Talahassee – The former lieutenant governor of Florida has been appointed the sole finalist to become the next president of Florida International University.
The unanimous choice of former Republican state legislator Janet Nunez on the Presidential Search Committee is no surprise. She has been the school’s interim president since February and has been supported by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
With over 56,000 students, FIU is one of the largest universities in the country and serves a significant population of Hispanic, first-generation, and low-income students.
Nuñez has been appointed to a temporary position after Roger Tovar, the chairman of the FIU board, contacted directly from Desantis’s office about tapping her for work.
“I can’t defend FIU any better than a South Florida alumni who worked for the Florida State Legislature and her days as lieutenant governor,” Tovar said at the time.
Nunez earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the university.
In a statement Thursday, Carlos Duart, head of the FIU search committee and vice-chairman of the board, announced that Nuñez has been selected after showing that he will only remain in the running if the other two finalists are nominated as the sole candidates.
“President Nuññez’s renowned career and commitment to further strengthening FIU’s further position as a leader in higher education across Florida and across the nation will make him an outstanding leader at FIU at this pivotal point of his university journey,” DuArt said.
Under DeSantis’ influence, the board, tasked with hiring presidents of state public universities and universities, is increasingly selecting Republican politicians allied with his conservative agenda.
Choosing Desantis’s assistant commander for the presidency generally comes with a six-figure salary and a multi-year contract of luxury settlements — is one of the latest and clearest examples of the governor’s impact on higher education.
Measures designed to curb the governor’s impact on the university’s presidential search failed to pass this legislative session.
Next week, FIU will host a campus forum with Nunez for students, faculty and staff to ask questions. She will then conduct a public interview before the school’s board of directors. Her appointment will be subject to confirmation by the state’s Governor’s Board of Directors.
Kate Payne, Associated Press/US report
Kate Payne is a legion of the Associated Press/America Statehouse News Initiative report. Report for America is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on infiltrated issues.
