Three out-of-towners are in the running for president of Cal State Bakersfield, and one likely will be selected this month, state educators announced Monday. The trio -- Ephraim P. Smith of Cal State Fullerton, Horace Mitchell of the University of California at Berkeley, and G. Timothy Haight of Cal State Los Angeles -- will visit the Bakersfield campus separately next week.

The California State University board of trustees expects to select a president in about two weeks; he would take office in early July.

System spokeswoman Colleen Bentley-Adler said she didn't know whether any CSUB educators were vying for the job and even if she did, she couldn't talk about it.

"These are three imminently qualified candidates, any of whom would make an outstanding president," said CSU trustee Roberta Achtenberg, chairwoman of the presidential search committee.

The new president will succeed President Tomás Arciniega, who is retiring in late June after 21 years at CSUB and 31 years with the college system.

Haight has been dean of Cal State Los Angeles' College of Business and Economics since 1998. He previously worked as chairman of, and professor in, the Finance Department at Towson University in Maryland.

Smith, an accounting professor, has been vice president for academic affairs at Cal State Fullerton since 1998. He's also been dean of the School of Business Administration and Economics there.

Mitchell is an affiliated professor of African-American studies at Berkeley and has been vice chancellor for Business Administrative Services at the school since 1995. He's also worked at the University of California at Irvine and Washington University in St. Louis.

Only Mitchell, 59, could be reached Monday.

Mitchell said he sees the presidency as an opportunity to continue growing a relatively young -- 35-year-old -- campus, including by reaching out to the community as a whole.

He said he's requested budget information from the school, including possible cuts, to see what his early priorities might be.

Mitchell said he's visited the campus twice and will return for an official visit with students, faculty and alumni on May 12. He has a deep background in teaching, student affairs, fund-raising and community organizations, he said.

"My experience, in a very comprehensive way, covers the sorts of things asked of a president there," he said.

Smith will visit CSUB on May 11; Haight will be there on May 13.

Each of the three days the candidates are on campus, a forum open to the public will be from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Student Union multi-purpose room.

An open reception will be held from 4:40 to 6 p.m. in the Albertson Room in the Doré Theatre.