University of Alabama President Stuart Bell emerges as candidate for Texas A&M chancellor

Two of the University of Alabama’s top administrators have emerged as candidates for leadership positions at other universities.

UA President Stuart Bell, a native of Abilene, Texas and a Texas A&M graduate, is in the running for the chancellor position at Texas A&M, according to an article published Feb. 24 by the school’s newspaper, The Battalion.

Meanwhile, Chad Tindol, UA’s chief administrative officer, is a candidate for president at Murray State University in Kentucky.

Bell has said he planned to retire as UA’s president in July after leading the Capstone for 10 years. The 67-year-old Bell announced those plans in a Jan. 15 statement, saying his retirement will go into effect mid-summer.

More: UA President Stuart R. Bell will leave legacy of growth at the Capstone

The statement reads, in part:

“‌As our university continues its positive direction, the moment is right to announce plans to complete my tenure as president mid-summer. I am grateful for the longstanding support of our board of trustees and UA System leadership and will work with them for a seamless transition. It has been my honor to work with you during my 26 years here, including the last 10 as your president, and I look forward to a future return to the faculty,” Bell said.

The UA System has launched a comprehensive national search for Bell’s successor. An executive search firm, Academic Search, has been retained to support UA’s search advisory committee, according to a news release.

But now it appears that post-retirement plans could be in the works for Bell as he was announced Feb. 24 as one of the five finalists to lead Texas A&M.

According to The Texas Tribune, the Texas A&M System Board of Regents has narrowed the finalists to five candidates for the position of chancellor, including Bell, who graduated in 1979 from Texas A&M with a degree in nuclear engineering.

The other four Texas A&M finalists include:

• Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar

• Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel

• State Rep. Trent Ashby, who represents District 9 in the Texas House of Representatives

• U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents the 10th Congressional District in Texas

The new Texas A&M chancellor will lead eight state agencies and 11 campuses with more than 150,000 students.

The selected finalist will succeed Chancellor John Sharp, Texas A&M class of 1972, who announced he would retire on June 30. He is the longest-serving chancellor in the history of the Texas A&M System, the article states.

Chad Tindol to Murray State?

Tindol is in the running for the president position at Murray State University, according to an article published by Murray Ledger & Times.

The university’s Board of Regents is in the process of hiring a new president to replace Bob Jackson, who will be retiring from his position at the end of June, the article states.

Tindol is one of four candidates for the president position.

The remaining three finalists include:

• Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson, vice chancellor academic and student affairs and chief academic officer, for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

• Ron K. Patterson, president, Chadron State College in Nebraska

• Christian E. Hardigree, regional chancellor at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg

Tindol is a UA graduate who earned a law degree at Yale University. He began work with the UA System in 2006 and has served in a variety of roles, including counsel and vice chancellor. His UA resume includes a stint as associate dean of the UA School of Law.

He has been UA’s chief administrative officer since 2019.

Tindol said he sees similarities between UA and Murray State, according to the Murray Ledger & Times article.

“I’ve worked at the University of Alabama for almost 19 years,” Tindol said during a Feb. 17 meeting at Murray State where the school presidential candidates spoke to members of the community. “People love that Script A, they love that crimson. I feel the same way about it, and I see here at Murray a place where people feel the same way about Murray. This is the flagship of this region, and that attracts me greatly.”

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Could UA President Stuart Bell leave for Texas A&M University?