University official decides to stay
Gearhart withdrew his name for president of Arkansas State

By WILLIAM GUHL
Collegian Staff Writer

It was announced yesterday that the University will not be losing one of its top officials to Arkansas State University where a presidential search is underway.

G. David Gearhart, senior vice president for development and University relations, announced that he had informed the Arkansas State presidential search committee that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the position.

Gearhart was named as one of four finalists for the position as Arkansas State University president in mid-February. He said at that time he was contemplating whether to accept the position if it was offered, but that his commitment was still at Penn State.

"I don't know when they were going to make their final decision. I think having thought about it and talked about it with my family, we needed to make a decision," Gearhart said.

Without knowing how long it would be before the search committee at Arkansas State would make a decision, "we felt it was better to go ahead and make our commitment here," Gearhart said.

"We have children. We have a daughter in high school, and we felt we needed to bring this thing to a closure," he said.

The capital fund-raising campaign that the University is planning also played a role in Gearhart's decision.

"The prospect of being involved in that campaign is exciting to me," he said. He added that he believes Penn State is the best place for him to be right now.

Gearhart had visited Arkansas State in March and said it is a "first class place," but said that he did not think he could wait for the search committee to make a decision.