TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  — The Florida State University Board of Trustees unanimously picked Harvard University's vice provost for research on Monday to become the school's next president.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida State trustees choose Richard McCullough as new president

  • McCullough is the vice provost for research at Harvard

  • He would replace John Thrasher, who is retiring

  • State university system governors still must approve of the selection

Richard McCullough was among three finalists to replace retiring FSU President John Thrasher. McCullough has held his position at Harvard since 2012, according to his biography on the university's website.

McCullough is also a professor of materials science and engineering at Harvard. He has a PhD in engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

McCullough previously served as vice president for research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He also is co-founder and chairman of Liquid X, a company that produces particle-free ink formulas.

The other two finalists were Robert Blouin, executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Giovanni Piedimonte, vice president for research at Tulane University.

McCullough's appointment still needs to be approved by the state university system's Board of Governors.