University officials are one step closer to appointing an acting provost with the selection of the search and rating committee.

The committee, which is composed of two students, one dean and three professors met for the first time Friday, and are planning to meet again Monday.

Chairman of the committee, journalism Professor Stephen Lacy said the committee has several ways to measure who the best acting provost would be.

Lacy said the Executive Committee of Academic Council created a list of criteria for suggestions of what qualities to look for in an acting provost.

"The most important thing is they have to have the ability to handle the complex budget process, that's the number one job the provost has to do," Lacy said.

"They also need to know how to work with the deans and the faculty and their departmental duties."

Lacy said the acting provost will come from within MSU and will have to be able to handle the changes in the university.

Chairperson of ASMSU's Academic Assembly Dan Weber said he will be looking at what kind of person the candidate is, and not necessarily the position he or she used to hold. ASMSU is MSU's undergraduate student government

"I'm looking for someone who is open to working heavily with students," Weber said. "There are going to be a lot of changes to this university in the coming months and years and we need someone who is willing to listen to us."

Dean of the College of Engineering and a member of the committee, Janie Fouke, said the acting provost should be good with budgets and money, but equally important is working well with faculty and staff.

"It should be someone who is respected and has the political and personal skills to evoke cooperative behavior from a lot of different groups," Fouke said.

Fouke also said that the candidate should also be able to deal with the different colleges and their challenges.

"They need to be able to get people to cooperate across units of campus," Fouke said. "The more we go across the units, the more we can take our best practices and transfer them from one unit to another."

Fouke said that she thinks people from a wide range of careers at MSU could hold the position until a permanent provost is selected.

Lacy said the committee does not yet have a timeline when they would like to start interviewing applicants, but wants to start as soon as possible.

President-designate and current Provost Lou Anna Simon will make the final choice for acting provost after the committee has submitted its finalists.