LOGAN -- Friday brought another shake-up in leadership at Utah State University.
Provost G. Jay Gogue announced he has accepted an offer to become the president of New Mexico State University."It's unusual for this opportunity to come now, but it has no relationship to President (George) Emert's announcement at all," Gogue said.
Emert made public his decision to step down as president of the state's second largest public university on Wednesday.
Gogue said he submitted resume material to New Mexico State in December, long before Emert's decision to retire.
Gogue's new appointment -- effective July 1 -- does raise questions about who is in line to take the helm at USU after Emert's departure.
"(Gogue) would have been a very strong interim candidate," said school spokesman John DeVilbiss.
Even a strong candidate for president, according to Board of Regents chairman Charles E. Johnson.
"Jay Gogue obviously would have been a candidate. He's a very capable individual," he said.
Johnson said he wants to sidestep the question of interim leadership altogether and find a replacement for Emert before his retirement on Dec. 31.
He said he'll direct the Board of Regents to fast-track the search process. Regents are also looking for a replacement for Salt Lake Community College President Frank Budd, who is leaving his post at the end of June.
Yet another USU administrator, Patricia Terrell, vice president for student services, could be departing USU this year. Terrell is a candidate for vice president of student affairs at the University of Akron in Ohio. She has not yet been offered the position and says she has no immediate plans to leave.
Emert is not concerned about the potential turnover in leadership.
"There are great people at Utah State. It goes deep, maybe a thousand deep," he told the Desert News during a phone call from his family's home in Tennessee, where he is caring for his ailing father.
He denied that this week's announcements give an impression of disarray at the Logan campus.
"There is no discomfort, only great opportunity," he said. "People don't come to mediocre universities to hire leaders. They go to fine universities to hire leaders. This is a high compliment not only to Utah State University but also to the state of Utah."
Emert praised Gogue's work during his five-year tenure as provost.
"To be very honest, I expected he would get a presidency at some point," he said. "I'm extremely happy for him."
Gogue was passed over for the presidency of Mississippi State University in 1997.
Like Utah State, New Mexico State University is a Carnegie I land grant-institution, and Gogue says his experience in Utah will serve him well in his new position.
"Being provost allows you to really be immersed in issues and bring some resolution to the questions at the very heart of a university," he said.
Prior to coming to USU in July of 1995, Gogue was vice president for research at Clemson University in South Carolina. A native of Georgia, he started his professional career in 1973 as a research scientist with the National Park Service. He is currently a tenured professor in USU's College of Natural Resources.
Emert says a national search for Gogue's replacement will begin shortly and that he will appoint an interim provost this summer. The search for a permanent replacement could take as long as year.
You can reach Maria Titze by e-mail at mtitze@desnews.com