N.C. State University has narrowed its list of candidates for job of provost to three people, including the current interim provost, Warwick Arden.

Arden is the dean of the NCSU’s highly-regarded College of Veterinary Medicine.

The provost is the university's loftiest academic job.

The other candidates are Robert T. McGrath who has held several positions at Battelle Memorial Institute and Cathryn R. Newton a professor of interdisciplinary sciences, professor of earth sciences, and dean emerita at Syracuse University.

Battelle is a private, non-profit science and technology company based in Columbus, Ohio.

The job has been vacant since Larry Nielsen stepped down in 2009 as part of a wave of resignations during a scandal over allegations of improper influence related to former state First Lady Mary Easley’s job at the university.

A committee of faculty, staff and students began work this summer on the search. More information on the candidates and interview schedule while each is on campus is available at:  www.ncsu.edu/provostsearch/.

Here are the thumbnail profiles of each candidate that were included in the unviveristy's official news release, topped by the dates of their formal campus visits.

Robert T. McGrath, Nov. 8-10

Since 2008, McGrath has served in various roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and its affiliates, managing national laboratory acquisition, operations and university partnerships. From 2004 to 2008, he served as senior vice president for research, professor of materials science engineering, and professor of physics at Ohio State University.  Prior to 2004, McGrath was associate vice president for research, director of strategic and interdisciplinary initiatives, and professor of engineering science at Penn State University.  He received his Ph.D. in nuclear science and engineering from the University of Michigan and holds an M.A. in mathematics, M.S. in physics, and B.S. in engineering sciences from Penn State.

 Warwick A. Arden, Nov. 10-12

Arden has served as interim provost and executive vice chancellor at NC State University since May 2009, following five years as dean of N.C. State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and professor of clinical sciences.  Prior to joining NC State, Arden served as professor and head of the department of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He held prior academic appointments at the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, and the University of Sydney.  He received his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from the University of Kentucky, an M.S. in physiology from Michigan State University, and B.V.Sc. in veterinary medicine from the University of Sydney.  Arden recently served as president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

Cathryn R. Newton, Nov. 17-19

Newton is currently professor of interdisciplinary sciences, professor of earth sciences, and dean emerita at Syracuse University.  Between 2000 and 2008, she led Syracuse University’s largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences.  Previously, she was Jessie Page Heroy Professor of Geology and chair of the department of earth sciences from 1993 to 2000, and co-founding director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at Syracuse from 1997-2001.  Newton earned a Ph.D. in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an M.S. in geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. in geology from Duke University.

Former UNC-CH Provost Bernadette Gray-Little has her hands full.

Gray-Little left Chapel Hill last year for the chancellor at the University of Kansas. This week, she's facing a stiff early test.

Her university has revealed a shocking ticket-scalping scheme in which a handful of now-former university employees diverted basketball and football tickets valued at more than $1 million to sell for personal profit.

_{(Photo: Kansas City Star)}

Yikes.

According to published reports, five members of the KU athletics staff, along with a consultant, sold or used nearly 20,000 game tickets over about five years.

“There were many victims of this activity: Our fans, donors, alumni, Kansas Athletics and the university as a whole,” Gray-Little was quoted as saying. “We sincerely regret the distress that this situation has caused our loyal fans and any loss of confidence that may have resulted.”

Athletics officials at KU say they don't anticipate NCAA sanctions over this scandal, but it's an ugly incident nonetheless.

Meanwhile, another former UNC-CH provost running a major public university is also extra-busy these days.

Robert Shelton, who preceded Gray-Little as Carolina's chief academic officer, is now president of the University of Arizona. As such, he's knee-deep in the controversy surrounding that state's controversial new immigration law.

He said recently that some promising incoming students from other states had decided to go elsewhere out of concerns about racial profiling.

UNC's new provost is same as the old provost.

Bruce Carney, who has served as interim provost since Bernadette Gray-Little left the post last year, has been given the position on a permanent basis.

UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp made the announcement today.

The university did a national search that netted three finalists. But none really fit, Thorp said in a letter today to the campus community.

"We prevailed upon Bruce to stay in his role," Thorp write in part. "Not only has he come to enjoy the job, but we've come to rely on him. He's done an outstanding job and appointing him allows us to continue moving forward without skipping a beat."

Carney, a physics professor, has held several top administrative posts and was most recently the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a post vacated when Thorp himself was elevated to the chancellorship.

Here's Thorp's entire letter announcing Carney's hiring.

Dear Carolina community:

As you know, the search committee brought three excellent candidates to campus for public lectures and Q&A. But ultimately, there just wasn't a match. Rather than reopening the search, we prevailed upon Bruce to stay in his role.

When he took on the interim role, he had made it clear that he wasn't interested in the position permanently. But fortunately for us, he was willing to reconsider. Not only has he come to enjoy the job,
but we've come to rely on him. He's done an outstanding job, and appointing him allows us to continue moving forward without skipping a beat.

Please join me in congratulating Bruce.