The search for a new Commissioner of Higher Education is coming to a close with three finalists selected for interviews, seven months after former commissioner Jim Purcell resigned. 
The finalists, approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents on Thursday, include Robin Capehart, president of West Liberty University; Ray DiPasquale president of the Community College of Rhode Island and Joseph Rallo vice chancellor for academic affairs at Texas Tech University.
The Commissioner of Higher Education serves as the lead coordinator for the LSU, University of Louisiana, Southern University and Louisiana Community and Technical College systems, whose 38 institutions have an enrollment of 216,613 students, according to the Board of Regent’s website. 
Chairman of the Louisiana Board of Regents Clinton Rasberry said the finalists will be interviewed by the Board on Oct. 9. 
The finalists were chosen by the search committee from a pool of 25 people who expressed interest in the position. The search for a commissioner started four months ago with the hiring of search firm AGB Search.
The new commissioner will start on Jan. 2, 2015.  
The Board conducted budget hearings for all of the state’s higher education institutions Wednesday to review the budgets for each institution. 
The operating budget of the LSU System is nearly 30 percent larger than the operating budget of the University of Louisiana System, totalling $1.1 billion compared to UL System’s $774 million for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, according to the LSU and UL system websites. 
Rasberry said the budget hearings went well, the system presidents were thoughtful in their presentations and the systems were doing better this year because they have the ability to keep tuition dollars.
“It’s evident that there is an increased level of fiscal stability for our systems and we are all grateful for that,” Rasberry said. 
Revenue generated by the higher education institutions, primarily through a university’s tuition and fees, make up about 52 percent of the state’s funding for higher education. Federal funding makes up about 4 percent, and state funding about 36 percent, according to a Board of Regent’s news release.  
The Board also approved a resolution declaring October Louisiana College Application Month. According to the news release, about 90 percent of middle school students say they plan to go to college, but the number of applicatnts are much lower for high school seniors. 
The month is an extension of the American College Application Campaign, a national program aimed at increasing the number of high school seniors applying to college, Rasberry said.