Latest news with #SB1726
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Perez says 'embarrassing' UF presidential search could have been avoided
The Plaza of the Americas on University of Florida's Gainesville campus (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) The University of Florida presidential search failing in its last minutes could have been avoided if the House had its way this session, Speaker Daniel Perez said Thursday. 'Neither the University of Florida nor the Board of Governors, nor (Santa) Ono would have been in this position,' had HB 1321 been in effect before the presidential search, Perez said during a media availability. Representatives voted 104-8 on that bill this session, which would have repealed the public records exemption on applicants for presidencies at state colleges and universities. The Senate companion bill, SB 1726, cleared all its committees of reference, but the full Senate never considered it. Back to the drawing board: UF presidential finalist nixed for conflicting DEI stances The State University System Board of Governors rejected University of Michigan President Santa Ono during the final phase of the presidential search process this week. The 6-10 vote against Ono followed hours of questions about his conflicting stances on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He was unanimously approved by UF trustees the week before. 'All of the deficiencies that Ono had prior to the presidential search coming to a conclusion, and eventually going before the BOG would have been discovered,' Perez said. 'It was not discovered because no one knew that Ono was the one that was going to be nominated, unanimously approved, and sent to the BOG.' The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Michelle Salzman, said the measure was about 'transparency, term limiting bureaucrats, and good governance.' Gov. Ron DeSantis said the bill, which included a provision prohibiting his office's involvement in searches, would 'kneecap our ability to hold higher ed accountable.' The law that put secrets in the dark once had the support of Perez. State law, since the signing of SB 520 in 2022, requires university presidential searches to be conducted outside the public eye, none of the applicants known to the public unless part of the 'shortlist' of finalists unveiled in the final phases, and the finalist(s) must be approved by the chair of the Board of Governors. That bill passed the House 86-26, with Perez voting in favor. 'What many fought back on was that the BOG chair had to have the veto power. Well, he had the veto power. He never used it. And then here we are with a presidential candidate for a major university, flagship university for the state of Florida, in a very embarrassing moment for the entire state of Florida, something that should have been avoided, could have been avoided,' Perez said. UF has twice, consecutively, named a sole finalist despite the 'shortlist' language in law. Perez said the school will have a problem trying to find a president now that the 'process is flawed.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Opponents of the House proposal have said keeping searches confidential initially prevents a candidate's current employer from discovering their employee is applying for a new job. That, in turn, encourages more candidates to apply. Senate President Ben Albritton doesn't see the issue as clearly as Perez. Albritton replied to Perez's comments in his own media availability held about an hour after Perez's. 'I'm not sure it would have' avoided Ono's rejection, Albritton said. 'One way to look at it would be that way. Another way to look at it would say that the system worked.' Albritton added: 'I applaud the Speaker and the House for taking it head on. It's a complicated situation. Let's keep talking about it.' The Legislature is not poised to address policy issues unrelated to the budget in the final days of its extended session. 'Are there some circumstances where it would be better to have multiple [finalists]? Maybe. Are there some circumstances you're better off to have one? Maybe,' Albritton said. 'I'm not going to give you something definitive at this point.' Perez said he hopes changes can come before any more searches fail. 'The House tried for this to never happen. Yet we were the only ones that believed in that policy. I still believe in that policy,' Perez said. 'Hopefully, now that we have seen this example come to fruition and become a reality, unfortunately, we can now once again have that consideration and that conversation of the policy that the House passed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House passes university presidential search bill awaiting governor's veto pen
Former University of Florida President Ben Sasse via screenshot from Florida Channel. The product of a secret search, he lasted for less than one year. In the face of a threatened veto from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida House passed a bill Wednesday with widespread member support that would reopen presidential searches to public scrutiny. Representatives voted 104-8 on HB 1321, introduced by Rep. Michelle Salzman and decried by DeSantis, which would repeal the public records exemption on applicants for presidencies at state colleges and universities. 'In summary, this bill is about transparency, term limiting bureaucrats, and good governance,' Salzman said on the House floor Wednesday. The bill would prohibit the governor's office from influencing who might lead the institutions and remove the Board of Governors' required approval of finalists presented by search committees. The bill would leave searches to boards of trustees of individual universities, which typically include more local stakeholders. 'This isn't an attack on the Board of Governors. This isn't an attack on our great governor. This is simply bringing the second largest component of the state budget into the sunshine,' Salzman said. During a news conference about law enforcement in Fort Myers on Wednesday, DeSantis said the bill would 'kneecap our ability to hold higher ed accountable.' 'I don't think that's gonna get on the desk. If it does, we'll invite you all to the ceremony where we'll veto. That's fine, but I don't even think it's gonna get there,' DeSantis said. University presidential search laws are a major topic inside the Florida Capitol SB 1726, the bill's Senate companion with material differences including keeping searches secret, awaits its final committee stop in the Rules Committee. It received unanimous approval in its previous two committee stops. Bills need two-thirds support in each chamber to override a veto. Among the votes against the bill, seven were Republicans: Reps. Kiyan Michael, Patt Maney, Chip LaMarca, Ryan Chamberlin, Mike Caruso, and Tom Fabricio. Rep. John Temple voted late against the bill. Democrat Yvonne Hinson also voted no. Caruso consistently has been willing to stand with the governor while the House has deviated from the executive branch's wishes this session. 'Public colleges and universities are funded by taxpayers from the entire state of Florida, so the state has a vested interest in overseeing leadership choices. Having the State Board of Education approve appointments ensures that presidents are held to statewide priorities, not just internal or local interest,' Caruso, the only representative to speak in opposition to the bill on the floor, said. Caruso made the argument that Salzman's bill 'unravels all the success we've made over the years in higher education,' an argument DeSantis has also made. DeSantis called the bill 'ill-conceived' during a news conference in Pensacola on Tuesday about Hope Florida. While Florida has been ranked the best higher education system in the nation for the last eight years by U.S. News & World Report, presidential searches have faced controversy in recent years. Ben Sasse was the sole finalist announced for the presidency at University of Florida after a secret search. Sasse held the job for less than a year and was criticized for lavish spending while in the office. Florida Atlantic University restarted a secret search after the governor's office tried and ultimately failed to position then-state Rep. Randy Fine for the job. The governor's office reached out to Florida International University to advocate for Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez to take their interim presidency. Former House Speaker Richard Corcoran was named president at New College of Florida, perhaps the first and most widely publicized instance of a DeSantis political ally being named leader of a SUS institution. Among the aforementioned provisions, the bill would impose term limits for the Board of Education, Board of Governors, and university and college trustees and require that members would have to be alumni of the institution or residents of Florida. Reporter Jackie Llanos contributed to this story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bringing university president searches out of dark gets unanimous committee OK
Aerial view of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. (Photo courtesy Dylan Taylor/University of Florida) A measure to lessen gubernatorial influence over university presidential searches received unanimous support in its first committee stop Wednesday. HB 1321 and SB 1726, introduced by Republicans Rep. Michelle Salzman and Sen. Alexis Calatayud, would return the selection process for university and college presidents to more public scrutiny. The bill would strip the State University System's Board of Governors and State Board of Education of their power to approve university and college presidents. The privilege would be solely up to university and college trustees and search committees, which are in-part made up of gubernatorial appointees. 'When we have presidential searches and when we're doing these things, we don't need to be hiding people behind the shade because we're worried about if they win or lose,' Salzman said during a House Education Administration Subcommittee meeting, the first for the bills in either chamber. 'I think that when we create the best university system in the nation, we are creating the world leaders for tomorrow,' Salzman said. 'And by doing so, when we have the leaders of those future world leaders, they should be the best of the best and shouldn't be scared of defeat, they should be willing to stand on the front lines and fight for the students they are willing to represent.' DeSantis installs allies at state universities in purge of 'ideological concepts' As the Phoenix reported last week, the governor has long held sway on presidential searches, although under Gov. Ron DeSantis his political allies have increasingly landed in those positions, including former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez at Florida International University and former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse at University of Florida. In 2022, lawmakers made presidential searches secret. Some Democrats and university faculty at the time opposed the law, concerned it would limit student and faculty input, Politico reported. Proponents argue the law has empowered more people to apply, with Chancellor Ray Rodrigues saying Sasse would not have applied had the search been public. In 2024, lawmakers approved increasing BOG presence on search committees and requiring the chair of the BOG to approve a 'shortlist' of candidates. Some have argued the spirit of the 'shortlist' law has been violated, such as when the University of Florida named a single finalist, former U.S. Sen. and President Ben Sasse, as its shortlist. Since 2023, five of Florida's 12 public universities have hired new presidents — UF, New College of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Polytechnic University, and Florida Atlantic University. Four — FIU, UF, the University of South Florida, and Florida A&M University — are in the process of finding new presidents. The governor reached out to FIU to advocate for Nuñez. Earlier, DeSantis reportedly positioned now-state Sen. Randy Fine for FAU's post (although that fell through), and his office guided Sasse to Gainesville, Politico reported. Adam Hasner, former House GOP majority leader, and former House Speaker Richard Corcoran have been named presidents at state institutions since the law changed, too. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Among other changes, the identical bills would prohibit BOG members from sitting on presidential search committees. BOG members would have to live in Florida and make financial disclosures. Democrats told the Phoenix they found the bill 'refreshing' and 'in tension with the governor.' Samique March-Dallas, a finance professor at FAMU, spoke in support of the legislation during the House meeting, saying public searches boost trust. 'A president chosen through a secretive process begins their tenure with a trust deficit,' March-Dallas said. 'By contrast, leaders who emerge from transparent processes arrive with built in faculty support and legitimacy.' March-Dallas applauded the prospect of increasing accountability. 'Accountability ensures that search committees represent our different perspectives and that final decisions reflect our collective wisdom rather than narrow interests,' she said. 'As faculty members, we are the academic heart of our institutions. We dedicate our careers to rigorous inquiry, evidence-based conclusions and honest pursuit of knowledge,' March-Dallas said. 'These same principles must guide how we select the leadership that will shape our universities' futures.' Salzman said March Dallas's comments are 'exactly the point of the bill.' 'The education system is the second largest component of the state's budget, … therefore the taxpayers should be able to see what's going on,' Salzman said. Rep. Marie Woodson, a Democrat, asked if it was 'an all-American bill?' 'Yes ma'am,' Salzman responded. The proposal would impose term limits on State Board of Education members (two four-year terms), college trustees (eight consecutive years), university trustees (10 consecutive years), and BOG members (one seven-year term). SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Miami Herald
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Spending and secrecy: As conservatives keep challenging DeSantis, Florida wins
We're barely two weeks into the annual meeting of lawmakers in Tallahassee but it's clear the Florida Legislature is continuing its pushback against Gov. Ron DeSantis, a healthy development for democracy in a state where the legislative branch was in lockstep with the governor for far too long. One notable bill, Senate Bill 1726, sponsored by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud, would repeal a law signed by DeSantis in 2022 that plunged university presidential searches into secrecy by making the identities of presidential candidates confidential well into the final stages of a search. Under SB 1726, such searches would once again be conducted in the sunshine. The problems with that law were apparent from the get-go, when presidential searches quickly became a fixed game, with DeSantis pushing his political allies to leadership posts at Florida's higher education institutions and only one candidate being forwarded to trustee boards. It was so bad that former state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, who helped sponsor the bill, said in 2023 that the legislation had been 'perverted' by those who sought to control the outcome of the searches. For example, when the University of Florida president was chosen in 2022, only one name emerged from the shadows of the secret process, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. There was also only one finalist put forth in 2023 for South Florida State College, former state Rep. Fred Hawkins, a St. Cloud Republican. Calatayud's bill, which has a House companion bill, HB 1321, filed by Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Cantonment, would put this situation to rights. It would remove the public records and open meetings exemption for presidential applicants at public colleges and universities in Florida. The selections of presidents of public institutions of higher learning would be made in the open once again. That's especially fitting as we mark Sunshine Week, March 16-22, the annual celebration of Florida's open records laws, once lauded as the best in the nation for transparency and accountability in government. Florida taxpayers deserve no less than full transparency on presidential searches. But what makes this bill and others even more notable is that they are being filed by conservatives — often in the name of fiscal responsibility — not the Democrats who have been fighting DeSantis for the past six years. A proposal by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, adopted on Monday by a Senate committee, is an even more direct challenge to the governor. Bradley successfully amended a Senate bill dealing with ballot initiatives to ban the state from using taxpayer dollars to advocate for or against constitutional amendments. Last year, DeSantis used state resources to campaign against Amendment 3 to legalize recreational marijuana and Amendment 4 to legalize abortion rights (both proposals failed to get the required 60% voter approval). Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, which reports to the governor, even launched a website in opposition to Amendment 4. 'This amendment makes sure that taxpayers don't get the bill for political issue campaigns,' Bradley said, the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau reported. It's unclear how much money the state spent fighting both amendments. That's something the Legislature should investigate now that it has an appetite to oversee spending under the governor. The Florida House has been especially dogged in its scrutiny of DeSantis. Under Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, the chamber has readopted its role as a a check on the executive branch. And lawmakers are doing so with very public questioning of some of the DeSantis administration's officials. A House committee recently grilled a Department of Management Services deputy secretary over why four of its employees did not live in Florida, including the state chief data officer, who earns $200,000 a year. The agency spent $60,000 on travel expenses for those employees, including for their trips to Tallahassee, Politico reported. Additionally, House members have criticized the agency for not being able to tell how many cars the state owns. There's also legislation this year that would impact one of DeSantis' most high-profile appointees, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. House Bill 1445 — filed by Central Florida Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield — would prohibit agency heads from living in a county different than the one where their agency is based. Ladapo has said he lives in Pinellas County, not Tallahassee, according to Politico. A somewhat adversarial relationship between a governor and the Legislature is healthy. If the outcome is a more transparent government free of cronyism, then Florida wins. Click here to send the letter.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DeSantis installs allies at state universities in purge of ‘ideological concepts'
Jeanette Nuñez, until recently lieutenant governor, is becoming interim, and likely permanent, president of Florida International University. (Photo via FIU) Florida governors have long held sway over the selection of state university presidents, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken extra care to install political allies with limited higher education experience in these well-paid jobs, including his former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez. Now, a bill filed for the 2025 regular session of the Florida Legislature would limit the governor's authority, giving universities more autonomy in selecting their leaders. Sen. Alexis Calatayud of Miami and Rep. Michelle Salzman of Escambia County introduced the measure. HB 1321 in the House and SB 1726 in the Senate would strip the State University System's Board of Governors (BOG) and State Board of Education of their power to approve university and college presidents, leaving it up to the institutions' trustees and search committees. The bill would prohibit Board of Governors members from sitting on search committees. Since 2023, five of Florida's 12 public universities have hired new presidents — the University of Florida, New College of Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Polytechnic University, and Florida Atlantic University. Four — Florida International University, the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, and Florida A&M University — are in the process of finding new presidents. UF hired former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as president in February 2023, but he stepped down in July 2024 and reports of profligate spending followed, requiring a fresh search. Each university has 13 trustees, six appointed directly by the governor and five by the State University System's Board of Governors. The governor appoints 14 of the 17 members of that board. FAU chose Adam Hasner as its president this month. The former state House majority leader faced pushback from College Democrats because of his partisan background, although he pledged during forums that he would stay away from politics as president. Nuñez stepped away from the DeSantis administration to become interim president at her alma mater, FIU, this month, two years before her term in office was set to end. Trustees from both institutions applauded their new presidents for their connections in Tallahassee and perceived political influence over appropriations. Jose Oliva, a member of the Board of Governors, said moments before that panel approved Nuñez that when he was speaker of the Florida House and Nuñez was lieutenant governor, 'it was very standard to see her during budget time in the speaker's office advocating for FIU and making sure that FIU received not just the proper support from the Legislature, but also the proper recognition for its many successes.' People who protested Hasner, Nuñez, Sasse, and former House speaker Richard Corcoran at New College largely focus on fears they would politicize the institutions. DeSantis has been plain that he wants to convert the formerly progressive New College into the Hillsdale of the South, referring to the conservative Christian college in Michigan. DeSantis has hinted that similar transformations may be coming at the University of West Florida, which just underwent a big shake-up of its board of trustees, and elsewhere within the system. The governor's office and BOG have made no secret of their motives, making clear they want to 'prune' 'ideological study stuff,' want no more 'indoctrinating concepts,' are putting certain degrees under the microscope for their return on investment, now that colleges and universities must undergo 'DOGE Florida' audits. 'I want to say that we are fully aligned with the Board of Governors' vision and mission because ultimately we recognize that FIU's success is also the BOG's success,' Nuñez said Feb. 20 in front of governors about to vote for her confirmation. The governor reached out to FIU to advocate for Nuñez. Earlier, DeSantis reportedly positioned now-state Sen. Randy Fine for FAU's post (although that fell through), and his office guided Sasse to Gainesville, Politico reported. The newly proposed legislation would reverse heightened secrecy that the Legislature and DeSantis imposed for presidential searches in 2022, reopening records about presidential searches under Florida's public records laws. Among the other requirements, Calatayud and Salzman's bill would impose term limits on State Board of Education members (two four-year terms), college trustees (eight consecutive years), university trustees (10 consecutive years), and Board of Governors members (one seven-year term) and require them to disclose their financial records. Members of the Board of Governors would have to be residents of the state. Calatayud declined to comment about the legislation, nor did Rep. Demi Busatta, chair of the House higher education appropriations commitee, respond to requests for comment. The bill has support from the two Democrats on the Senate Higher Education Appropriations committee, Sens. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Tracie Davis. 'I've been concerned for many years that the governor has used his power to influence decisions on provosts and university presidents really to reward his most loyal soldiers, and it's not getting us great leaders at our higher education institutions. In fact, it's resulted in a lot of grift and a lot of corruption,' Smith told the Phoenix. Davis called the Calatayud's bill 'refreshing,' saying DeSantis 'has basically weaponized the appointments of presidents here in the state of Florida.' 'Being an educator myself, many of them don't have the qualifications to be presidents of universities,' Davis told the Phoenix. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, too, supports a move toward independence for universities. 'That legislation, I think, is going to be in tension with the governor,' Driskell told reporters on the opening day for the legislative session last week. She added: 'I really appreciate that to the extent that we can get away from the governor having such a heavy hand on these appointments, I think that would be better for the people of Florida, too.' University of Florida, Florida A&M University, and University of South Florida have open searches for president, as has FIU, although Nunez is seen as the favorite to take over the permanent position. Critics see DeSantis' exertion of control as worrisome for the universities and academic freedom but BOG vice chair Alan Levine counsels calm. He is a former deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Jeb Bush. 'It really isn't new. I know people want to hang this on Gov. DeSantis, I just don't think that's fair,' Levine told the Phoenix in an interview before Salzman and Calatayud filed their identical bills. 'Gov. DeSantis is not the first governor to be interested in who university presidents are,' Levine said, adding that he believes some of the best presidents in Florida were not academicians. Hasner, selected unanimously over two career-academic finalists, and Nuñez have no experience in higher education administration, while Corcoran previously served as Florida education commissioner and Sasse was president of Midland University, a small, private institution in Nebraska. When he served under Bush, Levine said, 'a new president didn't get hired unless we were aware of who it was and we were comfortable with who that person was.' The Board of Regents — now replaced by the Board of Governors — would keep the governor's office informed about presidential searches he added. 'There's a long history of people that are nontraditional candidates' who proved 'exceptional presidents,' Levine said, listing former House Speaker John Thrasher (FSU 2014-2021); former House Speaker T.K. Wetherell (FSU 2003-2010); former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney (UNF 2003-2018, Flagler College 2021-present); and former Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan (FAU 2003-2009). He also listed attorney Marshall Criser, who served on the Board of Regents and as president of University of Florida for five years starting in 1984. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Politics in higher education is happening 'most in red states,' Judith Wilde, a presidential search researcher at George Mason University, told the Phoenix, listing as examples Virginia, Texas, and Georgia. 'It's those sorts of southern red states where we see politics come in most. The most egregious by far is in Florida,' Wilde said. 'DeSantis makes it clear what he wants, and his people make sure that's what happens. There's not much more to say about that.' 'It was exacerbated in a way by Sasse himself, when you look at the reasons that he was forced out of the position,' Wilde said. 'When he took on the role, he said he would not bring politics into the position and yet he hired people who had been on his staff when he was a senator to do things. He hired some firms that he knew from his days in Washington. … So, he brought politics right back into it.' UF responded to Sasse's administrative practices by implementing new HR policies for the office of the president. DeSantis himself claims the universities are heading in the 'direction quite frankly that Florida voters have been very favorable towards in the last many elections.' 'We believe in the mission, but we also have a responsibility to make sure [presidents are] operating in ways that are consistent with the state's best principles and best ideals,' DeSantis said during a news conference last month. 'So, when you have somebody that has already proven that they have a dedication to classical mission of the universities, that they have opposed efforts to use universities for ideological indoctrination, I just think it gives people a little more confidence that they're going to do that as they go in.' Wilde argued that presidents selected through nonpolitical processes can produce conservative leadership, but that relying on politicians may not always lead to the desired result. 'I think it's sort of naive to say that having a politician, you know what they're going to do and that they will remain conservative,' she said. 'I don't feel that that's necessarily a rule, and if they really want somebody conservative, then they should be able to get that with a regular search. Most politicians don't seem to really have a clue about what a university does, and so how can they really lead it?' Fear of political payback could prevent search committees from advocating for candidates other than the one preferred by the governor, Wilde said. 'It's going to take a lot of thinking and cogitating on the part of the members of the search committee to go against the governor, because they know that if they go against him and choose somebody else without having a really good reason, or being able to convince that this other person would be better, that they may lose their positions in whatever it is they do.' Wilde said. More presidents than in the past across the country are stepping down before their terms end, one reason being the increased frequency of secret searches and another lack of support from the university community, she said. 'When the search is done in secret, it means that the people at the university don't know who's coming and, at the end, kind of like the Wizard of Oz — suddenly a curtain has pulled aside and with a roll of drums, here's your new president,' Wilde said. At UF, Sasse was the sole finalist named — notwithstanding a state law requiring a 'shortlist' of finalists to be made public. Wilde's research into the 2015-16 academic year found that 92% of searches nationwide involved an outside search firm, the vast majority of which suggested secret searches. During 1975-76, only 2% of searches were done in secret; the rest were done locally and involved alumni, faculty, students, and local stakeholders. According to a 2022 nationwide survey of college presidents by the American Council on Education, since 2006, presidents's tenure has decreased by 2.6 years. Presidents surveyed had been in their position an average of 5.9 years. 'I'm not aware of any specific effort for this to happen, it's just sort of a natural evolution,' Levine said. According to Artis Hampshire-Cowan, a search consultant hired by FAMU, university presidents must be 'business executives' to be successful — tenacious, with an understanding of the complexity of university finances and the scramble for resources. About 80% of presidents will serve in that capacity at only one school in their career; 17% will serve in a second presidency, Wilde said. '[Search firms] claim you need to have someone who's been president, and yet there aren't very many of those who choose to be president again,' she added. Sen. Gayle Harrell, chair of the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee, said she believes political experience can help a president but isn't everything. 'They have to be the complete package.' Political experience 'may give you a leg up, but it's only one aspect of all the credentials that you have to present,' Harrell told the Phoenix. 'There are insights gained from having legislative experience or administrative experience in Tallahassee that perhaps someone coming from out of state or from another university system might not understand,' Harrell said. Hasner and Nuñez are set to make hundreds of thousands of dollars more than their predecessors did. Hasner's contract is for five years with an annual base pay of $875,000 and $150,000 bonus if he receives an exceptional or outstanding review. In addition, there's a retirement supplement of $100,000 and $19,800 per year in an automobile allowance, as well as a $30,000 relocation reimbursement. For the current year, outgoing interim President Stacy Volnick was set to earn a base salary of $551,250. She now serves as the VP for administrative affairs and COO earning a $450,000 base salary. Nunez's interim contract will give her annual base salary of $850,000 with a performance bonus of up to $127,500, a $12,500 annual automobile allowance, and paid insurance premiums. In Jessell's contract, signed in 2022, which was set to expire this November, he and the university agreed to a $650,000 base salary with a $175,000 annual bonus, $130,000 annual retirement supplement, $12,500 automobile allowance, and a $10,000 moving stipend. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
