In an emergency session late Wednesday, the Faculty Senate at West Virginia University unexpectedly and overwhelmingly voted against the candidacy of Michael S. Garrison, a finalist for the institution’s presidency, and endorsed that of M. Duane Nellis, according to HuntingtonNews.net, a news Web site in Huntington, W.Va.

While Mr. Nellis is provost of Kansas State University and served as dean of West Virginia’s College of Arts and Sciences for seven years, Mr. Garrison is a lawyer and former political staff worker. Critics said his selection as one of three finalists for the post had been based on his political connections and not on the experience necessary to protect the university’s national reputation. They also suggested that the unusually transparent selection process had been rigged. Those factors led them to take the rare step of a no-confidence vote before a new president has even been named.

The Faculty Senate voted, 47 to 5, in favor of Mr. Nellis. A third finalist for the position, Daniel O. Bernstine, president of Portland State University, withdrew from consideration last week. The university’s Board of Governors will announce its choice on Friday. —Sierra Millman