Finalists Emerge in Search for Next FDU President

Two finalists vying to become the next president of Fairleigh Dickinson University are scheduled to visit the school later this month, according to a University statement.

FDU’s Board of Trustees has narrowed the candidates to Jorge Haddock, dean of the School of Management at George Mason University in Virginia, and F. Javier Cevallos, president of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, a statement posted on the school’s website said.

The two candidates came from a pared down list of three applicants forwarded to FDU’s board by a search committee of students, faculty, alumni, trustees and staff. The board then conducted interviews as part of its selection process. 

“We were fortunate to receive a number of applications and expressions of interest from many highly qualified individuals,” University Board Chair Patrick J. Zenner said in a message to the school.

Before his post at George Mason, Haddock was dean of the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business and an associate dean at the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He holds a doctorate in industrial engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in management engineering from Rensselaer.

Haddock was in the running to become chancellor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in January, but wasn’t among a final list of candidates being reviewed by the school, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

Cevallos, who has led Kutztown since 2002, has served as chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He later became vice chancellor of student affairs before taking the top position at Kutztown. Cevallos earned master’s and doctoral degrees from University of Illinois at Urbana.

Haddock and Cevallos are set to visit FDU April 17 and 18, respectively, the University said. The FDU community will have a chance to meet both candidates during town hall-style meetings. 

“Following the meetings and after reviewing all factors and the input we receive, the Board of Trustees will select the next president of Fairleigh Dickinson University,” the board chair’s message said.

FDU has been searching for a new president following the death of J. Michael Adams in June. Adams, credited with developing the school's international presence, went on medical leave after being diagnosed with cancer.

The new president to set to start July 1, University officials have said. In all, the school reviewed more than 70 applications for the position.