A state board issued a vote of no confidence against the chairman of the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees, saying he’s shown a failure of leadership related to a presidential search and the contract of the interim president.
The vote on Brad Levine by the State University System’s Board of Governors on Wednesday is on the surface symbolic. The board has no authority to take formal action against Levine. But it could serve as an impetus for action by the FAU Board of Trustees, which can replace him as chair, or Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can remove Levine as a trustee.
The action comes in the wake of a report issued last month by the inspector general for the Board of Governors, which said FAU violated state laws and regulations in the way it conducted its search for president last year. A major concern was a search committee’s use of secret ballots to narrow candidates. Attorney General Ashley Moody opined that the votes of a search committee must all be on the record.
Levine chaired the searched committee and appointed most of its members. The Board of Governors suspended the search in July, and voted last month to require FAU to start the search over again.
“I’m at a loss. I’m just trying to do what’s right for FAU,” Brad Levine told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We followed (Board of Governors) member Alan Levine’s suggested process used to hire another Florida president. Then they said that was bad, and we need redo it. All I have ever done is what’s in the best interest of FAU.”
Craig Mateer, a member of the Board of Governors, called the FAU search “a mess.”
“That’s a reflection of us and of them,” Mateer said. “I personally believe Chairman Levine should resign or we should find a path to remove him. There’s a big responsibility to being chair. When you choose the entire committee and your process breaks down, that has to be dealt with.”
Many at FAU, as well as Democratic lawmakers, blasted the Board of Governors’ actions, saying the process was stopped because the search committee didn’t choose state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, a candidate once favored by DeSantis, as one of the three finalists.
A new issue raised by the Board of Governors on Wednesday involves the contract extension of Interim President Stacy Volnick, which FAU’s Board of Trustees approved in November. Volnick has been leading the university since former President John Kelly stepped down at the end of 2022.
One FAU trustee complained that she hadn’t received Volnick’s original contract, nor the proposed new contract, before being asked to approve it.
Alan Levine, a member of the Board of Governors who is not related to Brad Levine, said the materials should have been posted on the FAU website seven days prior to the meeting, and he questioned whether this was a violation of the Sunshine Law, which governs open meetings.
Levine told the Board of Governors on Wednesday that the university had never given Volnick a contract, which Board of Governors members said is also a problem. The Board of Governors confirms presidential appointments, under the condition that a contract will be drafted, officials said.
As a result of that concern, the Board of Governors delayed confirming Volnick as president, although they agreed she could stay on until the issue is resolved. State Chancellor Ray Rodrigues and several members of the Board of Governors praised her leadership, saying their concerns were with Levine.
A few members of the Board of Governors argued this was a rash decision, and they didn’t have enough details.
Speaking on the issue involving Volnick’s contract, board member Eric Silagy said, “I don’t know whether or not it was something that was truly technical or they had an intention to try to withhold information. Those things matter.”
But board member Jose Oliva said the board had enough information to act.
“There is a systemic failure of process and procedure here. And so in that regard, I don’t think he is being rash,” he said.
The FAU Board of Trustees is expected to discuss this issue at meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
