The quest for a University president will soon enter its second stage, but judging from past searches, the task could be far from over.

The presidential search and screen committee is scheduled to hand over its list of candidates to the selection committee Friday, but Carol Herrmann, senior vice president for administration and search and screen committee member, is not sure when the selection committee will begin its share of the work.

William Schreyer, University Board of Trustees president, chose the members of the selection committee after University President Joab Thomas announced his retirement, effective Aug. 31 of this year.

"We're rapidly coming to the end of our assignment -- we still have a few things to do," Herrmann said. "It'll be very soon."

During the search to replace then-University President Bryce Jordan in 1990, the search and screen committee gave the selection committee a list of seven candidates, but the selection committee requested an additional short list of names in June. The same thing happened in 1982 when it took 18 months to name Jordan.

Also during the 1990 search, former Penn State Executive Vice President and Provost William Richardson was considered the front-runner for the position until January 1990, when he accepted the presidency at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Richardson retired from Johns Hopkins, effective Aug. 1 and will be president and CEO of W.K. Kellogg in Battle Creek, Mich.

Another name rumored to be in consideration during the last search was Samuel H. Smith, current president of Washington State University and former Penn State dean of agriculture.

The current search and screen committee sifted through about 200 applications and nominations during the Fall Semester and was asked by Schreyer to give the selection committee between 10 and 15 names, Herrmann said. The selection committee will interview candidates and narrow the list to one finalist for the board to approve.

"The goal is to have somebody by September," Herrmann said. "We're trying very hard."

If a new president is not chosen by Aug. 31, Thomas has agreed to stay longer. But Thomas said he assumes the latest he would stay is the end of Fall Semester.

"It is very likely the announcement will be made in time to assume office by September 1," Thomas said. "I really expect by late spring rather than late summer."

Thomas found out about his presidential appointment in late July 1990 and started his term Sept. 1 of that year. His transition into the job was "very hurried."

"I had such a short period of time -- it was a very brief transition," Thomas said.

A president's transition into the position entails more than moving into a new office. Thomas said during his month-long transition he had to find a home and meet fellow administrators, deans and faculty. He went through a briefing by Jordan on the current issues and the central administration.

Thomas said he had initial interaction with some faculty during one interview at University Park. He was also interviewed in New York, he said.

"I had some sense of the feeling of faculty leadership," Thomas said. "It is much preferable if the president has a few months to get the feeling of the campus -- to make an agenda."

Thomas said he ended up doing this during his first semester here and relied on the presidential experiences he had at North Carolina State University and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa to help him get used to the Penn State presidency.

But Thomas will not guess how long the new president's tenure here will be.

"I don't have a feel for that -- there are too many variables," he said.