Southern Arkansas University President Emeritus Dr. David Rankin was named interim president at SAU on Nov. 15.
He succeeded Dr. Trey Berry, who resigned from his position as SAU president on Nov. 1 after accepting the position of chancellor at Henderson State University.
The SAU Board of Trustees voted on Nov. 7 to hire a search firm to find a permanent replacement for Berry.
Rankin was SAU President from 2002 to 2015 before being succeeded by Berry.