LEXINGTON — The search for a University of Kentucky president will soon head into a new phase as a committee starts compiling its short list of possible candidates.

        More than a dozen people have been interviewed, and eight to 10 more likely will be contacted this month.

        Search committee chairwoman JoEtta Wickliffe, a UK trustee, said the committee is heading into the “narrowing down” phase of its process.

        She declined to name any of those contacted or nominated.

        The 13-member committee of university trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and students will screen possible successors to UK President Charles Wethington. The committee will present finalists to the full board of trustees, and the board has said it plans to hire a new president by March 1. Mr. Wethington steps down June 30.

        The search committee and the trustees have struggled with potential candidates' desires not to have their job hunting made public and the university's need to keep the process open.

        Ms. Wickliffe said the people initially contacted by the committee have said they don't want their names made public, for fear of repercussions for themselves and their employers.

        Ms. Wickliffe said that while she understood their concerns and worried about names being leaked before finalists are named, she said the search would eventually become public.

        UK trustee chairman Billy Joe Miles said the potential finalists are from some of the leading schools in the Southeast, including some in the Southeastern Conference, and others from across the country.

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