Three semifinalists were named Monday for the position of vice chancellor and chief information officer at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, the system that includes 32 state universities and community and technical colleges.

The vacancy in the position was created by the retirement of Kenneth Niemi.

A search committee chaired by Robert Musgrove, president of Pine Technical College, submitted the semi-finalist recommendations to James H. McCormick, MnSCU’s chancellor.

The semifinalists are:

Darrel Huish who has been vice chancellor and chief information officer for Maricopa Community Colleges in Tempe, Ariz., since 2004. From 1996 to 2004, he was assistant vice provost for information technology at Arizona State University. He held various other technology positions at Arizona State between 1985 and 1996. Previously, he was senior project leader for Phoenix, Ariz., data processing supervisor for Arizona Phelps Dodge Corp., and he held various computer services positions at Brigham Young University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration, both from Arizona State University.

Bruce Maas who has been chief information officer and director of University Information Technology Services at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee since 2007. Previously, he held positions at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that included interim chief information officer, director of information and media technologies, project manager, budget manager, assistant dean for business affairs and assistant to the controller. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in administrative leadership and supervision in education, both from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Denise Stephens who has been vice provost for information services and chief information officer at the University of Kansas since 2005. Previously, she was acting university librarian and associate university librarian for public services at Syracuse University; head of the Anschutz Library at the University of Kansas; coordinator for information and access services at the Science and Engineering  Libraries, geographic information coordinator and documents information services librarian, all at the University of Virginia; and a library technician at the University of Oklahoma. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in information studies, both from the University of Oklahoma.

McCormick and a panel of others, including one to three members of MnSCU’s Board of Trustees, are to interview the candidates this month. The Board could act on the panel’s recommendation at its Jan. 20 meeting.