A California university is trying to get NIU President John La Tourette’s interest in being its president although he hasn’t decided if he wants to be interviewed for the job.

La Tourette is one of five finalists picked to replace Fresno State University President Harold Haak, who’s retiring July 15 after 14 years on the job.

A search has been underway since mid-November for a new president at Fresno.

“Basically, I haven’t committed myself,” he said. Although La Tourette said he’s interested in the opening, he said he’s happy here and finds his job rewarding.

La Tourette said he was nominated by a “higher education leader” in Washington, D.C., early in February. “They’ve been aggressive in getting me to become a candidate,” he said, declining to say who nominated him.

The NIU president makes $106,200 a year but would increase his salary by $17,800 to $124,000 at Fresno.

La Tourette said he gets nominated for other presidency jobs often but doesn’t “come jumping at every call I get,” he said.

If the president is chosen and accepts, the California picture would be quite different from NIU.

Fresno has 20,000 students compared to NIU’s 25,000. The Fresno campus has a 33 percent minority enrollment, compared to 15 percent at NIU in the undergraduate level.

Also, NIU’s campus is 460 acres in contrast to 250 acres in Fresno.

La Tourette said he traveled to California when the interviewing process was underway. “I have talked to the search committee, so I have to make a decision,” he said.

The search committee is made up of members from the Board of Trustees. Caesar Naples, vice chancellor for Faculty and Staff Relations, is one of the members.

“La Tourette has indicated he is content where he is. We’re hoping after he comes out and sees the campus we’ll attract him to Fresno State,” Naples said. “He’s agreed to come out and look at the campus but made no further commitments.”

La Tourette said he is invited to visit the campus sometime early in May. However, the president has not committed to an interview.

The Board of Trustees sent out about 3,000 letters to college presidents and looked for suggestions on who they should contact for the presidency, Naples said.

More than 100 people applied for the job. The other finalists are:

Leonard A. Valverde, vice president for Academic Affairs and graduate dean at the University of Texas-San Antonio.

Carol D. Surles, vice president for Academic Affairs at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.

John D. Welty, president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pa.

Freeman A. Hrabowski, an executive vice president and vice provost of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Roderick Groves, chancellor of NIU’s Board of Regents, declined to comment on the nomination, saying he doesn’t comment on searches in progress.

La Tourette came to NIU in 1979 as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. He was named president in May 1986.

Before coming to NIU, he was vice provost for Research and dean of the Graduate College at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.

La Tourette has taught economics at Binghamton and Bowling Green and Rutgers.

He earned his doctoral degree in economics from Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, located at New Brunswick.

The NIU president has been the recipient of several research and teaching fellowships and grants, including a Brookings Institution Research Professorship awarded through a national competition. He is also the author of many referred journal articles.

A specialist in macroeconomics, La Tourette’s more recent efforts have focused on technological change and economies of scale.