MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The University of Minnesota has chosen Eric Kaler , provost of Stony Brook University in New York, as its next president.The Board of Regents voted for Kaler on Thursday after a one-hour public interview. Kaler was the top choice of 148 candidates screened by a search committee.

Board Chairman Clyde Allen says Kaler agreed to accept the job if it was offered and the two sides have agreed on terms of a contract.

The 54-year-old has been provost at Stony Brook since 2007. He received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982.

Current President Robert Bruininks will return to the faculty when his contract expires in June 2011.

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