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A lawsuit against the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees alleging a violation of due process in its decision to begin a new presidential search has been dropped.
In an email to the board on Wednesday, United Faculty of Miami Dade College said it wants to move forward in the hopes that the board will honor its request for a "legitimate search process."
Elizabeth Ramsay, faculty union president, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit alongside other faculty and retirees from the college. Litigation was withdrawn in "good faith," she said, but if the board fails to uphold the union's expectations, they will organize and possibly litigate once again.
"We were disappointed in the level of transparency related to the selection of the interim president," she said. "However, I do believe that the threat of litigation has resulted in a better understanding of the need to proceed in the decision making at public meetings."
The email to the board calls for the new search firm to be unconnected to any trustee; opportunity for previous search committee members to continue; any new committee members to be independent and qualified stakeholders; preservation of the current qualifications for college president; public and transparent search actions; and assurance that the process won't be "misused … to select a favorite of pre-ordained candidate."
The board's next meeting is Sept. 17.
