Carbondale, Ill. – SIU Chancellor Rita Cheng is meeting with Northern Arizona University officials Thursday to discuss the possibility of her becoming the university’s next president.

The Arizona Board of Regents announced last Friday that Cheng was the lone candidate for the position, leaving a void at SIU-Carbondale if she decides to sign a contract with NAU.

SIU President Randy Dunn joined Tom Miller on the Morning Newswatch and talked about what could happen if Cheng leaves.

Dunn: “We’ve got to get together with the Board (of Trustees), have some discussion about how quickly they want to move on this, think about some of the characteristics that they want to have reflected in a new chancellor.”

Dunn says the University will likely have an interim chancellor while they search for a permanent replacement. He also says he’s hesitant about using a search firm, like the University used when former president Glenn Poshard retired, but the Board of Trustees has the final say.