Iowa State's Hoffman a finalist for New Mexico presidency

Iowa State University Provost Elizabeth "Betsy" Hoffman is one of five finalists for the presidency at the University of New Mexico.

The university's board of regents on Monday named five finalists, including Hoffman, to succeed outgoing president David Schmidly, who is leaving in June 2012, according to the Unviersity of New Mexico news service.

Hoffman is a professor of history and economics who has been executive vice president and provost at ISU since 2007. She was dean of ISU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997, after which she served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago and as the 20th president of the University of Colorado system.

The five will visit the campus over the next two weeks for open forums and interviews with regents, with a decision planned for early January, according to the university.