It’s been nearly a year since Florida Atlantic University President John Kelly stepped down, but the school and its more than 30,000 students will have to keep waiting to find out who the next permanent leader will be.
That was the decision from the Florida Board of Governors on Thursday, which ordered FAU to restart its presidential search process. The move came a week after the BOG’s inspector general found that FAU’s search process violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws and some state regulations.
“In the IG report, it recommends that the Board of Governors require FAU to restart their search for the next president. I agree with that,” BOG Chair Brian Lamb said during Thursday’s meeting. “I feel pretty strongly about it. I think it's the right thing to do based on the set of facts that we have heard today and that are written in the report.”
The inspector general’s report recommended redoing the search, after finding that the FAU search committee’s use of an anonymous survey to winnow down candidates violated Florida Sunshine law. In the words of Board of Governors member Alan Levine, moving forward with finalists produced by an improper search would be like taking “fruit from a poison tree”.
FAU’s search has been halted since July, when State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues made public allegations that there were “anomalies” in the process. The move came days after the school announced its three finalists, a group which did not include a then-ally of Gov. Ron Desantis — Republican Rep. Randy Fine.
In the months that followed, BOG Inspector General Julie Leftheris and her staff spent “more than 1,500 hours” investigating the search process, reviewing records and interviewing committee members, to compile a 40 page report.
For months, FAU donors and faculty have raised concerns about political influence in the process and have argued that the lack of permanent leadership is damaging FAU and is stalling important decisions and initiatives at the school.
READ MORE: FAU faculty, top donor outraged by suspension of presidential search
The Board of Governors decided Thursday that FAU’s search won’t restart until the BOG updates its rules for search committees — which is expected to happen at its next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 24.
“I also want to be cognizant of the importance of FAU being able to move forward in their search,” Lamb said. “So I don't want to suggest to the FAU Board of Trustees that we are going to belabor this.”
Investigation found the search violated state law
Because of a relatively new state law that largely exempts university presidential searches from the state’s public meetings law, little was publicly known about how the search committee reached its decision on its three finalists, which are:
- Vice Admiral Sean Buck, superintendent of the United States Naval Academy
- Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business at Florida State University
- Jose Sartarelli, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington
The BOG inspector general’s report found that the search committee and AGB Search (the consulting firm it hired) used an anonymous survey to winnow down the field of candidates — in violation of state law, according to a legal opinion issued by the office of Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
“Administering the survey anonymously limited accountability and the ability to validate its responses,” reads the IG’s report. “Additionally, the preference survey results displayed to the committee by FAU staff were inaccurate and incomplete.”
Alan Levine, who is a member of the Board of Governors and sat on FAU’s presidential search committee, voiced a number of concerns about how the process played out behind closed doors — which is now required by state law.
“When decisions are being made outside of the Sunshine, bad things can happen,” Levine said. “And now that the law has changed and we have meetings in the shade, it's even more important that nothing be done outside the view of the other search committee members.”
“If I were going to try to manipulate a search, that's precisely how I would do it,” he added. “I would do a secret poll. And I wouldn't tell anybody how everybody voted. And that just can't happen.”
The IG’s report also recommended that the chair of FAU’s presidential search committee, Brad Levine (no relation to Alan), who also chairs the school’s Board of Trustees, should not lead the new search.
The Board of Governors decided against passing a motion singling out Levine, but instead plans to consider a new policy next month to bar any university Board of Trustees chairperson from also leading a presidential search.
If passed, the new proposed rule, and others, would apply to FAU’s new search when it’s allowed to restart.
‘Insufficient evidence’ of external pressure
The IG’s report also examined AGB Search’s use of a diversity questionnaire that included questions about candidates’ sexual orientation and preferred pronouns. The survey was anonymous, voluntary, and had no bearing on candidates’ applications. The report found that while this practice “is discouraged by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”, it is legally permissible.
Speaking at Thursday’s BOG meeting, Inspector General Julie Leftheris also said her team received complaints about undue influence on the search, but that her team didn’t find enough evidence to back up the claims.
“While conducting interviews, some of the interviewees expressed concerns of there being external pressure on the search process to advance or select a specific candidate,” Leftheris said. “There was insufficient evidence to support those concerns.”
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