The Board of Trustees at Florida International University, one of the state’s biggest universities, on Friday named Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as its interim president to replace current president Kenneth Jessell, whose three-year contract expires at the end of the year.
She is expected to step down from her statewide elected job in Tallahassee to accept the top FIU position.
In calling for the vote, FIU Board of Trustees Chairman Rogelio Tovar said Gov. Ron DeSantis had asked the Board to appoint Nuñez to lead FIU as interim president. As lieutenant governor, Nuñez earned a salary of $135,515, while the base salary for Jessel as FIU president is $650,000.
At Friday's Board of Trustees, several student groups and faculty members said Nuñez lacked experience in academia to lead a university. In a letter to the editor published Thursday by the Miami Herald, the FIU Faculty Senate, representing 62 elected faculty members from throughout the university, wrote that they were disappointed with the Board of Trustees not extending Jessel's contract.
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Nuñez, who is from Miami and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from FIU, is the highest ranking statewide elected Latina in the state's political history. She was the former Speaker Pro Tempore of the Florida House of Representatives before becoming DeSantis's running mate in 2018 and 2022.
During her time as a state representative, she advocated for conservative tax policies to attract small businesses. She also took unique stances on issues like immigration, sponsoring a bill that became law giving undocumented students in-state college tuition. This year, she changed her position in support of a bill to rollback the law.
I am honored to be selected as Interim President of Florida International University by the FIU Board of Trustees.
— Jeanette Nuñez (@LtGovNunez) February 7, 2025
As a two-time alumna and a proud Panther mom, I am deeply committed to the success of FIU. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees in the coming days.
The departure of Nuñez gives DeSantis another opportunity to appoint a high-profile position after several Republicans accepted jobs in the new Trump administration. Former Sen. Marco Rubio is now Secretary of State. DeSantis named Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to fill Rubio’s remaining Senate term.
Before the FIU announcement Friday, several media outlets, including the Miami Herald, CBS4 Miami and POLITICO Florida, citing anonymous sources, reported that Nuñez was going to be named FIU’s interim president.
FIU's Jessell spent his career at Florida’s public universities. A three-time graduate of FSU, he went on to become a finance professor at Florida Atlantic University, where he spent more than two decades, ultimately moving into administration and becoming the school’s Senior Vice President for Financial Affairs. He joined FIU in 2009 as the school’s Chief Financial Officer.
He was confirmed as FIU’s president in November 2022, after serving as the school’s interim leader following the sudden resignation of President Mark Rosenberg, who stepped down amid accusations of sexual harassment.
Jessell three-year contract is set to expire at the end of year and he told the Board of Trustees he was not interested in an extension.
