University President Search Canceled After DeSantis Pal Gets Cut
- 7 months ago
University President Search Canceled After DeSantis Pal Gets Cut.
Florida State University’s College of Business Dean Michael Hartline was selected as one of three finalists being considered for Florida Atlantic University’s next president.
However, days after the announcement, the search was halted by the Board of Governors and State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who cited "concerning information" and "anomalies" in a letter to the FAU trustee board chair.
Before that, Hartline along with two other final candidates — Vice Admiral Sean Buck, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and Jose Sartarelli, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington — were recommended by FAU’s Presidential Search Committee to the university's Board of Trustees.
The committee spent months narrowing down 63 initial candidates, according to an article in The Palm Beach Post.
Despite State Rep. Randy Fine being approached by Gov. Ron DeSantis about the FAU president position in March, the Palm Bay Republican was not chosen to be a finalist. He is currently serving his fourth and final term in the Florida House of Representatives.
In the Friday letter effectively suspending the search, Rodrigues raised questions about the search process, citing allegedly improper questions to applicants relating to gender identity and a straw poll of finalists that could have violated Florida statute.
Democrats weren't buying the explanation.
"DeSantis ally Randy Fine did not make the final selection for FAU President so now DeSantis appointed Board of Governors (BOG) who oversee the State University System are freezing the entire search process." Democrat Ana Eskamani wrote while tweeting the letter. "FAU is being targeted for purely political reasons. It’s gross and an insult to academic freedom and integrity."
More on Dean Michael Hartline
If Hartline were to become the president, it would mean leaving FSU during its innovative, decade-long project of building Legacy Hall — the business school’s future home that broke ground last year and is expected to be complete by summer 2025.
The new five-story building, which costs more than $130 million, will move the College of Business from FSU’s Rovetta Business Building on campus and will be highlighted as the largest academic space on FSU’s extended campus from its location at West Gaines Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
More on Legacy Hall:Inside FSU's in-progress 'hub of business collaboration,' a project costing at least $130M
Hartline — who graduated from Jacksonville State University with his bachelor’s degree in marketing and master’s degree in business administration and management before earning his doctoral degree in marketing from the University of Memphis — has been serving as dean of the College of Business since 2016 after serving as the school’s interim dean for nine months.
While in the interim dean position, he played a significant role i
Florida State University’s College of Business Dean Michael Hartline was selected as one of three finalists being considered for Florida Atlantic University’s next president.
However, days after the announcement, the search was halted by the Board of Governors and State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who cited "concerning information" and "anomalies" in a letter to the FAU trustee board chair.
Before that, Hartline along with two other final candidates — Vice Admiral Sean Buck, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and Jose Sartarelli, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington — were recommended by FAU’s Presidential Search Committee to the university's Board of Trustees.
The committee spent months narrowing down 63 initial candidates, according to an article in The Palm Beach Post.
Despite State Rep. Randy Fine being approached by Gov. Ron DeSantis about the FAU president position in March, the Palm Bay Republican was not chosen to be a finalist. He is currently serving his fourth and final term in the Florida House of Representatives.
In the Friday letter effectively suspending the search, Rodrigues raised questions about the search process, citing allegedly improper questions to applicants relating to gender identity and a straw poll of finalists that could have violated Florida statute.
Democrats weren't buying the explanation.
"DeSantis ally Randy Fine did not make the final selection for FAU President so now DeSantis appointed Board of Governors (BOG) who oversee the State University System are freezing the entire search process." Democrat Ana Eskamani wrote while tweeting the letter. "FAU is being targeted for purely political reasons. It’s gross and an insult to academic freedom and integrity."
More on Dean Michael Hartline
If Hartline were to become the president, it would mean leaving FSU during its innovative, decade-long project of building Legacy Hall — the business school’s future home that broke ground last year and is expected to be complete by summer 2025.
The new five-story building, which costs more than $130 million, will move the College of Business from FSU’s Rovetta Business Building on campus and will be highlighted as the largest academic space on FSU’s extended campus from its location at West Gaines Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
More on Legacy Hall:Inside FSU's in-progress 'hub of business collaboration,' a project costing at least $130M
Hartline — who graduated from Jacksonville State University with his bachelor’s degree in marketing and master’s degree in business administration and management before earning his doctoral degree in marketing from the University of Memphis — has been serving as dean of the College of Business since 2016 after serving as the school’s interim dean for nine months.
While in the interim dean position, he played a significant role i