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A report from the inspector general for the Florida State University System’s Board of Governors recommended that Florida Atlantic University restart its presidential search due to a “failure to comply” with state laws and university regulations, The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
FAU’s presidential search has been stalled since July, when system chancellor Ray Rodrigues, a former Republican lawmaker, raised concerns about anomalies in the search process. He and other state officials criticized how FAU’s presidential search committee used a straw poll to anonymously rank candidates and trim the applicant pool from 60 to 20. In November, Florida’s attorney general found that FAU’s search violated state sunshine laws.
Despite the criticism, most FAU trustees have largely stood by the search process, which identified three finalists before it was derailed. Critics have argued, however, that there may be politics at play, given that Governor Ron DeSantis’s preferred candidate, fellow Republican lawmaker Randy Fine, was not named a finalist for the job.
Fine previously told the newspaper that DeSantis had promised him an easy path to the FAU presidency. If hired, Fine would have joined other DeSantis allies who were hired as presidents of state institutions earlier this year, such as Richard Corcoran at New College of Florida and Fred Hawkins at South Florida State College. Both are former state Republican lawmakers. Ben Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator, was also hired as president of the University of Florida last year.
The report downplayed the idea that DeSantis advocated for Fine as FAU’s next president.
“There is insufficient evidence to support that the university was directed or pressured to advance or select any specific candidate,” it reads.
Florida’s Board of Governors is set to discuss the findings in a meeting on Wednesday.
