Lamont interviews two finalists for UConn president

Gov. Ned Lamont met over the weekend with two finalists for president of the University of Connecticut, a sign that the six-month search for a successor to Susan Herbst may be nearing an end.

Thomas E. Kruger, the chairman of the UConn Board of Trustees, met Thursday with the governor at the State Capitol, but he declined to comment on the status of the search for a new leader of Connecticut’s flagship university.

The governor’s office confirmed the interviews and the meeting Thursday with Kruger.

“He and the chairman discussed next steps in the process,” said Colleen Flanagan Johnson, a senior adviser to the governor. “The governor feels very strongly that UConn must play a vital role in his plan for the economic rejuvenation of the state, and as such, he is taking his responsibility to select the next president of UConn very seriously.”

The selection of a new president is made by the 21-member Board of Trustees, but the governor effectively controls the choice. The majority of trustees are gubernatorial appointees, and the governor is one of five ex officio members of the board.

Herbst, the first woman to lead the university since its founding in 1881, announced in May that she would step down this summer after eight years as the 15th president of UConn. She was selected in December 2010 during the transition from the administration of Gov. M. Jodi Rell to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Rell and Malloy each interviewed Herbst.