Murray State President Ron Patterson announced the search for provost and vice president will be continuing as “search did not conclude as anticipated” on Jan. 5.

The Murray State Board of Regents announced appointment of Rose Marie Ward., a special consultant to the provost at the University of Cincinnati, at its second quarterly meeting in December. She would be replacing Tim Todd, former provost who was removed at the beginning of the 2025 fall semester. 

While the Murray State Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication confirmed Ward will not be provost but would not say why, Ward attended a meet-and-greet at Northwest Missouri State University for their provost search on Jan. 12.

“Northwest has identified finalists to become its next provost and is hosting a series of open forums and other opportunities for stakeholders to engage with each of the candidates,” a Northwest press release said. “All students are invited to visit with Dr. Rose Marie Ward during a meet-and-greet at 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.”

The BMC Office said the University is quickly continuing its search, assisted by executive search firm Greenwood Asher & Associates.