As former Slippery Rock University President G. Warren Smith was expected to be packed and out of his home this week, new leadership at the university continued to get settled in.

Smith, and his wife, Constance, were given a month to move from their home on the campus after the State System of Higher Education's board of governors fired him on Dec. 9.

When Smith was terminated, provost Dr. Robert Smith was named acting president.

He, in turn, asked English department chairman Dr. William "Bill" Williams to be interim provost. For eight years, Williams has also been president of SRU's faculty union, which is in contract negotiations.

Jace Condravey, English professor and former vice president of the faculty union, moved up to union president, and the English department elected Dr. Cornelius Cosgrove as the new chairman.

The board of governors was expected this week to change Robert Smith's status from acting president to interim president.

Being the temporary president will transform "my whole life," he said. "There are greater areas of need ... that comes with the presidency that weren't part of my life as provost."

Before Williams came on board, Smith briefly acted as both president and provost. "I can say there was only one case where I ... disapproved an action as provost and approved it as president after some new information came in between," he said.

By his second day as provost, Williams said he was "starting to get a feel for it."

He accepted the position because the "change in the presidency is disruptive to the institution," he said.

Williams has been a professor for more than 20 years, and his position in the faculty union makes him a strong figure among the teachers.

"Me being willing to do this will provide stability," Williams said.

G. Warren Smith's popularity with the faculty and his abrupt removal has caused "concern" on campus, Robert Smith added. "My job is to receive the hand-off at this point on the field and move forward."

Robert Smith said although he agreed to take the helm, he refused to move to the president's house on campus.

And, he said, G. Warren and Constance Smith didn't move very far. "They have rented a home in Slippery Rock." The couple also has a summer cabin along the Allegheny River.

Furthermore, "I think Dr. Connie Smith still wants to be involved in the Institute for Learning and Retirement. It's important to her," Robert Smith added. She's helped in the formation of the SRU educational program for senior citizens.

G. Warren Smith will be paid the remainder of his contract, which was set to expire June 30, 2004, said Ken Marshall, spokesman for the State System of Higher Education.

SRU plans to have a new president in place no later than July 1, 2004, Robert Smith added. A presidential search is expected to start in the fall.

"My job is to expedite that. It's a long time to be acting president," he said. The university is waiting that long to give the trustees time to have a "common mind." G. Warren Smith was supported 100 percent by the trustees, who disagreed with the state's decision to remove him.

"One of my first tasks is to have a meeting (with faculty) ... at the (student) union to talk about where we are and where we're going to go," Robert Smith said, adding that meeting is set for Tuesday. "We have a good university with good people. My hope is together we're going to do just fine. My goal is to help people have the kinds of tools to do the good things that they do."

The transition has been "rough," he added. "The circumstances aren't real attractive. Dr. Smith was an important individual in my life and I think the world of him, but we've got a university and we have to move forward.

"The truth is, it's a testimony to good things he's done that we can pick up and move forward ... or I'd be letting down the good work he's done."