MARSHALL — The Minnesota State College and University system announced on Thursday the three finalists for the next Southwest Minnesota State University President. The new president is anticipated to begin duties on July 1.

The three finalists interviewing for the position are Amy Clark, most recently coming from Nebraska Methodist College (NMC), Shadow Robinson from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and current SMSU interim president David Jones.

Minnesota State is hoping to announce the hiring of a president in the near future, as the Board of Trustees is expected to hear Chancellor Scott Olson’s recommendation at the upcoming Feb. 18 meeting.

The three finalists are expected to visit SMSU throughout next week to finish up interviews.

Clark most recently was the provost and vice president for academic affairs at NMC from 2018 to October of 2025. Prior to that, she served as the Dean of Health Professions and as associate professor for two years at the college.

Also having a history of working in roles as a clinical researcher and other professor positions throughout the years, Clark has a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a master’s from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Robinson comes from serving as the provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith since 2022. Prior to that, he was the Dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences from 2018 to 2022 at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Having a background in physics, Robinson has worked in the physics department and as the Chair of the Physics Department for seven years at the Millsaps College in Mississippi.

Robinson has a pair of bachelor degrees from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate from Rutgers University.

Jones has been serving as SMSU’s interim president since July of 2025, looking to continue his stay.

Prior to coming to SMSU, Jones has over two decades of experience in higher education and came from Minnesota State University Mankato, where he worked a variety of roles from 2011 to 2025.

At Mankato, Jones worked in positions such as the vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, associate vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, and interim vice president for information and technology services.

Jones has other experience prior to Mankato at other universities in student affairs, residential life and as a professor. He has a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Oswego, a master’s from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a doctorate from the College of William and Mary.

What’s next

SMSU will have a significant amount of development coming in the next school year with the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Social Work programs that are planned to launch Fall 2026.

The university also saw its largest total enrollment in history this past fall semester with 8,507 enrolled students, which was a 9.4% total headcount increase from Fall 2024.

The president search comes after former SMSU president Dr. Kumara Jayasuriya retired last May.

According to Minnesota State, the candidates were recommended by a search advisory committee of students, faculty, staff and community leaders.

Clark, Jones and Robinson will each make SMSU visits next week for a series of on-campus interviews.

Clark is scheduled to visit Tuesday, Jones will do his interviews on Wednesday, and Robinson will follow on Thursday.

The three finalists will go through the same interview schedule each day.

They will interview with community partners and alumni starting their days at 8:15 a.m. in the Lower Conference Center. They will then proceed on with the day interviewing with the President’s Cabinet and other faculty groups.

There will be an open forum session with each finalist at 12:45 p.m. at Charter Hall 201 where all are welcomed. The open session is slated to last 45 minutes.