PROVIDENCE — Jack R. Warner, the state higher education commissioner, is one of three finalists for the chancellor position at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which oversees 14 public universities. Warner flew to Harrisburg yesterday afternoon for a series of interviews today and tomorrow. The Pennsylvania Board of Governors for the State System of Higher Education is expected to make a decision within the week, Warner said in a phone interview.

The other two finalists, according to The Patriot News in Harrisburg yesterday, are John C. Cavanaugh, president of the University of West Florida, and Richard H. Wells, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

If Warner is selected, his departure will represent the second significant change of top-level educational leadership in Rhode Island. This month, Peter McWalters, longtime commissioner of elementary and secondary education, announced he would step down next year, after serving 17½ years.

Warner, 62, became commissioner in 2002 after more than 30 years of teaching and administrative experience with the Massachusetts public college system, and earns about $135,000 a year. He advises the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education and runs the Office of Higher Education, which manages and supports Rhode Island’s three public colleges: the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island.

The current chancellor of the Pennsylvania system, Judy Hample, is paid about $325,000 a year. She is leaving to become president of the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, according to The Patriot News.

Frank Caprio, chairman of the board of governors, said if Warner left, “it would be a tremendous loss to higher education and to the state.”

“I have very mixed feelings, because as a friend and colleague, obviously I wish him well,” Caprio said. “But it would be hard to find a replacement. He has been innovative, creative and extremely loyal to the board, and he has worked tirelessly to make public higher education accessible and affordable.”

During Warner’s tenure, the board has sought to limit tuition and fee increases, despite cuts in state funding, and enrollment at the three state colleges has increased. The board has also pushed for more low-income students to attend college, worked closely with K-12 educators to make sure students are being prepared for work and college, expanded nursing programs and helped design adult education and job training initiatives.

Warner said yesterday that he had been caught off-guard by the public release of the finalists yesterday, as he was told no such announcement would be made before the selection of the new chancellor. He also said he plans to stay in his current role if he is not selected for the chancellor job.

“I had planned all along to stay in Rhode Island and I did not go seeking this position,” Warner said. “They recruited me and after several discussions, I agreed to apply.”

When asked whether the state’s projected $385-million deficit for fiscal year 2009 and the call by some lawmakers to do away with his position, prompted him to apply for the Pennsylvania job, Warner said no.

“As you can imagine, when you come in and have done what you consider a good job, those criticisms can be disconcerting,” Warner said. “But you have to accept that in difficult times, tensions arise, and you have to expect criticism in a leadership position. I’ve enjoyed my time in Rhode Island.”

The Pennsylvania system, which does not include the state’s largest research institution, Penn State, has about 110,000 students spread over 14 institutions, a few of which grant doctorates and the majority of which are master’s degree granting institutions, similar to Rhode Island College.

“Obviously it’s a larger and more complex system,” Warner said. “I’ve always appreciated the role of a regional state university system, and the last job I came from, as associate chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, I was very comfortable with that kind of system.”

Warner also served as vice chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education; dean of student affairs at Bristol Community College in Fall River, and was a professor and administrator at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Warner also has a doctorate from Boston College.

The 14 institutions that form part of the Pennsylvania system are: Bloomsburg University; California University; Cheyney University; Clarion University; Edinboro University; East Stroudsburg University; Indiana University; Kutztown University; Lock Haven University; Mansfield University; Millersville University; Shippensburg University; Slippery Rock University; and West Chester University.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

jjordan@projo.com