A new director will be appointed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. by "early October by the latest," a spokesman said.

Palmer DePaulis, the state's department of community and culture director, is in charge of submitting a handful of nominations to Huntsman, who will make the final decision.

DePaulis, who started his job in late May, said main reasons for the delay in picking a group of finalists are getting settled in his new position and his tight work schedule.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs has sponsored several events recently, including the recent minority business conference and Native-American summit.

"I wanted to be involved in the search and didn't know how busy my schedule would be," he said.

The former Hispanic Affairs director, Leo Gonzalez, resigned from his post in mid-May after only 14 months on the job. DePaulis, who oversees six state divisions, replaced former department head Yvette Diaz, who abruptly resigned in March.

Claudia Nakano, the department's spokeswoman, said about five or six applicants were interviewed by her and three other state employees in mid-July. DePaulis said he put a hold on the search after those interviews because he wanted to be involved.

Now, DePaulis said he plans to set up a second round of interviews within the next two weeks. He did not know how many would be from the pool of applicants already interviewed.

He said he plans to forward two or three finalists to Huntsman in October and hopes a new director is named later in the month.

jsanchez@sltrib.com