PROVIDENCE — A search committee has chosen four finalists to replace John Nazarian, who is retiring as president of Rhode Island College after nearly six decades at the state school.

The finalists are:

•Nancy Carriuolo, RIC’s interim vice president for academic affairs and deputy commissioner and chief academic officer at the Rhode Island Office of Higher Education.

•John William Folkins, chief executive officer at the Bowling Green State University Research Institute in Bowling Green, Ohio.

•Alfred J. Guillaume Jr., vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of French at Indiana University South Bend.

•Nancy Kleniewski, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Mass.

“I’m very pleased,” said Jack R. Warner, Rhode Island’s commissioner of higher education. “They all have had significant senior-level experience.”

In all, 48 people applied for the position, and a search committee interviewed eight candidates before selecting the four finalists.

What set those four apart? “The quality of their interviews, the way they could articulate their own passion for their work and their desire to do this work here,” Warner said. “We also want to be sure they have studied the institution thoroughly. And you get a sense of the nature of people.”

All members of the college community will have a chance to meet the candidates during open forums and college leadership meetings at the RIC campus later this month, Warner said. During the middle two weeks of April, each candidate will come for a full day of interviews, meetings and forums, he said. Additional information will be announced soon.

The Board of Governors for Higher Education plans to make the final decision at its May 12 board meeting, Warner said.

Warner said one candidate came for an interview on the morning that the Journal ran an editorial about House Finance Chairman Steven Costantino’s plan to explore the consolidation of RIC and the Community College of Rhode Island.

“It gave one candidate pause,” Warner said, “and we had to explain that that was one idea thrown out to help deal with a larger budget crisis. I proposed an alternative of creating an administrative service center to look at economies of scale at the three institutions (RIC, CCRI and University of Rhode Island). I think that will save money and at the same time preserve the institution’s identity, which is important to students, faculty members — and to future presidents. At end of the day, I think RIC will stay as a strong institution and we’ll look to achieve savings through economies on the administrative side.”

Nazarian, 75, announced in October he would step down after 58 years at RIC, including 18 years as its eighth president.

It’s unclear what the next president of RIC will earn. Nazarian makes about $185,000 a year, which trails the $212,800 national median for presidents of master’s degree institutions, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. “Obviously, we have to negotiate that with the candidate,” Warner said. “Presidential salaries have tended to be low, so we are going to have to pay a bit more than we have been paying to be competitive.”

The search committee was headed by Michael F. Ryan, a RIC alumnus who is vice chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education. The 14-member committee also includes members of the Board of Governors, several RIC faculty and staff members, a RIC student, an additional RIC alumnus, a member of the RIC Foundation board and community representatives.

According to the description of the job, the Board of Governors is seeking “a visionary leader, with a track record of successful performance.” Candidates must have a doctorate, 10 years of senior administrative leadership in higher education, and strong interpersonal skills. The job description also calls for candidates to have a commitment to the mission of a public college and to diversity; and experience in building partnerships with other colleges, K-12 public schools, businesses and organized labor.

efitzpat@projo.com