The search for a new vice president for university advancement will wrap up the on-campus interviews today. Keith Carver, last of the four finalists to visit Eastern, will be on campus today.

An open meeting to allow members of the university community to meet Carver will be held at 4 p.m. in the 1895 Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The new vice president will replace Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, after her retirement on Dec. 31. The search is on a tight schedule, and the hiring process will move along accordingly.

After the search committee makes its recommendation to the president, he will recommend a candidate to the Board of Trustees.

“I’d like to have all of those considerations done by the middle of December at the latest,” President Bill Perry said.

The Board will make the official hiring decision after Perry makes his recommendation.

“Before I make the recommendation I will be speaking with the board members individually,” he said. “You don’t make the recommendation without having some sense that there is support from the Board.”

Carver currently serves as assistant vice chancellor for development at the University of Tennessee at Martin, a regional school similar to Eastern.

“(The position) would be a fantastic opportunity for me to take what I’ve learned at UT Martin and apply it to a larger school,” Carver said.

Carver hopes to get a feel for Eastern and the position during his visit.

“There’s so much about a campus you can’t know until you’re actually there and see the buildings and step foot on the ground and meet the people,” Carver said. “The creative juices start flowing and the ideas start popping when you meet with people.”

One key role of the position is fundraising, and Carver wants fundraising to help academic support, financial aid, athletics and campus beautification. Helping students and being part of the campus community are also areas of particular interest for Carver.

“Students are the focus of the academic enterprise,” he said. “My wife and I like being involved in the campus and our roles allow us to be.”

Sarah Ruholl can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].