WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Area residents will have the opportunity to meet the two finalists for the 11th president of Missouri State University, university officials said.

As part of their interview schedule, Dr. Randy J. Dunn and Clifton M. Smart III will visit West Plains Oct. 9 and 11, respectively.  The community reception for Dunn will be 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Kellett Hall parlor, 905 W. Main St., and the community reception for Smart will be 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Oct. 11 at the same location.

Dunn currently serves as president of Murray State University in Murray, Ky., a position he’s held since Dec. 1, 2006.  Prior to coming to Murray State, he served as the state superintendent of education for the Illinois State Board of Education.  Before that, he held the rank of professor in the department of educational administration and higher education at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.  He began his academic career as an assistant professor in the department of leadership at the University of Memphis, a position he held for two years before taking a faculty position at Southern Illinois in 1995.

Smart is currently serving as interim president of Missouri State, a position he was appointed to on June 27, 2011.  He had been general counsel at Missouri State since Dec. 1, 2007.  While at the university, Smart has provided legal counsel to the Board of Governors, president, faculty, staff and administrators.  He also has been involved in many campus-wide initiatives, including leading the university response to the state auditor’s report; serving on the JQH Arena Task Force; developing a comprehensive on-line policy library for the university; and chairing or serving on a variety of searches.  He joined the Strong Law Firm in Springfield in 1992, becoming a shareholder in the firm in 1995 and vice president in 1998.

Application letters, complete resumes and on-campus interview itineraries of the two finalists are available on the presidential search website at http://www.missouristate.edu/presidential search.

For more information about the local receptions, contact the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240.