FL Bills Propose Making University Job Searches Private
Posted March 27, 2015 10:15 am
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - A bill that would make the process of selecting
university and Florida College System presidents private
advanced Tuesday through its third state House
committee. Opponents fear that House Bill 223, if
passed, would shut the public out from the process of
selecting some of the highest-paid positions in the
higher-education system.
HB 223
"Faculty, staff, parents, students, taxpayers, all of those folks would be shut out of the decision-making process," said Jennifer Proffitt, president of the United Faculty of Florida, which represents more than 1,600 faculty in the state. "This is really problematic because the public should have a right to know why this person is selected."
SB 182
Similar legislation, Senate Bill 182, will be considered on Thursday in the state Senate. Supporters of exempting the selection process from state Sunshine Laws say the current system discourages high-profile people from applying for the position.
Rich Templin, legislative and political director for the
Florida AFL-CIO, said that allowing the process to take
place behind closed doors invites the inclusion of
candidates who might not have academic interests at
heart.
"Powerful political figures frequently apply for these
positions," he said. "I foresee if this legislation
passes, we will have a university system that is
dominated by politicians, not the highly qualified
academics that we want."
Proffitt said the claim that qualified applicants are
discouraged from applying has been proved false by
recent searches for leadership at Florida State
University, the University of Florida, Florida
Agricultural and Mechanical University and Florida
Atlantic University.
In "all of these searches, well-qualified people did
apply and have been selected," he said, "so it just
doesn't seem to be a compelling enough reason to keep
the public in the dark about who's applying for these
positions and how the finalists are determined."
Thirty-nine people applied for the recent open position
of FSU president, with the understanding that the
process was open to the public.
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