Eastern’s search for a new president is in its final stage, negotiations.

Lou Hencken, who has been serving as the interim president since late July, will step down once the new president is named.

Although university officials will not disclose the name of the new president until Eastern’s Board of Trustees meets on April 29 and announces its final decision, Vicki Woodard, director of media relations, said “negotiations are being made right now as far as contracts goes.

“They are chatting with an individual to set a contract,” she said.

On Wednesday night at the Student Senate meeting, Katie Cox, a student member of the presidential search committee, told the senate the BOT met in an executive session following its meeting with the search committee.

The presidential search committee met with the BOT on April 14 before they went into executive session to provide information on the candidates on-campus interviews, not to make a recommendation.

Cox said Thursday, “I am assuming (the BOT) discussed the search because that’s why we were meeting with them.”

Cox declined further comment on the search committee’s meeting with the BOT.

In March, the university named three finalists to be interviewed on campus: Livingston Alexander, vice president for academic affairs at Kean University in Union, N.J.; Philip Conn, vice president for special programs at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and John Cavanaugh, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Eastern’s last president, Carol Surles, resigned from her position last summer to continue getting treatment for breast cancer. Lou Hencken, who was formerly the vice president for student affairs, was named interim president after her resignation.

– Joseph Ryan, senior reporter, contributed to this article