LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State College System has entered a contract with the next system chancellor.

The system said in a news release Tuesday that Paul Turman will begin his Lincoln work on Jan. 2 at a yearly salary of $270,000. He was unanimously approved by system trustees last week.

Turman is system vice president for academic affairs for the South Dakota Board of Regents. He’ll be replacing Chancellor Stan Carpenter, who is retiring after 18 years of service to the Nebraska system, which has campuses in Chadron, Peru and Wayne.

The other three finalists were state Sen. John Kuehn, a veterinarian who represents District 38 in the Nebraska Legislature; Thomas Chesney, president of Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch, Texas; and Rusty Monhollon, who is assistant commissioner for academic affairs, Missouri Department of Higher Education.