After being forced to end a controversial search last year for a new president, Florida Atlantic University is ready to try again.
The head of the FAU’s board of trustees vows this will be a fresh start for the university, following a search last year that faced complaints of political pressure and violations of state law. But some at the university say they already have concerns about this new search after seeing who is and isn’t on the search committee.
Piero Bussani, the chairman of the FAU Board of Trustees, said in a recent letter to the FAU community that search process will start this summer with organizational meetings as well as the development of a calendar of events and a compensation range for the next leader.
“Once these preliminary steps are completed, the search committee will be ready to begin its work in earnest when everyone returns to campus this fall,” he wrote.
The new president will replace John Kelly, who stepped down in late 2022. Stacy Volnick, who has served as interim president since January 2023, was asked not to apply last time, but will be allowed to this time, trustees said. Faculty have voiced support for her. Volnick hasn’t said whether she plans to apply, and the university is required to keep the names of applicants confidential unless they become a finalist.
After last year’s controversial search, Brad Levine, who chaired the trustees and the search committee, stepped down from a trustees leadership role, and FAU General Counsel David Kian resigned from the university.
Bussani, who was appointed as chairman in February, told the trustees he’s been working with the State University System’s Board of Governors to ensure a smooth search this time. He plans to secure a search firm to find and vet candidates. He’s also appointed 15 people to a new FAU presidential search committee, which will interview candidates and is expected to recommend finalists to the Board of Trustees by January, according to FAU documents.
“I firmly believe this wonderful group reflects the broad voices across the Florida Atlantic community and represents all key stakeholder groups, including our faculty, students, alumni, Board of Trustees, community business leaders, and our generous donors,” Bussani said in a letter to the FAU community.
No one from last year’s search committee, which was the subject of an investigation by the State University System’s Board of Governors, is on the new committee.
“In order to have a clean slate, nobody who previously served in the search committee was going to serve here,” Bussani said at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting. “I think it was a good time to refresh and do this anew, and from there. I did my best to identify people who are measured and thoughtful and represent the broad community.”
Under a new state regulation, the chairman of the board of trustees cannot also lead the search committee. So Bussani has appointed trustee Sherry Murphy as chairwoman.
The committee has already drawn some criticism from faculty and others at the university, with complaints that it includes only one FAU employee, a professor who also serves as an associate dean, and one student, compared to four employees and two students on last year’s committee. Other members include FAU trustees, alumni, a philanthropist, lawyers and members of the business community.
“We want to have proper faculty and proper student participation to make sure it’s truly a legitimate process as they consider what criteria makes for an exceptional leaders,” said Allan Barsky, a longtime FAU professor. “There’s a concern this process is being politicized, or there’s a perception the preferred candidate has already been selected, which could hurt our ability to attract people.”
Bussani said in a letter to the FAU community that there will be other opportunities for faculty input.
“I look forward to announcing the formation of a dedicated group of individual faculty advisors,” he wrote. “These members of our esteemed faculty will serve as a conduit between the broader faculty body and the search committee, providing the opportunity for robust faculty input on the qualities we are seeking in our next president.”
Some faculty and donors alleged last year that FAU faced pressure to name Randy Fine, a firebrand Republican state representative from Palm Bay, as president. Fine was publicly supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office.
The search committee didn’t choose Fine among the top three finalists, and many at FAU questioned whether that was the real reason the search got stopped. Members of the Board of Governors denied that, saying the search process violated state law and board regulations.
Some faculty and students have raised concerns about politics again, with the appointment of search committee member Robert “Bob” Allen, a South Florida lawyer and a New College of Florida alumnus.
The Sarasota Herald Tribune referred to Allen last year as “the Trump-loving yacht lawyer who helped engineer DeSantis’ New College takeover.”
In January 2023, DeSantis appointed six conservative members to the New College Board of Trustees, leading to a shakeup that included firing the president, abolishing the district’s gender studies program and dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion department.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that, according to several alumni, “shaking up New College’s board wasn’t on DeSantis’ radar until Allen raised the issue with the governor.”
Raymond Adderly, an FAU junior and member of student government, said he didn’t like what happened at New College last year and has concerns about what the newly formed search committee would decide. “It seems to me that they’re still very much playing into DeSantis’ hands.”
Allen told the Sun Sentinel in an email that the Herald-Tribune article contains mostly “hearsay and speculation,” and he doesn’t understand why his affiliation with New College would raise concern at FAU.
He said his efforts, which date back to the previous president, was to help the college improve.
“Any research you do will show that the future of the college has been at risk for many years. My goal was to help it continue and to restore it to what it once was (3rd highest SAT averages in the country) and even improve on that, so that Florida can have a truly elite liberal arts college,” he said.
Bussani couldn’t be reached by the Sun Sentinel on Friday.
Here is the full list of search committee members:
— Craig Mateer, Board of Governors
— Sherry Murphy, FAU trustees
— Pablo Paez, FAU trustees
— Ernie Ellison, FAU trustees
— Kevin Wagner, political science professor and associate dean, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
— Stefan Andjelkovic, student body president-elect
— Brian Poulin, chair, FAU Foundation Board
— Roland Valdivieso, FAU alumnus
— Jeff Joyner, FAU alumnus
— Michelle Hagerty, philanthropist
— Scott McClenaghan, executive vice president, SE Florida Pro CRE at First Horizon Bank
— John Tolbert, senior vice president, Blackstone Real Estate Hotels & Resorts
— Robert “Bobby” D’Angelo, FAU alumnus
— Stephanie Toothaker, lawyer and chairwoman and chief strategist, Toothaker.org.
— Robert Allen, founding partner, Robert Allen Law.
