The Florida Board of Governors has approved changes to its presidential search and selection rules that give it more oversight – but many university board chairs believe they’re due to a lack of trust.
One of the amendments, described in Board of Governors Regulation 1.002 , requires university Board of Trustees to present their final list of applicants to the Board of Governors chair for review and approval.
The changes come while Florida A&M University prepares to begin its presidential search process after former President Larry Robinson’s resignation during a mishandled gift’s aftermath, which led to the appointment of FAMU interim President Timothy Beard .
“I don’t think this is an overreach. I don’t think this is trying to take command of a search process from the trustees,” Board of Governors Chair Brian Lamb said Wednesday during the board’s meeting on the University of South Florida’s campus.
“I think it’s a reasonable control feature that is there to inspect and do it in a way that protects the confidentiality of candidates because it’s all in the shade.”