Florida bill seeks multiple finalists in college president searches

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Davie, Florida. By felixmizioznikov via iStock for WMNF News. Davie, FL, USA - January 12, 2023: Photo of the Florida Atlantic University FAU Davie West Building and sign

A Senate Democrat on Tuesday proposed requiring colleges and universities to consider three to five finalists in presidential searches, after some high-profile searches have yielded a sole candidate.

Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, filed the proposal (SB 990) for consideration during the 2024 legislative session, which will start Jan. 9.

The bill would tweak part of a law that provides a public-records exemption for presidential searches. The law, in part, shields from public disclosure identities of applicants for presidencies.

The law refers to a “final group of applicants” in such searches, but schools such as the University of Florida have gone through processes that produced a lone finalist.

Former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., was selected as UF’s president in November 2022.

Similarly, the South Florida State College Board of Trustees selected former state Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, to serve as president in a process in which Hawkins was the only finalist.

Polsky’s proposal would define “final group of applicants” to mean “no fewer than three and no more than five applicants who will receive final consideration for president of a state university or Florida College System institution.”

The House did not have a similar bill as of Tuesday afternoon.