West Florida Rejects Politician as Its Next President

The board of the University of West Florida voted 9 to 4 Thursday to make Provost Martha Saunders the university's next president, the News Service of Florida reported. The vote was a surprise to some because another finalist for the job (who received the four votes that didn't go to Saunders) was Don Gaetz, a state senator who had strong backing from some political allies but who was opposed by faculty members and others for not having appropriate academic experience.