Florida State University’s Faculty Senate is officially opposing Republican State Senator John Thrasher’s bid to be the school’s new president.
The Faculty Senate represents FSU’s nearly 2,000 teachers. Wednesday, in a 2-to-1 vote, it approved a resolution urging the university’s presidential search committee and board of trustees not to recommend Thrasher for the job. Throughout the search process, faculty and students have said Thrasher lacks the academic qualifications listed in the job description.
“I think there is some frustration that faculty and student voices aren’t being heard, and those voices are saying we need a qualified academic to move us forward into the Top 25. Our rankings dropped from 40, to 43. We want to be going forward," says Jennifer Proffitt, president of FSU's faculty union.
Thrasher emerged as an early front-runner for the job before formally applying, stoking concerns the search has been rigged in his favor. Thrasher also got a spot among the top four candidates advancing to the next round of interviews. FSU’s interim President Garnett Stokes did not.
