FSU dean named finalist for FAU president job. Then the search was suspended. Here's why.
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.
More: Florida Atlantic names three finalists for school president; Randy Fine not on short list
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."
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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 in securing a $100 million gift from Jan Moran and The Jim Moran Foundation, which helped establish the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship that is known as the largest independent, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship school of its kind in the country.
Hartline was appointed by President Richard McCullough in July 2022 to serve as interim vice president for University Advancement and interim executive vice president and president of the FSU Foundation ahead of Marla Vickers being selected to fill the roles permanently in October.
He also chaired the College of Business's Department of Marketing from 2006 to 2011 and has been the Charles A. Bruning Professor of Business Administration at FSU since 2006.
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While Hartline is being considered to lead the university located in Boca Raton, the final pick will replace FAU President John Kelly, who has been serving for more than eight years before stepping down in December.
FAU's Stacy Volnick has been serving as interim president while the university searches for the next president.
Through FAU's search, Hartline participated in confidential in-person interviews that took place during the stage of being a semifinalist, according to The Palm Beach Post.
As one of the three final candidates, Hartline was to move on in the process to conduct public forums on FAU's campuses before interviewing with the university's Board as required by the Florida Board of Governors' guidelines for university presidential searches.
However, those were canceled hours after FAU trustees received the letter from Rodrigues.
"Following a written request from the Chancellor of the Florida State University System Board of Governors, FAU Board of Trustees Chair Brad Levine has agreed to suspend the university's presidential search until further notice," the university wrote in its presidential search page. "As such, the candidate's campus visits and open forums scheduled for next week are cancelled."
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAU presidential search suspended; FSU dean Hartline was a finalist
