Richard Herman will drop the “interim” from his title when he is announced as the University’s ninth chancellor today.

Herman, who has served as interim chancellor since Nancy Cantor resigned last June, has been chosen as the new chancellor by University President B. Joseph White, a University source said.

White will announce Herman’s selection at 10 a.m. today in the Pine Lounge of the Illini Union.

The Board of Trustees is expected to approve Herman’s appointment during its May 19 meeting in Chicago, the source said.

Herman had served as the University’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs since 1998 when he was named the interim chancellor. Herman is also the former dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland and former chair of the mathematics department at Penn State University.

After graduating cum laude in 1963 from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., Herman received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Maryland in 1967.

Herman has taught at University of California at Los Angeles, Penn State and the University of Maryland, and has been a visiting faculty member and fellow at the University of Marseilles and Princeton University.

As a mathematician, Herman concentrated on mathematical physics and operator algebras, according to a 2004 University press release. He has more than 40 scientific publications, according to the press release.

Herman lives in Champaign with his wife, Susan, and three children.

Herman’s selection ends a nine-month search for a new University chancellor. A 15-member search committee, which comprises faculty, University students, an assistant dean, an academic professional and a staff member, submitted a list of candidates to White and the Board of Trustees. Board members and White interviewed the finalists Saturday in Chicago, and White then chose Herman as his official recommendation, the source said.

Herman was chosen among an “exceptional field of candidates,” the source said.

“All three finalists were stellar, experienced leaders in higher education with top nationally known public research universities,” the source said. “We believe the field of candidates, as strong as it was, reflects the outstanding reputation of the Urbana-Champaign campus.”