The Kansas Board of Regents announced on Thursday that it intended to name a successor to Kansas University Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway by next fall.

The first step for the board in finding a new KU chancellor will be to name a search committee chair. That responsibility will fall to Regents Chairwoman Donna Shank, according to a set of guidelines approved Thursday.

After that, a search committee of about 15 people will be formed and will recommend three to five candidates to the Board of Regents, who will ultimately decide the next KU chancellor.

Shank, with the new search committee chair, Regents Vice Chairwoman Jill Docking, and Regents CEO and President Reggie Robinson will appoint the search committee, with the approval of the Board of Regents.

That approval could come either during the board’s January meeting or in a special meeting before.

The search committee is set to include members from faculty, staff, alumni/endowment, students, Board of Regents, the Lawrence area and the state.

An executive search firm will assist with the search. Shank said the board should be able to select a firm soon, having interviewed several candidates for recent presidential openings at Kansas State and Pittsburg State universities.

Shank said the timeline for the search reasonably matched the other two searches currently under way.

“Given our experience, that’s about what we expect,” Shank said of the fall 2009 timeframe.

Hemenway announced last week that he would step down as chancellor, effective on June 30, 2009, to return to teaching and writing.