Florida State University’s provost will become the school’s interim president. Garnett Stokes takes the helm of Florida State as current university President Eric Barron departs for Penn state.
Barron was appointed Penn State University’s new university president last month. Florida State University Trustees named Stokes to the interim position as the school begins a national presidential search.
Several names have already been tossed out as potential FSU presidential candidates, including some powerful lawmakers. Barron broke that trend at Florida State when he was appointed to the post in 2010 after former House Speaker T.K. Weatherell stepped down. But FSU Board Chairman Allen Bense—another former Florida House Speaker-- says there is no front-runner for the job.
Stokes, the school’s interim vice president, will have to be confirmed by Florida’s public university governing board. She has been at FSU since 2011 and was former dean of the University of Georgia’s College of Arts and Sciences.
