Guest Author
In 2012, I was on the Board of Trustees at the University of Florida. Then-President Dr. Bernie Machen had announced his retirement, and we were in the midst of a search for a new president. The search committee had narrowed the pool of candidates to three people, and I was asked, as a Trustee, to fly to Washington, D.C., to meet with the candidates.
The request seemed odd because my understanding of the process was that we were to have a Trustee meeting to interview the three candidates and then select a new president.
Upon arriving in Washington, I was relegated to a hotel room, where one by one, each candidate came in, and we met. After meeting with each of the three candidates, I was asked by the search consultant which of the three I liked most. I shared my opinion, but said I looked forward to seeing how they perform in an open interview.
I was then informed by the search consultant who the new president would be, and it was not the candidate I had preferred.
I was then informed that we would have a meeting of the Trustees, where we would select the new president, whom the search firm apparently already knew would be chosen by my colleagues and me. There would then be a reception to celebrate the new president.
Setting aside my concerns about the myriad ways this entire episode violated the spirit of the Sunshine Law, this felt like a complete abdication of my fiduciary duty to do my own diligence on the candidates. I was not a potted plant or a rubber stamp. Gov. Rick Scott appointed me to use my judgment and to do what was best for the University of Florida, and NOT what I was told to do by nameless people in so-called leadership of the Board who were making the decisions for me.
I was disgusted. I flew directly to Tallahassee and met with Scott and his Chief of Staff. I told them the University of Florida and the State of Florida were about to have someone shoved down our collective throats who was hand-picked by a few people, and then rubber-stamped by a Board appointed, in part, by Scott.
Gov. Scott met with the candidate who had been hand-picked. He was unconvinced this person was the right person to lead UF. Scott huddled with then-Board of Governors Vice-Chair, Mori Hosseini, and Machen. The result? The UF Board of Trustees chose a different path, and through that discussion, the idea of Preeminence was born. Machen agreed to stay another year to help Hosseini work with the Legislature and Governor to create Preeminence, a brilliant idea that brought more resources to our state’s preeminent universities. The University of Florida benefited enormously from this decision.
What was the other result of this intervention? The University of Florida moved away from the hand-picked candidate, went through an appropriate process, and hired a man named Dr. Kent Fuchs. By then, I had been appointed to the Board of Governors, and I had the privilege of interviewing and enthusiastically voting for Fuchs. What stood out in that interview was that, at that time, UF was hoping to be a Top 10 university, but Fuchs proclaimed he would get UF to the Top 5. He was off script when he said that, and maybe for a moment, he caught himself off guard. But he did it. With the help and support of a dedicated faculty, student body, Board of Trustees, Legislature, Governors, and Board of Governors, he did exactly what he promised he’d do.
A university presidential search is not concluded until the Board of Governors confirms a candidate. Thus, the search for a new president for UF is neither “failed” nor over. This action by the Board of Governors was an important independent assessment of a candidate. Each member of the Board of Governors drew their own conclusions and made their own decisions. I am proud to serve with each of them, regardless of whether their vote was different than mine.
The history of the previous so-called “failed search” that brought us Fuchs should be instructive to us. While it is perhaps true that some are angry by the decision the Board of Governors made in this case, it is also true that many are not. The decision by the Board of Governors to perform its constitutional responsibility, and that the majority did not agree with the nomination presented by the Board of Trustees of UF, is neither an indictment of the Board of Trustees nor an “embarrassment”, as some have said.
It was the result of a transparent, public meeting where dedicated public servants who had done their independent diligence simply had a difference of opinion with the Board of Trustees.
Speaking for myself, I believe the UF Board of Trustees is composed of highly successful, dedicated people who love UF. So, I have faith they will find the candidate we can all enthusiastically embrace. Isn’t that what we all want to be able to do?
I was a student when President Marshall Criser led the University of Florida into the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), making UF the first southern public university to achieve this distinction.
I was Student Body Treasurer when Dr. Bob Bryan led UF through challenges, and who recruited a man named Steve Spurrier to the University.
I was on the Board of Trustees of UF when Preeminence was born after we halted a troubled search.
And I was on the Board of Governors when Chair Hosseini led us to challenge our universities to perform better. I have had a front-row seat to witness the type of leadership it takes to be successful at UF. In the history of people like Stephen C O’Connell, Criser, Bryan, John Lombardi, Machen and Fuchs as some examples of our presidents, each of whom stood on the shoulders of those who preceded them, we see leadership of academics and non-academics who contributed to where the University is today.
I believe these people are the caliber of leader I’d be enthusiastic about voting for. And I’ve seen how strong, independent governance has provided the proper oversight. The situation we are in right now is no exception.
Governance works, even when it feels uncomfortable.
Now is the time for us to lock arms and do what is best for the University of Florida. And I have no doubt that is what everyone intends.
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Alan Levine serves as Vice-Chair of the State University System of Florida Board of Governors; he is also Chair, president and CEO of Ballard Health.
