The future of Broward College President Greg Haile remains in limbo this weekend, with one of his bosses calling for a “cooling-off” period after he abruptly submitted his resignation Wednesday.

Haile remains president for now, after the college’s Board of Trustees decided against taking steps Thursday to find a successor.

Alexis Yarbrough, chairwoman of the Broward College Board of Trustees, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday she received no warning or phone call from Haile prior to receiving his resignation letter. She called the emergency meeting Thursday morning to plan for the next steps.

Haile didn’t show up for that meeting, but more than a dozen of his supporters did, asking the board to work out any differences and not let the president go. Board members agreed to individually talk to Haile and find out why he wanted to leave and determine if there’s a way he could stay.

As of Friday, Yarbrough said she still hasn’t spoken to Haile. She said she plans to reach out to him in the near future.

“I think we need a pause, a cooling-off period,” she said. “I want to give him that space, so I have not spoken to him yet. I do think he needs some time for reflection.”

The next Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26. Yarbrough wouldn’t speculate whether he’ll be at that meeting.

“I don’t have any expectations right now,” she said. “In my role as chair, I’m focusing on setting meetings and making sure I can assist staff.”

The Sun Sentinel has been unable to reach Haile on Thursday or Friday, despite attempts by phone.

His letter said he was giving 120 days’ notice, as required under his contract. Still, Yarbrough said the matter was concerning enough to call an emergency meeting Thursday with about 12 hours’ notice where she was considering replacing him. Most board meetings require at least 48 hours’ public notice.

“The 120 days is language from his contract. That in no way in my mind assured me we were doing business as usual,” Yarbrough said. “When I got that letter, it was jarring. It was shocking. I called our staff and they were also shocked, and in my opinion, we needed to have an emergency meeting to ensure the continuance of our operations.”

Some of Haile’s supporters in the Broward business community said they’ve talked to him but didn’t know the extent of his concerns.

“He’s being very tight-lipped about it and that’s about all I can say,” Dan Lindblade, who attended Thursday’s meeting to support Haile, told the Sun Sentinel on Friday.

Haile’s resignation letter was vague on the reasons for his departure, other than noting most of the five trustees were new. Trustees are appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Three board members were appointed in the last six months, and the board as a whole is new, with no board member yet to have served a full term,” he wrote. “While you have not requested such a transition, the time is now.”

Haile has faced recent criticism from the trustees related to his handling of an administrator’s dismissal, a decline in enrollment, the college’s finances and other issues. But he wasn’t being forced out, Yarbrough said.

“At no time to my knowledge did any board member ever ask him to resign or indicate a desire for him to him leave the college or be replaced,” she said. “It was never even on my radar. I don’t know what’s in his mind. He was professional to us and were professional to him.”

Some DeSantis critics have questioned whether Haile’s decision to submit his resignation may be part of a larger effort by the governor to root out what he sees as “wokeness” in colleges and universities.

DeSantis allies have been hired at several colleges and universities in the state in the past year, including New College of Florida in Sarasota and South Florida State College in Avon Park. In addition, a state governing board suspended a presidential search at Florida Atlantic University, alleging “anomalies,” two days after the search committee didn’t name State Rep. Randy Fine, DeSantis’ endorsed candidate, as a finalist.

But the recent appointments to the Broward College Board of Trustees had nothing to do with trying to change leadership, said Yarbrough, one of the new appointees.

“It’s not a factor. No one has asked me to undertake such a mission,” she said. “I respect President Haile. This has come as a total shock to me.”