Without a search, Florida International University hired the state’s lieutenant governor as its acting president on Friday, expelling the longtime administrator who led Miami-Dade County Schools for the past three years.
The 11-1 board vote ratified a secret plan that has been underway for weeks to set up former Miami-Dade County health care lobbyist, Lt. Col. Janet Nunez, as the new president of the state schools. Nunez’s employment at the state-funded school was a request from Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office, who told Roger Tvar’s board president to board members on Friday.
Nunez will be at the helm on February 17th, Toval said the state president approved her appointment and he took the helm after Toval negotiated the employment contract. It was not clear on Friday morning when Nunez resigned as lieutenant governor.
The decision, made at an online board meeting called two days ago, said senior Republican leaders in charge of state schools with 56,000 students, a growing academic profile, and university leaders hope Nuñez can do it. I say it. Brazing from Tallahassee. Nunez was the first woman to lead FIU and was also the first graduate of FIU.
“She is a true product of what our FIU is,” Tovar said at the meeting. “I have always been impressed with her engagement and tireless efforts as a FIU champion.”
In his comments, Tober made it clear that Nunez’s employment was a request from the governor.
“Today we have the opportunity to continue moving forward with the FIU,” he said. “The Governor’s office contacted me and proposed to consider Lt. Col. Janet Nunez as the next leader of the FIU.”
Núñez did not attend the board but issued a statement after the vote.
“As a two-time alumni and a proud Panther mom, I am deeply committed to FIU’s success,” she said. “We look forward to working with the board in the next few days.”
In preparation for Friday’s meeting, supporters of Nunez Rental said they thought Fiu would bring Tallahassee Gravita, who needs to secure more money from Congress. Critics saw it as a politician who banished proven academic administrators.
The FIU faculty Senate passed a motion before a vote urging the board to retain the current president, longtime FIU administrator Kenneth Jessell, and issued a statement calling the employment of potential Núñez “disappointment.” I did. Teacher Senate President Noel C. Barengo was a board member who voted against employment.
At a press conference Friday morning, DeSantis said Nuñez had not resigned today. He said that FIU’s position was a job she wanted and that he supported her pursuit of the post.
“I think FIU has a really opportunity to broaden its horizons,” Desantis said. “They did a good job, but I think you’re going to watch them pick up more steam with her as they take the helm.”
In an email to FIU staff, faculty and students on Friday, Toval called for the opportunity to hire Nuñez as a “unique opportunity” for the school.
“I personally had a conversation with both President Jessel and Lieutenant Colonel Nunez, and together I feel this is the right time to begin a leadership transition,” he writes. “It is difficult to overstate the importance of President Jessel’s contribution to the university. President Jessel, who is in the final year of his contract, has guided the university for the past three years with distinction, dedication and professionalism. The recent unprecedented success of the film has happened under his leadership.”
Multiple FIU students and alumni opposed Núñez’s employment during the one-minute speaking time when the board was assigned for public comments at the meeting. During the meeting, the public did not support the lieutenant governor. Speakers to Nunez cited her support for lifting in-state tuition fees for students who grew up in the US after being illegally taken to the country.
“Fiu is better than women on DeSantis’ dangerous agenda,” said student Cassandra Toussaint.
Jessel became president in 2022. He was promoted from Chief Financial Officer by the board after then-President Mark Rosenberg suddenly set out on progress towards school employees.
Jessel’s three-year contract as president, worth about $1 million in compensation, will rise in November. He plans to resume his role as chief administrative officer in FIU’s senior leadership team at the hour-long online meeting Friday, when he is called to hire Núñez.
Tovar said the formal search process will begin to find permanent alternatives to Jessell, but the discussion suggested that Núñez is being hired as a long-term option for the board. Board member Dean Colson said he supported Nuñez’s appointment as he predicted that FIU would “thrive in the next decade under the new leadership team.”
He later suggests that Tovar promote changes to state rules that require a formal and costly search process for the University of Florida’s permanent president when the governor has already decided on his or her choice. did.
“It can’t help but wonder what will happen in the two years we have a new governor. These presidents are included in the work that new governors may want to fill in during the transition, or Or would you like to take office in the first few years?” said former FIU chairman Colson. “What’s even more pressing on the FIU is that when we move from interim to standing president, we are going through the time and money of a full search. If we already know the possible results of the search, It seems like it’s going to cost a lot of time and money.”
Núñez’s FIU employment will appoint another lieutenant governor to decide who will support his successor in the 2026 Gubernatorial Race, where the term-limited Desantis will manage the Republican rebellion in Congress and decide who will support him as his successor in the 2026 Gubernatorial Race. Complete the path to get there. As governor, DeSantis has appointed several officers and will be influential across Florida’s university system.
Supporters of Nunez’s efforts explained that her employer is a FIU’s tool to gain a significant share of national funding from the Florida Legislature in line with the school’s growing academic reputation .
Nunez, 52, was a rising star in Tallahassee before DeSantis chose her as her running mate in 2018.
She brought widespread bonds to both Tallahassee and Miami-Dade, where she worked as head of government relations for both the county’s Jackson Hospital System and the HCA, the operator of the private hospital. According to a university report, she holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from FIU and is the mother of two FIU alumni. Nunez holds a Masters degree in Government and previously worked as an adjunct professor at FIU, according to the university’s website.
She also envisions FIU leadership as suburban schools reportedly run around to President Donald Trump’s future presidential library. Trump’s local lawyer, Felix Lasarte, toured the main campus of FIU last month as part of a fact-finding effort on the library site, saying the school would be welcome to consider the president’s library under Jessel I did.
The meeting concluded with Jesel, suffocating her emotions and saying she supported Nunez.
“I have total confidence in the lieutenant governor,” he said. “I look forward to supporting her.”
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Reporter Romy Ellenbogen contributed to this report.
