As the universities of Florida and South Florida move forward with their presidential searches, legislators in Tallahassee are considering rules that could upend the search process.
The House bill (HB 1321) would repeal a 2022 law granting public records exemptions for university presidential searches.
Supporters of the exemption say it helps potential candidates avoid the potential embarrassment if their current employer finds out they’re searching for another job.
“If candidates can have some confidence that they’ll be at least among the finalists, if not the finalist,” before being publicly names, University of South Florida general counsel Gerald Solis told USF’s presidential search committee on Thursday, “it means we’re much more successful in attracting qualified candidates.”
But that veil of secrecy has made the presidential search process a “spoil system,” House Speaker Daniel Perez told state university system leaders Wednesday.
“We cannot reject DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in the name of meritocracy while replacing it with a spoil system for a select few,” Perez told the Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities.
“Unfortunately, this board adopted a rule that breaks faith with the spirit of that public-record exemption,” he said. “Under your rule, the (Board of Governors) chair can, in the darkness of the search committee process, unilaterally veto candidates without standards or limitations, so that the (university) board of trustees may only pick one candidate.”
If passed, the law would go into effect July 1.
Four schools are currently looking for a new president, and the new law would likely land before at least two have arrived at finalists.
USF and Florida International University have yet to start interviewing candidates, according to the schools’ websites. During USF’s last search, which selected outgoing president Rhea Law in March 2021, finalists were named nearly seven months after the committee’s first meeting.
Despite pushing back its timeline, Florida A&M University now plans to hold campus interviews for finalists on May 12-16, Board of Governors vice chairperson Alan Levine announced Wednesday.
At a Friday Board of Trustees meeting, University of Florida interim president Kent Fuchs said he expects a new president will be announced before the school’s next trustee meeting in June.
The state’s university system has become a focus of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s “war against woke” in recent years, and the school’s selections for president have reflected that increased politicization.
Last month formerHouse Majority Leader Adam Hasner was selected as president of Florida Atlantic University. Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez was chosen to lead Florida International University on an interim basis.
They’re not alone. Of the past nine Florida colleges and universities to pick a new president, seven selected former Republican lawmakers.