A former state lawmaker and two academics were selected as finalists to be Florida Atlantic University’s next president.
A search committee will pick from Adam Hasner, a former House majority leader; Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business at Florida State University; and John Volin, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Maine.
Each of the finalists will conduct public forums on campus the first week of February before interviewing with the Board of Trustees, according to a post from board Chair Piero Bussani on the FAU website.
Stacy Volnick has been serving as interim president since Jan. 1, 2023, following the retirement of John Kelly.
This is the second time the university has named three finalists. In 2023, the school’s leadership was in limbo after the chancellor of the state’s university system halted the first search, citing “anomalies” in the process.
That was after the previous search committee did not name Republican state Rep. Randy Fine as one of the three finalists. Fine had been seen as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ preferred pick, despite the lawmaker’s lack of experience in higher education.
Throughout that process, faculty members raised red flags about the potential for political interference.
Attorney General Ashley Moody determined the search violated the Florida Sunshine Law, which requires transparency.
The board selected another 15-member search committee in June.
Hasner, a Palm Beach County Republican, is a lawyer who was in the state House from 2002 to 2010, and was majority leader from 2007 to 2010. Since 2016, he has been executive vice president of public policy at The GEO Group, a private prison company.
In biographical information on FAU’s website, Hasner cited ties to the school, including helping establish the College of Medicine and sponsoring a bill to authorize a doctor of medicine program.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the search committee members for taking time out of their busy schedules to assist Florida Atlantic in its search for the next president,” Bussani wrote.
