Here's who's in the running to (temporarily) lead the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents has selected four finalists for the U's interim president opening.

Why it matters: The temporary successor to outgoing president Joan Gabel will take charge at a critical time for the institution and its flagship Twin Cities campus.

• The U is facing tuition hikes, enrollment declines and the impacts of a proposed hospital merger between Fairview and Sanford Health.

Zoom in: The board met and named four finalists on Thursday:

• Jeffrey Ettinger, chair of the Hormel Foundation Board of Directors and former chief executive officer of Hormel Foods Corporation.
• Myron Frans, senior vice president for finance and operations at the University of Minnesota and a former head of the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget.
• Mary Holz-Clause, chancellor of the University of Minnesota Crookston.
• E. Thomas Sullivan, president emeritus and professor at the University of Vermont and a former U of M provost and senior vice president.

How we got here: Gabel announced in early April that she's leaving after four years to lead the University of Pittsburgh.

• Applications for the interim post opened briefly late last month.

What's next: Finalists will sit for public interviews as soon as next week, per a university release.

• Regents have said they hope to pick someone in May, in order to get them in place before Gabel's last day.