According to Chancellor Richard Herman, the University will begin the long and tedious task of choosing a new provost later this month.

The University has lacked a permanent provost since Herman left to become interim chancellor last summer.

The Board of Trustees appointed former dean of LAS Jesse G. Delia as acting provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs last July. Delia is scheduled to serve until a permanent provost is chosen.

Michael Grossman, chair of the Urbana-Champaign University Senate, said a lengthy process is involved with selecting the new provost. Grossman said he is scheduled to meet with a provost search committee later this month.

“There are 11 members on the search committee. There are eight faculty members: five who are elected by the senate and three appointed by the chancellor,” Grossman said.

Grossman said in addition to the faculty members, there are two students and one academic professor on the committee. The senate elects one of the student committee members and the chancellor appoints the other student along with the academic professor.

The members of the search committee have not yet been chosen.

In order to be considered for the search committee, Grossman said faculty members and students have to first be nominated by their peers.

“An e-mail is sent out to the students and then the faculty asking for suggestions for names to be on the search committee,” Grossman said.

He said anyone can be nominated but ultimately the decision will come down to the senate and the chancellor.

Grossman said these nominations will then go to the Committee of Committees in the University Senate. He said there is where names will be eliminated and the nominations that are left are passed to the Senate Executive Committee.

After the search committee is selected, the chancellor appoints one member to serve as chair of the committee.

The chair then leads the search committee with the task of picking through names. Grossman said this process could take up to six months.

Herman said he hopes to have a permanent provost by October.

“We have a national search, and then we have to advertise, and then we wait for a response,” Herman said.

Herman said he wants to find a person who can uphold the legacy of the University.

“I am looking for a person who knows how to excel as a leader and who can be a leader to this institution. I am looking for a partner,” he said.

According to University statute, the provost serves as the chief academic officer under the chancellor and the executive officer when the chancellor is absent. The provost oversees academic and budgetary policy for the University, among other tasks, according to the University provost Web site.

Kelli Cheatham, sophomore in communications, said she hopes the next provost will have more interaction with the students.

“I think it is really important for the provost to get to know the students,” Cheatham said.

Herman said, as provost, he tried to promote interaction between administration and students by holding town hall meetings and serving on the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee.

Cheatham said it is important for students to get to know who is leading the University.

“I think it will be nice if the new provost can have a lunch on the Quad,” she said.