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Coastal Carolina University Provost Peter Barr was chosen as the new president of Glenville State College yesterday.
Glenville's Board of Governors unanimously chose Barr for the job over two other finalists.
He will assume the post on July First, after current President Robert Freeman retires.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is expected to approve Barr's appointment tomorrow.
Barr is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Marshall University, with a master's degree in business administration from Marshall and a doctor's degree in business administration from Louisiana Tech University.
Barr, along with Col. Henry Zimon, former president of Albright College and Willis Perry, a former member of Glenville's Board of Governors, were three finalists from a field of 70 applicants.
Controversy surrounded the resume of Col. Zimon, although he categorically denied he falsified any of his credentials to become president of a Pennsylvania college.
Reporter Lawrence J. Smith, writing for the Hur Herald, said that when Zimon was a candidate for the presidency at the liberal arts United Methodist college in 1999, faculty members led by communications professor Alchal Mehra, implored the college's board of trustees to not hire Zimon based on inaccurate and misleading information he provided about his credentials.
"He (Mehra)was a publicly avowed anarchist," Zimon told a Glenville group. "His modus operandi was to stir the pot. I had a bad apple on the faculty."
In May 2001, the clash between the two came to a head when Zimon sought to have Mehra fired. Zimon issued a 67-point complaint against Mehra accusing him of "professional unfitness" and "moral turpitude."
Zimon's alleged misrepresentation about his credentials was linked to his 29-year military career, much of which was reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
"They (Chronicle of Higher Education) kind of admitted they made an error, but it's very difficult to get reporters to admit they made an error," Zimon said.
When asked if he'd misrepresented his credentials to the Albright trustees, Zimon was unequivocal in his response.
"Absolutely not," Zimon said. "I have never even lied to mom and dad."
Glenville State hired a professional firm to narrow the 70 applicants to three.
READ Reporter Lawrence J. Smith's stories on Col. Zimon, use SEARCH
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