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Last updated 1:29 am CT September 06, 2010.
SIU Chancellor Finalist Holds Public Forum
Barbara Couture is currently the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
She's a former public school teacher originally from Detroit, Michigan.
Couture has 30 years of experience at research universities.
During Monday's forum at Morris Library Couture shared some of her accomplishments at Nebraska.
She says she's initiated efforts to boost enrollment and international programming as well as faculty recruitment and retention.
She says in the event of budget cuts, academic programs should remain a priority, "You can't be successful in a university unless there is a devotion to creating strong academic programs. You've got that here. That is a tremendous asset it's really something to build on."
Couture says she'd be an asset for SIU's fundraising efforts and seeks to better connect teaching and research.
The other finalist Rita Cheng visited campus last week.
The search committee expects to make a recommendation to President Glenn Poshard sometime this month.
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