OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — The latest on University of Kansas Provost Jeffrey Vitter being named chancellor at the University of Mississippi.

 

College Board trustees voted to name Jeffrey Vitter as the next chancellor of the University of Mississippi.

The vote came Thursday afternoon after Vitter met with campus groups Wednesday at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and Thursday in Oxford.

Trustees said Vitter was the clear front-runner after initial interviews with eight candidates. They ended the process early to pursue Vitter, who was a finalist to lead the Fayetteville campus of the University of Arkansas.

Vitter has said he hopes to start by Feb. 1 and says he will spend time on campus before year’s end.

A computer scientist and brother of Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, Vitter replaces former Chancellor Dan Jones. Trustees declined to renew Jones’ contract this spring, prompting widespread protest.