As UF’s third presidential search in three years looms, one word has become ubiquitous: politics.
Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Greg Steube and Byron Donalds wrote a letter to the UF Board of Trustees June 18 asking for an open and transparent search process following the secret search that took place over the past several months.
Santa Ono, the University of Michigan’s former president, was announced as the sole finalist of the UF presidential search May 4, surprising students and faculty. Ben Sasse, UF’s previous president, was the sole finalist of his search, which also took place behind the scenes.
Despite Ono receiving full support from the UF Board of Trustees, the Florida Board of Governors rejected the candidate in a 10-6 vote June 3.
Within a month of his announcement as the sole finalist, Ono received a wave of conservative backlash for his past support of diversity initiatives.
Scott, Steube and Donalds’ letter cited concerns about Ono, which “would have been dealt with long before this month’s vote” if UF had done a transparent search, the letter said.
An open search process that publicly considers multiple candidates is “what led Florida to [become] the top state for higher education almost a decade ago,” they wrote.
Most Florida university presidents earn a $1 million salary package, but Ono’s package was valued at around $3 million. Students, families and Florida taxpayers should be involved in the process because they help fund the compensation packet, the letter wrote.
The search is confidential because of Senate Bill 520, a law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in 2022, which exempted public records requirements for any personal identifying information of applicants to be president of a state university.
The Florida House of Representatives tried to reverse the law with a 104-8 vote for House Bill 1321 in April, but the bill died in the Senate.
Scott, Steube and Donalds said it seems the law “is being abused by creating an unfair system.”
UF did not respond for comment on the status of the presidential search and whether the search committee will take the state legislature’s letter into consideration.
The head of the presidential search committee and co-chair of the UF Board of Trustees, Rahul Patel, defended the closed process on multiple occasions.
The search for UF’s 14th president attracted an impressive pool of candidates, including sitting presidents of major research universities, Patel wrote in a Tampa Bay Times opinions column May 6.
The candidates would only participate if they were guaranteed confidentiality unless they were named the sole finalist, he wrote.
“Sitting presidents face significant consequences at their current institutions if they are publicly identified as unsuccessful candidates in another search,” Patel wrote.
After Ono was rejected by the Board of Governors, the University of Michigan confirmed Ono resigned from university employment and won’t return to a faculty position.
The red trend
UF’s search reflects an ongoing trend in the politicization of Florida’s higher education and DeSantis’ influence on it.
The governor didn’t back Ono despite initial support and didn’t comment following his rejection.
Some of DeSantis’ allies have been confirmed across Florida universities. Five of the state’s 12 public universities will be led by former Republican lawmakers or lobbyists.
The Board of Governors unanimously confirmed Jeanette Nuñez as the president of Florida International University and Marva Johnson as the president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University June 18.
Nuñez was DeSantis’ lieutenant governor and a former state representative. She has served as FIU’s interim president since February, after DeSantis’ office directly contacted the FIU Board of Trustees Chair Roger Tovar about giving her the job.
Johnson’s appointment drew the most controversy because her political ties run deep. She was first appointed to the Florida Board of Education by former Gov. Rick Scott and reappointed by DeSantis. She worked on the board for eight years.
Students and faculty questioned Johnson’s experience in higher education. Her ties to DeSantis sparked protests across the campus, and more than 18,000 people signed a petition opposing her nomination before she was confirmed.
Elyza Kates, a 20-year-old FAMU journalism junior, said she felt disappointed by Johnson’s confirmation because her resume doesn’t have any university-related experience.
“She has no experience being an educator — that's what we're concerned about,” Kates said.
“You're putting someone with no experience in a very big position.”
Johnson’s contract includes a base salary of $650,000, only $200,000 of which will be paid by the state.
“Who needs that much money to be a president?” Kates said. “ When you check the history of how much they were paying our former presidents, you'll see how crazy that is.”
It’s a scary time to be a student right now, she said, and it’s hard seeing a Black woman run a historically Black university while supporting DeSantis and Donald Trump, knowing that FAMU’s values don't align with their agenda.
“[FAMU] has somebody who agrees with the man who's dismantling the same Department of Education she's trying to work for,” Kates said. “I can’t get behind that.”
Manny Diaz Jr., who will be stepping down from his role on the Florida Board of Governors, was confirmed by the governors to serve as interim president of the University of West Florida. Only one governor, Eric Silagy, voted against Diaz due to his proposed salary.
DeSantis recommended Diaz’s appointment as interim president of UWF. Diaz has served in the Florida legislature since 2012.
Both Nuñez and Diaz lack terminal degrees, and Johnson has no experience as a university administrator. Despite Ono’s wealth of administrative experience as the former president of three universities, the Board of Governors favored political pasts over academia.
What does it mean for other players?
The University of South Florida began its presidential search Feb. 20 following the resignation of Rhea Law, who had served as president since being appointed as interim president in 2021.
USF previously retained the services of SP&A Executive Search, a highly regarded firm that conducted USF’s last presidential search, according to the university.
The boutique woman- and minority-owned SP&A Executive Search was also hired by UF for its presidential searches that produced Ono and Sasse.
According to the Oracle, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said the university’s search was expected to move forward once the firm “has completed their work” with UF.
Ono’s rejection came as a shock to many. It was the first time the Board of Governors rejected a Florida university’s top presidential pick in its history.
USF announced June 20 that global consulting firm Korn Ferry would assist with the search. It omitted SP&A Executive Search from its presidential search website.
Althea Johnson said in an email USF is ready to move forward in its presidential search, and “sometimes consultants change and the university moves forward in the process.”
SP&A Executive Search was paid $292,702 for the presidential search that produced Sasse, according to the Tampa Bay Times. It’s not clear how much it is being paid for the current search.
There is no clear plan from the Presidential Search Advisory Committee on how it will continue, and Interim President Kent Fuchs’ contract is set to end July 31. There hasn’t been any indication Fuchs is extending his contract.
Contact Maria Avlonitis at mavlonitis@alligator.org. Follow her on X @MariaAvlonitis.
