The UF presidential quest must be open and transparent

As the University of Florida prepares to search for its next president, state legislatures are trying to make it easier to hide contenders for the position from the public.

Bills under consideration in the current legislative session, HB 703 and SB 520, would protect the names of candidates for state university or college presidency from publication until finalists are selected. The legislation would also close candidate screening sessions to the public.

But even under current law, a shadow selection process can take place in secret that violates Florida’s Sunshine Law. During its last presidential quest, UF held public meetings on issues such as compensation for the job, but met privately with serious contenders to keep their names private until late in the proceedings.

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State legislation now under consideration would require a list of presidential finalists to be released three weeks before a scheduled vote on a hiring decision, which would actually improve the hasty process by which current UF president Kent Fuchs was hired. Fuchs formally applied for the position, was declared a finalist, and was hired in just five days in 2014.

Sun reports later revealed that UF booked out-of-town hotel rooms under false names and billed them to companies linked to a university trustee in order to hide meetings with Fuchs and other candidates from the public. A senior university employee used a private email account to coordinate hotels and travel to circumvent the public record requirements imposed on her UF account.

UF needs to conduct a more open process this time around to show that candidates are being selected based on their qualifications and are not being maneuvered behind the scenes by Gov. Ron DeSantis or other state political leaders. Fuchs announced Jan. 5 that he would step down as president early next year after months of controversy over political interference in university decisions.

Last year, Florida State University showed how politics can affect a presidential quest. State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran was originally considered for the presidency of FSU, although he had no experience in higher education and a conflict of interest arose from being part of the panel with the final vote on hiring university presidents.

But FSU’s presidential selection committee eventually selected three finalists with strong academic credentials and previous university leadership experience before hiring former Harvard University vice chancellor Richard McCullough for the job. Of course, three of the previous four FSU presidents — John Thrasher, TK Wetherell, and Sandy D’Alemberte — were state legislators before being hired to the position.

The sponsor of SB 520 – Senator Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg – claims the legislation would allow “the widest possible pool of applicants”. Under the current open government laws, Brandes told the Tallahassee Democrat, “People aren’t going to apply to Florida schools because their records will be made available to their previous employer,” and their jobs could be at risk as a result.

But as First Amendment Foundation executive director Pamela Marsh said, Florida’s institutions have risen in the national rankings while being led by presidents elected to the public record with no such exceptions. Her group fought successfully against previous versions of the legislation introduced in recent years

Whatever happens to the current bills, the UF must hire its next president through an open and transparent process based on the candidate’s qualifications, not political affiliations.

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