Emporia ? The Kansas Board of Regents is preparing to announce the hiring of Emporia State University’s new president.

The regents will conduct a special meeting at 9:30 a.m. Friday to name the university’s 16th president, then will announce the selection at a news conference.

Former president Michael Lane resigned in May, six months after he interviewed for the presidency of a private university in Illinois.

He withdrew his name from consideration for that job a month after the interviews, saying his visit to Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., made him realize how much he appreciated Emporia State.

In announcing his resignation, Lane said his interest in the Illinois job caused some to question his commitment to the Kansas school and had become a distraction for the Emporia campus.