Updated: Sat, Dec 11, 2004, 1:00 PM ET (1800 GMT)
Originally Posted: Sat, Dec 11, 2004, 9:19 AM ET (1419 GMT)
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe may leave the space agency in the near future, perhaps as early as next week, according to reports Saturday. Florida Today reported that O'Keefe confirmed to the newspaper Friday night that he is a candidate for, and interested in, the position of chancellor of Louisiana State University (LSU). O'Keefe did not say if he had been interviewed by the university's search committee. SpaceRef, meanwhile, reported late Saturday morning that O'Keefe may announce his departure within the next week in order to "attend to his family." O'Keefe, NASA administrator since the end of 2001, had been widely rumored to be a candidate for a Cabinet-level or other senior position in a second Bush administration, but was not tapped by President Bush to fill any Cabinet vacancies that opened after Bush won reelection last month.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  SpaceRef article