Winthrop presidential search narrows to two finalists

Winthrop’s board of trustees will name the university’s 11th president by the end of this week, but in their pending decision Friday, they will have one fewer candidate.

College of Charleston School of Business Dean Alan Shao has removed himself from consideration, leaving Jeff Elwell and Daniel Mahony as the finalists for the school’s top job.

In an e-mail sent by Shao to his colleagues at CofC, he wrote that he and Winthrop’s trustees “could not agree to terms,” and that he had “withdrawn [his] name from future negotiations.”

Board members are set to meet Friday afternoon, taking public comment at 1 p.m. before heading into closed session with a decision expected within an hour.

Following Friday’s expected decision, the next president will move into the president’s house over the summer and take over for acting president Debra Boyd July 1.