The Texas A&M president’s office will soon have a permanent occupant.The Board of Regents named its sole finalist for the position Tuesday: Michael K. Young, the president of the University of Washington, where he has served since July 2011.Due to Texas law, Young can’t be appointed until 21 days after he is named as a finalist by the Board of Regents. Sharp said Young is considered to be one of the top university presidents in the country. “I think he is the person to take us to the next level academically, and he’s also a person that recognizes and values the tradition and spirit of this place and is somebody that wants to grow old as an Aggie,” Sharp said. “I think he’s really going to be a great Aggie.” Jim Woosley, speaker of the faculty senate, said Young exemplifies what the faculty wants in a president at Texas A&M and they are excited to welcome the new president to campus. “We welcome such a prime academic with the expertise and experience that he shows in his resume and is so well known and well respected, not only in Seattle or Washington, but nationally and internationally,” Woosley said. “We are very much looking forward to Dr. Young.”Before becoming the president at the University of Washington, Young was president and distinguished professor of law at the University of Utah from 2004 to 2011, where he helped raise the school to one of the top 100 universities in the world, according to a university press release.David Pershing, president of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, said in a statement that during Young’s time as president, he was responsible for advancing commercialization of faculty and student inventions, improving physical facilities, internationalizing the campus focus, increasing state legislative funding and expanding the medical center. Young said in a release that he and his wife look forward to joining Texas A&M, as it’s poised to be one of the greatest research universities in the United States.“Marti and I want to be part of expanding that excellence and a part of the great spirit and tradition that is Texas A&M,” Young said. “Chancellor Sharp is a leader of vision and I look forward to working with someone who has such a passion for excellence and commitment to the highest standards.”Sharp said he visited Young in Seattle for lunch in the fall after Young was identified by two separate search committees.“We got along pretty well and I said, ‘Since I spent all this time coming here, eating your food and flying back two hours later, I want you to come here,’ and he did,” Sharp said.Sharp said Young decided he wanted to come to A&M after he met with deans, faculty members, students and visited important programs on campus. “We think that he’ll use this as a great opportunity and as a great challenge to produce one of the great public research universities in the country,” Sharp said. “We’re already the largest, dollar-wise, research university in the Southwestern United States, but we think we’re just beginning.”Sharp said there isn’t any official amount agreed upon for the new president’s pay, but it will be an appropriate amount.“We’ll get into the salary announcements whenever we get closer to the 21-day period time, but we’re going to pay him commensurate with what his reputation is and his reputation is one of the top in the United States,” Sharp said.Sharp said he expects Young to begin as acting president sometime in April, with Interim President Mark Hussey sitting in until that time.“Fortunately we have Mark Hussey, who is one of the best administrators I’ve ever seen, and Mark not only gave this committee the ability to take its time and really be thorough, but also gave this committee the ability to wait until the new president has got all of his ducks in line and is ready to come here,” Sharp said.Michael K. Young at a glance:Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Japanese from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School1977-1978: Law clerk to the late Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.1978-1998: Fuyo Professor of Japanese Law at Columbia University Law School.1998-2004: Dean of the George Washington University Law School2004-2011: Professor and president at University of Utah law 2011-2015: President at University of WashingtonPROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Michael Young