CANTON -- President Joseph Hoffman says he is not among the five candidates to take the helm at SUNY Canton.

“It is important for you to know that after much deliberation, I had decided to decline the opportunity to apply for the presidency at SUNY Canton,” said Hoffman, who as acting president was eligible to seek the permanent post.

“It was an extremely difficult decision, as we have grown to love it here, but I feel at this time that I need to be closer to my family,” Hoffman said.

The SUNY Canton Presidential Search Committee has picked five candidates to visit the campus and continue the selection process.

The visits will begin at the end of January and carry into the first few weeks of February, according to a message to staff from College Council Chair Ronald M. O’Neill. Each candidate’s name will be announced just prior to the visit to the college. Biographical information and resumes of each candidate will be made available then.

At the time of his appointment Hoffman had held academic and administrative positions at SUNY Maritime College since 1997, and was honored as a distinguished teaching professor there.

He was appointed after former provost and interim president Carli Schiffner stepped down last May to become vice-president for instruction at Wenatchee Valley College.