BATON ROUGE - The search committee looking for a new president for the University of Louisiana System has recommended one candidate to the full board for consideration.

James Henderson, president of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, was the only person submitted by the application review committee to the full board for an interview.

The UL System's Board of Supervisors will consider whether to name Henderson as the system's next president at a special Thursday meeting.

A search firm was hired to help with the search, and some initial finalists selected by the application review committee removed their names from consideration.

If Henderson is chosen, he'll fill the job that Sandra Woodley left in December, leading the largest higher education system in Louisiana, with nearly 89,000 students across nine universities, including Northwestern State University.