The contentious 10-month search for a new president to lead UNC’s 17-campus university system is expected to come to an end when the Board of Governors votes on Friday.

From the sudden and unexplained ouster of current president Tom Ross in January to last week’s emergency closed door meeting, the process for appointing a new system president has drawn fire from all sides, including students, faculty, the North Carolina General Assembly, and even some on the Board of Governors.

Margaret Spellings is reported to be the front-runner for the position. She was Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush and one of the architects of the No Child Left Behind act designed to reform public education from Kindergarten through high school.

Spellings currently heads the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Texas.

The UNC Board of Governors is expected to meet in closed session at 11:00 a.m., then elect the new president in open session immediately following. WCHL will broadcast the meeting live on 97.9 F.M.