Sources say Dr. Glenn Boyce will be appointed chancellor of the University of Mississippi during a noon press conference on Friday at the Inn at Ole Miss.

An official with firsthand knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that Boyce, a former state Higher Education Commissioner, will be announced as the next chancellor.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because, although trustees voted on the choice in closed session Thursday, it won’t be announced until Friday in Oxford, according to AP.

Boyce, 61, declined comment to the AP on Thursday night. His choice brings to a close a fraught search for a new Ole Miss leader after former Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter resigned after less than three years on the job.

Boyce was involved in the search early on after the university’s private foundation hired him to meet with influential individuals about what they wanted in the next Ole Miss leader.

Boyce’s appointment came as a shock to many on social media, as his name was missing from a short list of eight candidates leaked by Mississippi Today on Monday.

This is a developing story. More information will be published as it becomes available