Florida A&M University extends search for new president, campus visits delayed

As Florida A&M University progresses in the search for its next president , further pushback is making the process last a bit longer than expected. 

The deadline for best consideration – a term used to encourage individuals to submit their applications early on in a search process – was March 14.

But while the university's presidential search committee initially planned to review candidates' applications March 20 ahead of first-round interviews Thursday, the search's timeline has been pushed back by one to three weeks for those tasks, which has led initial campus visit dates to be delayed by about a month. 

During a Florida Board of Governors meeting in FAMU's Grand Ballroom Wednesday, board Vice Chair Alan Levine – who is also on FAMU's 15-member presidential search committee – shared an updated timeline: 

• March 31: Initial candidate reviews (closed session) 

• April 14-15: First-round interviews (closed session) 

• May 12-16: Campus interviews (open to the public)

The closed meetings are due to discussions that will be held about specific candidates as applicants' names must remain confidential under state law until finalists are announced. 

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"When we initially made the search timeline, we knew that there may need to be some changes made, so we gave ourselves a little bit of time to be able to push things forward or back," FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons, chair of the presidential search committee, told the Tallahassee Democrat during a phone call. 

"There's so many other things going on right now in the springtime, so I want to ensure that all our committee members have the opportunity to actively play a role in selecting the next leader of the university." 

With the deadline for applications having been closed a couple weeks ago, Gibbons says over 60 applications were submitted. He did not indicate if any were from Florida or if any are either current or former politicians.

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The presidential search – with assistance from executive search firm Myers McRae – comes after former President  Larry Robinson  stepped down last year following a major multi-million-dollar gift mishandling, where an investigation report found the donation to be a 'fraudulent.' Interim President  Timothy Beard  has been serving in the role since August for a one-year term.   

Since kickstarting the search for FAMU's next leader, the committee conducted several virtual and in-person listening sessions in February and early March where university stakeholders and community members shared their input on the recommended qualifications needed for a new president. 

Besides FAMU, other universities across the state on the hunt for their next leader are the University of Florida, Florida International University and the University of South Florida. In addition, the Board of Governors' has a tight control over the searches after introducing a new rule in September, which requires search committees to submit an unranked list of candidates to the governing board's Chair Brian Lamb for review and approval. 

But Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez , who appeared at the Wednesday meeting for a brief speech that touched on the secrecy of university president searches, says the board's rule "breaks faith" with HB 1321 , a bill he supports that would repeal the law shielding information about school presidential candidates from public disclosure. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also made a separate appearance while the governing board convened on FAMU's campus. 

"We wanted to attract the best leaders," Perez told the board members. "But if great, transformational leaders see that we have a fixed process where who you know matters more than what you know, they won't even bother applying." 

"I believe that everyone in this room cares about our state university system and wants to do what is best for our students," he added. "But I respectfully suggest that the rules you've adopted do not reflect those values. Institutions fail when their leaders are too beholden to their power." 

The bill – sponsored by Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola and is accompanied by SB 1726 – passed the Education Administration Subcommittee last week and is on the Education & Employment Committee's agenda to be discussed Monday.

Despite the possible modifications, FAMU is moving along in the search process and expects to name the university's new president by this summer. 

"I'm grateful for the work of Deveron Gibbons, who's chairing the committee," Levine said during the Wednesday meeting. "He's been pretty high energy and focused on getting input from alumni and students." 

What happens next

• Once an unranked list is provided to the Board of Governors chair for review and approval, the university's Board of Trustees will announce the finalists, host campus visits and conduct campus interviews for the public's participation.

• Although campus visit dates were initially scheduled in a tentative timeline for April 7 to April 11, it is unclear when they will be conducted amid the recent pushbacks.

Tarah Jean is a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at  tjean@tallahassee.com  and follow her on X:  @tarahjean_ .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida A&M extends search for new president, campus visits delayed