Brock Tessman, Assistant Commissioner for Higher Education at Montana University System, will visit the campus on October 18-19

Brock Tessman, Assistant Commissioner of Higher Education for Montana University System, has been named a finalist for President of Southern Oregon University.

A Montana university network administrator has been named the second of five finalists for President of Southern Oregon University ahead of his visit to the valley early next week.

Montana University System deputy higher education commissioner Brock Tessman will visit Ashland and Medford on October 18 and 19, SOU said in a press release on Friday.

Tessman’s name was thrown even as SOU’s first presidential candidate Chris Gilmer, president of the University of West Virginia at Parkersburg, was in the middle of his second day of interviews for the top post in the l ‘school.

A municipal event with Tessman is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on Monday, October 18 in Room 151 of the Science Building on SOU’s main campus in Ashland. A limited number of people will be able to attend in person, but the event will be streamed live at: https://sou.zoom.us/j/88070508240.

Danny Santos, a SOU alumnus who is chair of the research committee and vice chair of the board, said in a statement that the school hopes the campus community and the public “will be involved in this process and will see these candidates “.

“This contribution will be very important in the decision-making process of the board,” he said.

After the forum, Tessman will participate in closed-door talks with SOU administrators at the Hannon Library in Ashland. Her day will end with a reception and dinner at the Ashland Hills Hotel.

Day 2 of Tessman’s visit will include a tour of the RCC / SOU Higher Education Center, 101 S. Bartlett St., Medford, to tour the facility and meet with SOU stakeholders.

SOU does not make any of the presidential finalists available for interviews.

Tessman’s resume is available on the SOU’s Presidential Research webpage. In a university system that accommodates 50,000 students, 8,000 full-time faculty and staff, and generates an estimated $ 315 million per year in research spending, Tessman has helped lead the 16 schools in their COVID-19 response, their athletic conferences and their budgeting – including $ 55 million in funding for the coronavirus relief bill.

As deputy commissioner, Tessman faced a controversial question for many college campuses – whether guns can be licensed. Earlier this year, the Montana legislature passed HB 102, making concealed or open firearms legal on campus within the university system. The implementation of the bill was caught in a legal battle when the MUS board challenged it in court.

In an interview with The Daily Montanan, Tessman called the legislation “a major challenge for our system”.

“Even though we weren’t supporters of the bill, and although we certainly find a lot of complications with the law, we are just doing our best to act within the law,” he said. “It is our responsibility. … We have no choice but to build a policy that will allow us to follow this law.

Prior to his current post, Tessman was professor of political science and dean of Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana at Missoula. He was also a full professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

Tessman received his BA in International Relations from Brown University and received his MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

SOU continues to solicit comments from the public on finalists at sou.edu/presidential-search.