North Dakota's Board of Higher Education has postponed hiring an interim chancellor for at least a week after one of the job's two finalists stood down and asked board members to hire the other.

Eddie Dunn, the North Dakota university system's vice chancellor for strategic planning, and Lee Vickers, president of Dickinson State University, were scheduled for telephone interviews Thursday for the position.

The interviews never happened. Dunn, at the start of the board's conference call meeting, said he was withdrawing. He said he supported Vickers as the interim replacement for Chancellor Robert Potts, who is resigning because of differences with the board over the extent of his authority.

"I have the utmost respect for, and confidence in, Dr. Vickers," Dunn said. "I believe he's the right person to serve as interim chancellor, and I would strongly encourage the board to select him for that position."

Some board members balked at the idea of having only one finalist for the interim chancellor's position and disliked a search committee's suggestion that Potts' interim successor remain on the job for as long as two years.

At the urging of board members Bruce Christianson, of Minot, and Bev Clayburgh, of Grand Forks, the board voted 5-3 to reject the idea of offering a 17- to 24-month contract to the interim chancellor. Christianson said he believed the job could be permanently filled by July 2007.

"There are good times and not so good times to be searching for a new person, and starting your search in August or September … is the best time to do that," Christianson said. "We will have, I am confident, a number of candidates, and a good pool, in doing it in this manner."

Board members then agreed to meet next Thursday in Bismarck to interview both Vickers and Dunn in person for the interim chancellor's job, despite Dunn's earlier statement that he no longer wanted to be considered.

Vickers declined comment on the board's discussion, saying he wanted to speak first to board President John Q. Paulsen. Dunn said afterward he is still backing Vickers and is unsure whether he will attend the interview next week.

"I do want to say my thinking has not changed," Dunn said. "This is a huge decision, and I just thought it was behind me. … I was so comfortable that we had a really good, qualified person who would be doing it."

The board's two newest members, Charles Murphy, of Fort Yates, and Nick Rogers, its student representative, had asked that the board interview its interim chancellor candidates in person. Rogers, a Grand Forks native, is a pharmacy student at North Dakota State University.

Rogers said he had never spoken to Vickers at length. "It would not be fair to me to cast a vote today, just having been able to ask a few questions over the phone, and review a resume," he said.

Paulsen said he would consult Vickers and Dunn about whether a one-year term as interim chancellor would be acceptable to either man. Vickers had suggested extending the interim chancellor's contract to two years.

A search committee picked Vickers and Dunn as finalists for the interim position from a group of 10 candidates.

Potts, who has been chancellor since July 2004, is leaving with a year left on his employment contract.

He negotiated a severance agreement that will pay him more than $200,000 over the next year and requires him to provide consulting services if asked.

Potts' agreement says he must remain as chancellor until an interim successor is hired but also allows him to take another full-time job at any time until his contract ends on June 30, 2007.

Vickers, 68, has been Dickinson State's president for seven years. He was president of colleges in Idaho and South Carolina before the Board of Higher Education hired him for the Dickinson job in February 1999.

Dunn, 65, has been vice chancellor for strategic planning and director of North Dakota's College Technical Education Council since 1993. He is a former vice president for economic development at the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce.