State considering tighter oversight of university presidential searches

Board of Trustees Chair Brian Lamb was elected to another two-year term on Nov. 9, 2023. Credit: State University System of FloridaWith three campuses kicking off presidential searches, the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida will plan to expand its oversight over the selection of university presidents. 

Under existing procedure, university search committees are responsible for recommending a list of final applicants for campus visits and presenting the finalists to the university’s board of trustees. 

The proposed rule would change procedure to require the chair of the Board of Governors to approve the list of finalists before they are presented to a board of trustees. 

The sitting Board of Governors chair is Brian Lamb, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida and later chaired that university’s board of trustees.

One other proposed change would grant the Board of Governors chair an additional appointment to each university search committee. 

Search committees can be no larger than 15 members. The Board of Governors chair now names one member to any committee; now in the future, he or she would appoint two members. One of them would be a member of the Board of Governors and the other a member at-large.

The Board of Governors will meet Wednesday in Tampa and take up operating budgets for each university and their legislative budget requests, among other regulation changes. The panel is expected to publish a public notice of the presidential search change, with further action planned in October.

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Presidential searches

The new search rules would apply to active presidential searches and “are applicable prospectively,” according to the proposal. Three presidential searches are now underway at Florida’s public universities. 

Florida Atlantic University recently completed a series of listening sessions to formulate its search process and will review presidential criteria during a meeting next week. Advertisement of the position will begin after the criteria are set. 

This is a second attempt at a presidential search for the university after a state investigation ended the first search. 

The University of Florida is in the early phases of searching for a new president following the departure of former President Ben Sasse. Former President Kent Fuchs is serving as interim president. 

Reporting by the Independent Florida Alligator found that Sasse spent in excess of the previous administration when he hired staffers from his time serving in the U.S. Senate and spent lavishly on catering, including a $38,610 sushi bar. 

Florida A&M University has kicked off its presidential search following President Larry Robinson’s departure. Robinson, who served in the role for nearly seven years, announced he would step down shortly after an “improperly handled” allegedly fraudulent $237 million donation from a young Texas hemp farmer. 

The episode resulted in the hiring of an interim president who requested resignations of several other administrators.

During a FAMU Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, Chair Kristin Harper said the university is not prevented from starting the presidential search process as the proposal is being considered by the governors.

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