Bill aims to hide UCF applicants Names would be hidden prior to interviewing for university president position

TALLAHASSEE – A lawmaker who wants to hide the names of initial applicants to lead state universities cited the small pool of applicants in UCF’s ongoing search for a president before a Senate panel Wednesday.

“The University of Central Florida, which is a huge university in the number one ranked state in the nation, and we have 12 applicants,” said Sen. Manny Diaz, RHialeah, sponsor of SB 774, citing an Orlando Sentinel story from earlier this month. “We need this bill.”

UCF’s pool of candidates has since grown to 15, but two of them are undergraduates and few have the management experience at top-tier universities. Diaz said that’s because Florida colleges and universities are at a disadvantage to other states because of Florida’s Sunshine Laws. Sitting presidents at other universities are hesitant to apply for top jobs in Florida because their employers would know they’re looking to leave.

A spokesperson for UCF did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Even if the bill becomes law, however, it wouldn’t take effect until July 1, so it’s unlikely it would affect UCF’s presidential search, which is ongoing.

But open government advocates and opponents of the bill said it wasn’t necessary, and could lead universities and colleges to leave the public in the dark on all the candidates except the person who is ultimately selected.

“These are high profile jobs,” said Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa. “I’m sorry, I think this is going to embarrass us.”

The bill would exempt personal identifying information of applicants for president at a state university or state college, at least until a school’s board of trustees narrowed the pool of applicants down to a handful of finalists.

Any applicant’s name would become public record 21 days before they would be interviewed by the board or at which a final vote would be taken to hire them to the position, but university boards could close meetings to the public where they discuss the process for narrowing the pool of initial applicants.

Diaz said that provision will give students, faculty and the public at large enough time to evaluate the finalists, but stressed that it was needed to help draw highly qualified candidates. He also cited the experience of Florida State University, which saw former president Eric Barron head to Pennsylvania State University with little previous notice. Pennsylvania’s more closed process puts Florida at a disadvantage, he said.

“Really the idea behind this is to expand the pool of candidates,” Diaz said. “You’re not going to put yourself at risk when you might not even get to the second round to be considered.”