By Emily Garcia |Staff writerKarla Leeper, executive vice president for operations at Augusta University, is one of four finalists to be interviewed next week by a Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) committee for the presidential position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).Former AU and then Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz was a finalist for the same job in 2014.Interviews are scheduled to take place July 22 with a hiring decision to be made the next day.NHSE said that interviews will not be livestreamed. However, up to 50 members of the public will be allowed to attend in-person, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.Leeper has worked at AU for six years, holding various positions, including executive vice president for university relations, chief of staff to the president and adjunct faculty member in the Department of Communication.Debra van Tuyll, professor in the Department of Communication, called Leeper collegial and helpful whenever the department called on her.Leeper earned a master’s degree in business administration from AU as well as a doctoral degree in communication studies from the University of Kansas. She has a bachelor's degree in speech communication and political science from the University of Iowa, and a master's degree in communication studies from Kansas.The executive vice president for operations at AU also serves as AU’s representative in several community development efforts, such the Richmond County Transportation Investment Act public advisory board and the Central Savannah River Area 2050 transportation strategic planning advisory board.The other three finalists all hold similar executive positions at their respective universities. Leeper is the only candidate to not have the title of provost.Associate Vice President of Communications Christen Engel stated that AU has no comment about Leeper at this time.Leeper did not respond to attempts to contact her. Contact Emily Garcia at emgarcia@augusta.edu.