The first of three candidates for the position of dean of fine arts at Kansas University was announced Monday.

Wade Hobgood, a professor of mass communications at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, will visit campus today and speak between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. The public event will be in Murphy Hall’s Crafton-Preyer Theatre.

Hobgood, formerly the chancellor at North Carolina School of the Arts, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1975 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1977 from East Carolina University. He earned a master’s degree in educational management from Harvard University.

While chancellor, Hobgood sought and received legislative approval to offer free tuition, room and board to North Carolina high school students who enrolled at the art school.

The tenure was marred, however, when the state auditor made allegations of financial mismanagement at the school. The allegations blamed the more than $300,000 in improperly spent money on other administrators at the school.

But Hobgood, according to local media reports, accepted responsibility for the misdeeds of his subordinates.

KU spokeswoman Jill Jess said two more candidates plan campus visits, on March 10 and 13. Those two candidates, whom the university is keeping secret until two days before they arrive in Lawrence, also will conduct a public session at Murphy Hall.

Jess said it was necessary to keep the names out of the public eye until they appear on campus in order to get the maximum number of candidates to apply.

In addition to his time as chancellor of the art school, Hobgood has also been the dean or associate dean of three different schools of fine arts within larger universities.

The new dean of fine arts will replace Steve Hedden, who in August announced he intended to step down from his administrative position and take a more active role in teaching in the department of music at KU.