committee’s evaluation of each, said Tom Joswick, English professor and chair of Western’s Faculty Senate.

“We evaluate as well as present facts,” Joswick said. “We’ll balance information about candidates previous positions, how they performed there and how they are regarded by their colleagues.”

The reports will also detail how the candidate interacted with the campus community during visits. Western’s campus visits included meeting with students, faculty and staff and the main residential campus in Macomb and the Quad-Cities extension campus in Moline.

Joswick said the 20-member committee’s diversity will help create a detailed report. Western’s committee includes the mayor of Macomb and representatives from both campuses.

The expansion of the Quad-Cities campus is one major consideration of the new president, Joswick said. The classrooms on that campus have been filled, and the expansion of that program will require support from local politicians and “reallocation of funds,” Joswick said.

Another of Western’s priorities is the construction of a new performing arts center, Joswick said. According to Western’s Web site it is the only state university in Illinois without one.

Western’s BOT will hold a conference call meeting on Thursday at 2 p.m. to review the search committee’s report. The board plans to announce the new president at its March meeting.