Florida Atlantic University is initiating a new search for a permanent president, after state officials halted the previous search last year due to process anomalies, with a new leader expected to be named by early 2025.
Florida Atlantic University is preparing to launch a new presidential search, after a previous search was called off last year by state higher-education officials.
The FAU Board of Trustees is slated during a meeting Tuesday to take early steps toward selecting a search firm to assist in finding a new leader. The board also is expected to set responsibilities of a search committee.
FAU has been led for nearly two years by Interim President Stacy Volnick, who was selected in 2022 after then-President John Kelly announced his retirement. But the search for a more-permanent president was halted last summer at the direction of state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who cited “anomalies” in the search process.
Rodrigues in December ordered the school to restart the search from scratch. A document posted on the FAU website touted the school graduating “a record number of students” in May at 3,600. The school also reported receiving 47,000 applications from prospective students for the fall 2024 term, which FAU said is a 27 percent increase in applications from the previous year.
“To build on that trajectory, the next president of Florida Atlantic University must have the vision, temperament, and experience to seize the opportunities and overcome the challenges that Florida Atlantic will encounter as it strives to lead and educate the next generation of thinkers and innovators,” the document said.
The new president is likely to be named sometime in early 2025. The search committee, once it is convened, will be expected to produce an “unranked” list of candidates for the Board of Trustees in January. The trustees and the university system Board of Governors would have to sign off on a final selection.