All three finalists selected by a presidential-search committee at the University of Wyoming have removed themselves from consideration for the university’s top job, the Associated Press reported today. The sole remaining candidate for the post, Thomas Buchanan, the university’s interim president, was added last week to the list by the university’s governing board only after faculty members protested his exclusion from the committee’s recommendations.

Today, the third of the three other finalists, Loren W. Crabtree, withdrew. Mr. Crabtree, chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, surprised and disappointed some members of Wyoming’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Crabtree’s exit came a day after the withdrawal of Joseph A. Chapman, president of North Dakota State University. Both men cited a desire to stay at their current institutions as their reason for dropping out. Another finalist, whose name was not released, withdrew earlier this month.

The trustees will discuss starting the search process anew in coming days, the AP reported. However, Mr. Buchanan does have substantial support on the board, with a majority of trustees supporting the addition of his name to the list of finalists, the AP said.