Florida Atlantic University faculty members and supporters are calling foul over the school鈥檚 decision to suspend its presidential search at the request of state officials. The complaints from the state came after an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis 鈥� Republican State Rep. Randy Fine 鈥� was not named as one of the three finalists for the job.
When FAU announced the for the university鈥檚 top job on July 5, communications professor William Trapani says he was relieved to see who 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 on the list.
鈥淲e've been hearing the name of Randy Fine and been very worried,鈥� Trapani said. 鈥淭o get to the point where we had a public announcement of candidates and he was not involved in that list 鈥� we were all breathing a sigh of relief.鈥�
READ MORE: Anxiety among professors as DeSantis pushes 'conservative firebrand' for FAU president
But two days later, the search was halted, after state officials raised concerns.
鈥淚 think what really shocked so many of us is for this to happen after the announcement, and, frankly, for what seemed like very thin pretenses,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 not publicly known whether Fine actually applied for the job, because of a recently-passed state law making university presidential searches largely confidential. But a was among the field of 19 鈥渉ighly qualified鈥� candidates, according to the school.
Fine did not respond to a request for comment.
Path forward unclear for FAU鈥檚 finalists
It鈥檚 not clear what may come next for the three finalists, who collectively have spent their careers in higher education and public service.
The finalists announced before the search was suspended are:
- , Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy
- , Dean of the College of Business at Florida State University
- , former Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington
Based on their CVs and application materials alone, Trapani said the three finalists seemed 鈥渆minently qualified鈥� for the position of leading the public university and its more than .
Buck told 港澳天下彩that while he remains 鈥渧ery, very proud鈥� to be a candidate and is looking forward to the process continuing, he hasn鈥檛 been told what the way forward may be.
Sartarelli declined to answer questions from WLRN. Hartline did not respond to a request for comment.
Some professors worry the disruption may scare off the finalists, who may well be candidates for other high profile positions elsewhere.
鈥淲ho among the candidates will want the job now that the [Florida Board of Governors] has shown how political and controlling it can be, once again?鈥� reads a message from the Executive Committee of FAU鈥檚 union chapter.
FAU calls off the search under pressure from the state
Days before the three finalists were slated to visit campus for a round of day-long public forums, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, Ray Rodrigues, urged FAU to halt the process, alleging there were 鈥渁nomalies鈥� in the search.
Rodrigues took issue with two things:
- a survey of the candidates鈥� demographics that was issued by the school鈥檚 search firm AGB Search
- a straw poll that the presidential search committee allegedly took to winnow the field of candidates
Rodrigues, in a letter to the chair of the FAU Board of Trustees Brad Levine, called the questions about candidates鈥� diversity 鈥渨holly irrelevant, inappropriate, and potentially illegal."
The search firm defended the questionnaire, saying it鈥檚 鈥渆ntirely voluntary."
鈥淚t鈥檚 for AGB Search鈥檚 benefit to ensure that our efforts continue to attract qualified candidates from all walks of life for our clients. The collected data has no impact on candidacy,鈥� said Rod McDavis, Managing Principal and CEO of the firm. 鈥淎GB Search is working very closely with FAU to answer any outstanding questions so the search process can resume in a timely manner.鈥�
The brief questionnaire was delivered via SurveyMonkey and was meant to help 鈥渕eet reporting responsibilities to our client," according to documents that Trapani shared with WLRN. He applied for the position and described the survey as cursory and unremarkable.
鈥淔or that survey to be a reason why three otherwise qualified candidates would be either put on hold or likely the search will fail 鈥� it is just kind of beyond the pale. And frankly raises real questions about political interference,鈥� Trapani said.
READ MORE: FAU names 3 finalists for president's job. Randy Fine isn't among them
As far as the straw poll, Rodrigues claimed that search committee members submitted their rankings 鈥渃onfidentially and directly to the search firm." That may have violated , he argued, which requires such meetings to be held behind closed doors but on the record, with a 鈥渃omplete recording鈥� made of the proceedings.
鈥淚t seems like the state is hanging its hat on the idea that they deserve to know who voted and how,鈥� Trapani said.
State officials have not made public any concerns about previous presidential searches and appointments, which have resulted in Republican politicians and allies of the governor taking the top jobs.
Top donor calls the suspension 鈥榦utrageous鈥�
FAU officials and boosters have been defending the search process, which they say produced a slate of highly qualified candidates, including 12 current or former university or system presidents, eight executive vice presidents, five provosts, and several vice presidents and deans.
A member of the presidential search committee and one of the school鈥檚 , Dick Schmidt, blasted the decision to suspend the search, saying he felt 鈥減ersonally outraged and slandered鈥� by the claims in Rodrigues鈥� letter.
鈥淭he intersection of politics and academia is at the same time both fragile and dangerous. This has never been more clear than this past week, when it appears that political influence may have pressured the State University System Board of Governors to halt the search process for the next president of Florida Atlantic University,鈥� Schmidt wrote in a scathing editorial published in the .
Whatever happens with the search, Trapani says lasting damage has been done, at a time when universities across the state are talent due to concerns about political interference in academia.
鈥淭he way that the state has gone about this has not only damaged the interests of Florida Atlantic University, but frankly, it's damaged the state university system,鈥� Trapani said. 鈥淎nd I think someone needs to be accountable for that.鈥�
