Florida’s Board of Governors on Friday scrapped a year-old rule that let its chair sign off on presidential finalists before they are sent for votes by university trustees — a policy critics said vested too much power in one individual.
Now, the state chair no longer will have a role in approving presidential finalists. Incoming BOG Chair Alan Levine, who starts his new position on Jan. 1, lauded the move as a win for non-consolidated power in the university sphere.
“I don’t think any chair of a board should have the power to act unilaterally to make decisions about the hiring of a president or anybody,” Levine said in Friday’s Board of Governors meeting. “I strongly support this particular change.”
Sitting Chair Brian Lamb agreed.
“Vice Chair Levine, I concur, and it’s all for the right reasons at the right time. I’m glad we’re making the change,” he said.
Last legislative session, the Florida House took a long look at, and passed, legislation that would have made the university presidential search process more public. The Senate began conversations, but ultimately did not pass similar legislation after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would veto any such bill.
DeSantis has won nationwide acclaim from the right and condemnation from the left for his sweeping revamps to higher education. They include overhauling the former liberal arts school New College into a “Hillsdale of the South,” post-tenure review for professors, and installing political allies and former GOP lawmakers at colleges and universities statewide:
- Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez at Florida International University.
- Former House GOP Leader Adam Hasner at Florida Atlantic University.
- Former Education Commissioner and legislator Manny Diaz Jr. at University of West Florida.
- Former House Speaker and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran at New College.
- Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican, at the University of Florida.
- Former lobbyist and DeSantis appointee Marva Johnson at Florida A&M University.
Moez Limayem was approved, too, to be the University of South Florida president, after being named a sole finalist.
The BOG also approved an amendment to its policies, permitting contract extensions longer than one year for university presidents. Existing policy only permits one-year extensions.
The new language requires that a university, for the majority of the president’s tenure, received a high performance-based funding score to be extended for more than a year.
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