A driver drives through the gateway of the University of Northern Iowa on Thursday, June 23, 2011, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The first of three candidates for the position of University of Northern Iowa president has been announced, in advance of his campus visit.

William N. Ruud, president of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, will visit campus Monday and Tuesday. His public forum will be at 3 p.m. Monday in the Maucker Union Old Central Ballroom.

The names of the two other candidates scheduled to visit campus in the next two weeks will be announced just before each visit. The state Board of Regents is slated to interview the finalists at a meeting Feb. 7.

Ruud’s biography and complete visit schedule can be found at www.uni.edu/presidential-search.

UNI President Ben Allen is retiring after about seven years at the helm.