HARRISBURG — The board of Pennsylvania's student-loan agency on Thursday elevated a high-ranking employee to temporarily fill a vacancy created by the earlier-than-expected departure of the agency's embattled president and chief executive officer.

The board of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency voted unanimously to make James Preston its interim CEO and president.

Preston, 56, was hired as PHEAA's executive vice president of client relations and loan operations in April 2003 and will keep his current $218,000 annual salary, said Rep. Bill Adolph, the board's chairman.

PHEAA's outgoing president and chief executive officer, Dick Willey, had originally planned to retire at the end of the year. He decided to resign effective Wednesday, about a week after state Auditor General Jack Wagner disclosed that the agency awarded millions of dollars in employee bonuses since July 2004.

Willey received a $181,000 bonus in August on top of his $289,000 salary, and Preston received a $114,000 bonus.