Two Women Among the Four Finalists for President of the University of South Dakota

The University of South Dakota has announced four finalists to become the next president of the university. The candidates are visiting campus this week for a series of interviews and public presentations. Two of the four candidates are women.

Kelli R. McCormack Brown is the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. Before taking this position in 2013, Dr. Brown was the interim dean at the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Florida and previously served for five years as associate dean for academic affairs. Earlier in her career, she was interim dean of the Graduate School and a professor of community and family health at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Brown holds bachelorʼs and masterʼs degrees from the University of Toledo. She earned a doctorate at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Sheila Gestring is vice president of finance and chief financial officer at the University of South Dakota. She joined the finance staff at the university in 2006 and was named chief financial officer in 2010. Gestring led a successful $250 million fundraising campaign at the university that reached its goal several months in advance. Prior to joining the staff at the University of South Dakota, Gestring was chief financial officer at Flathead Valley Community College in Montana. Gestring is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls, where she majored in accounting and business administration. She earned an MBA at the University of South Dakota.

Update: On May 1, Sheila Gestring was selected as the eighteenth president of the University of South Dakota.