FIU Formally Launches Presidential Search

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A presidential search committee at Florida International University held an initial meeting Tuesday, laying out a timeline for the process of selecting a new leader.

Former FIU president Mark Rosenberg abruptly announced his resignation in January, later explaining that he had "caused discomfort" for a female colleague.

Kenneth Jessell, the university's chief financial officer, was named interim president.

The 15-member search committee includes several FIU trustees and faculty members, a student, and a member of the state university system Board of Governors.

The committee also includes influential FIU alumni such as Barbara Lagoa, a federal appellate judge and former state Supreme Court justice. Bill Funk, who leads the executive search firm R. William Funk & Associates, said an initial pool of candidates likely will be established "sometime in mid-June."

A first-round of candidate interviews is eyed for late June. From that group of candidates, finalists will be determined and invited to campus for further interviews in July.

The committee will aim to select a new president who would be able to begin the job before the start of the fall semester, Funk said. The committee will conduct the search under a new state law (SB 520) that, in part, provides a public-records exemption for information about candidates.

Information about finalists would be made public. FIU trustees Chairman Dean Colson said the law presents a "new burden" for the search committee.

"It is critically important that committee members protect the confidentiality of every prospect and every candidate," Colson told the committee Tuesday.

Each committee member was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement certifying that they will not reveal applicants' information.

FIU is one of four state universities in various stages of searching for new presidents. The other three schools are the University of Florida, the University of North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University.

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