A fourth finalist for the Kansas University School of Engineering dean position has withdrawn, leaving the university’s search committee to recommend a dean from the three candidates already announced, perhaps as soon as this week.

The fourth candidate had been scheduled to appear on campus this week, KU spokesman Gavin Young said, but the person withdrew before doing so. The candidate’s name was never announced.

The search committee, led by KU pharmacy dean Ken Audus, will now choose from among three finalists who’ve already been announced, each of whom would be an outside hire:

• Michael Branicky, a professor and chairman of the electrical engineering and computer science department at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

• Amr Elnashai, a professor and head of the civil and environmental engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Craig Benson, a distinguished professor and chairman of geological engineering as well as civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The search committee makes a hiring recommendation to Provost Jeff Vitter, who will make the final decision. Young said the committee is set to meet this week, and it set a deadline for feedback from the university community for Wednesday.

It’s not clear if the committee will make its recommendation this week, Young said.

Additional information on each of the candidates is available at provost.ku.edu.