UCF student leaders: Don’t delay search for president

UCF shouldn’t delay the search for its next president, two student leaders wrote to university trustees this week, saying they should choose a leader who can help the institution overcome the construction-spending controversy that consumed the campus during the past year.

When trustees named Thad Seymour as the University of Central Florida’s interim president earlier this year, they said they planned to start the search for a long-term leader this fall, with the goal of selecting someone who could take over that role by mid-2020.

But last week, trustees said they might delay the search, citing concerns the publicity generated by the university’s use or transfer of nearly $100 million in leftover operating funds for construction in violation of state rules might discourage applicants. They said they planned to seek advice from search consultants about the matter and discuss it again during their next regular meeting Sept. 19. By then, an investigation ordered by the state university system into the spending problems at UCF also should be complete.

But Fritz Farrow, chair of the Student Body Advocacy committee, and Anthony Lopez, the group’s vice chair, urged trustees not to postpone the search.

“We are of the understanding that the discussion was born out of a concern that some ‘qualified’ potential candidates would opt not to apply because of the state’s investigation,” they wrote in a letter dated Monday. “Frankly, if that’s

the case, those candidates are not qualified or the right fit for UCF. Our next president needs to have the fearless determination to take on the challenges ahead of us and should be of the shared belief that we must reach for the stars, unburdened by our present circumstances.”

Farrow said he and Lopez drafted the letter on their own, but other students on the 14-member committee, which is part of the Student Government Association, support their stance.

Beverly Seay, Board of Trustees chair, responded to the letter by saying she and her colleagues will seek guidance regarding “the best timing for a presidential search and the quality of potential candidates” with search firms over the next several weeks. They’ll discuss the firms’ feedback during their next meeting.

“I appreciate the feedback from the Student Body Advocacy committee and am glad to see our students engaging in this important leadership decision,” Seay, who took over as chair last week, wrote in an email.

Seymour’s predecessor, Dale Whittaker, resigned abruptly in February in the middle of a Florida House committee probe. Whittaker, who served as president for less than eight months, said he didn’t know the university was misusing state money. Most of the problems occurred while Whittaker was the university’s provost, his role for four years under former President John Hitt, who retired June 30.

The university’s spending problems first came to light nearly a year ago when the state auditor general’s office flagged the use of $38 million in leftover operating money to build Trevor Colbourn Hall, a new academic building the opened last August.

Seymour said last week he’s willing to serve as the university’s leader for longer than trustees initially intended but reiterated previous statements that he doesn’t plan to throw his hat in the ring once the search gets underway.

Farrow and Lopez praised Seymour’s “dedication to the student body” in their letter to trustees and wrote they were satisfied with his service.

“We just feel as though we need a permanent president, and the sooner, the better,” Farrow told the Orlando Sentinel in an interview Tuesday.

Whenever the search begins, Farrow, a 21-year-old junior from Orlando, stressed that it’s important for students’ voices to be heard by trustees. He said he wants them to avoid picking a new president during the summer, when many students are away from campus.

Members of Farrow’s committee already have talked with their peers about the types of issues they want their next president to prioritize. They plan to survey the student body in the fall to gather more feedback, Farrow and Lopez wrote, saying the committee’s involvement in the search is “crucial.” They plan to call the finalists and question them based on the input they gather from students.