Kansas University is searching for a new dean of its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Kim Wilcox, who served in the position nearly three years, said Tuesday he had accepted an offer to become provost at Michigan State University, his alma mater. He plans to start the job this summer, pending final approval from the university’s board of trustees.

“I have been interested in leadership positions in higher education for several years now,” Wilcox said. “I know for now this is a great set of opportunities.”

The board of trustees is expected to formally approve Wilcox’s appointment before June 17. Wilcox, 51, said he hadn’t set a date for when he would leave KU.

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor at KU, said he would appoint an interim dean for the college within two weeks. The university would then launch a national search. If someone is hired for the job from outside the university, the new dean likely would start in fall 2006.

Wilcox’s departure for MSU is the second KU college dean in a row to leave to become provost at a major university. Wilcox’s predecessor, Sally Frost Mason, left in 2001 to become provost at Purdue University.

The college has about 16,000 students enrolled, making it KU’s largest academic unit.

Shulenburger said top KU officials “did everything we could to get (Wilcox) to stay” but declined to give specifics.

“This fits in his long-range plans best,” Shulenburger said. “It’s hard to say no when your alma mater comes calling. We made every effort to keep Kim.”

Wilcox also had been a finalist for the provost position at the University of Florida but withdrew his name from consideration after accepting the MSU post.

At MSU, Wilcox will be chief academic officer for a 44,000-student university. He’ll be paid $275,000, which MSU officials said was the average salary for a Big 10 provost and is about $95,000 more than he’s making at KU.

Wilcox is a native of Michigan who received his bachelor’s degree from MSU in 1975.

“I have a lot of family in the area, so it’s nice to be going home,” he said. “But it’s not without a lot of regret here. This has been a good home to us for 21 years.”

Lynne Goldstein, who chairs both the anthropology department and the provost search committee at MSU, said the committee was impressed by Wilcox’s experience. He served as a faculty member in speech-language-hearing at KU from 1984 to 1998, when he became interim director of academic affairs for the Kansas Board of Regents. He was named the regents’ executive director a year later.

“I think he just had a number of different kinds of experiences and skills that were a really good fit for us,” Goldstein said. “It was a combination of skills and experiences that meshed with our university.”

Shulenburger said he thought Wilcox’s biggest accomplishments at KU included strengthening the finances for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, involving students with the college’s governance and hiring strong young faculty members.

“I certainly wish Kim were staying,” Shulenburger said. “I’m pleased for Kim. I’d be more pleased if he were staying.”