With the departure of Robert Gates, Texas A&M needed to find a new leader. It took them nearly a year to do so.

In January, a search advisory committee was tasked by the A&M System Board of Regents to find the top candidates for the university's presidency. In September, they gave a list of three to the regents.

The search didn't end there, though. Regents brought their own candidates to the table and continued the search, a move that led A&M faculty members to speak out against the process.

In the end, the dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Elsa Murano, was named the lone finalist in December. If approved in January, the Cuban-born Murano would become the university's first female and first minority president.

Read up on the year that was in the search for a new A&M president by clicking on the link below. Then, leave your comments on the fourth biggest local story of 2007.