HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall University Board of Governors plans to take some time before choosing an interim president following Wednesday’s sudden death of president Stephen Kopp.
The board met in emergency session Thursday afternoon and decided an executive committee of senior vice presidents would be making the day-to-day decisions at the university. West Virginia Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Paul Hill told MetroNews earlier Thursday there are some talented administrators at Marshall.
“I know there is a strong team. President Kopp has always maintained a strong leadership team and of course they will carry on the operations of the university in the interim,” Hill said.
As BOG members develop a list of candidates in the coming weeks, eventually choosing an interim president may take months. The board will also begin the process of choosing a permanent president. Similar searches in the past have taken six to nine months.
Hill said Marshall won’t be going through this time of transition alone.
“I have reached out to the (BOG) chairman Mike Sellards to indicate we are there to support them through this initial process,” Hill said.
Funeral arrangements for Kopp could be released by Friday.