The second of three Eastern presidential candidates will make his impression on various university groups when he visits campus Wednesday and Thursday.

Phillip Conn, vice chancellor for special programs at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, will meet with the President’s Council, deans, department chairs, faculty and other community members this week. Campus and community tours are also on the agenda to give Conn a feel for Eastern.

Conn, who was selected from a pool of more than 40 applicants by the presidential search committee, served as chancellor of the University of Tennessee-Martin for two years, July 1998 through October 2000, before transferring to the Knoxville campus.

Previously, Conn was the president of Dickinson State University in Dickinson, N.D. There he was very active in developing student services and improving the schools image, Richard Braun, vice president for academic affairs and a co-worker of Conn, said.

In other administrative experience, Conn has been the vice president for university advancement at Central Missouri State University, 1985 to 1994; vice president for university and regional services at Morehead State University, 1977 to 1984; executive director and research specialist for the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission in Frankfort, Ky.,1972 to 1977; and public relations advance director for the Combs/Carroll Gubernatorial Campaign Staff in Louisville, Ky. in 1971.

Conn earned his Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Southern California in 1991. He also attended USC to get his master’s of public administration in 1982. Conn also has a master’s of arts in sociology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

He also attended school outside of the United States. In The Hague, Netherlands, Conn received a diploma in social policy in community development from the Institute of Social Studies in 1966.

Conn’s education began in Kentucky where he received a bachelor of arts in biology at Berea College.

Another presidential search committee had its eye on Conn but did not make him its final choice. Last October, Conn was a finalist in the presidential search at Lake Superior State University in Michigan.

Interviews with Conn begin Wednesday with a breakfast with interim President Lou Hencken. Later in the day, Conn will meet with the vice presidents, the faculty senate, the student senate and campus union representatives.

University staff will have a chance to meet Conn at an open meeting at 10:40 a.m. in the 1895 Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Students will also have a chance to ask Conn questions at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the 1895 Room of the Union.

Interested faculty will have an opportunity to interview Conn at 9:40 a.m. Thursday in the 1895 Room of the Union.

The search for the new president began after Carol Surles, Eastern’s eighth president, resigned last July to get treatment for breast cancer. Lou Hencken, who served as the vice president for student affairs since 1992, was appointed to interim president by the Board of Trustees.

The search committee, which was established last October, chose Conn along with two other finalists.

Livingston Alexander, provost at Kean University in Union, N.J., had his interview sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

The third finalist, John C. Cavanaugh, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, will visit campus on Friday and Saturday.

After the interviews, the search committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which is expected to announce its decision at its next meeting in late April.