UCF president candidate withdraws
One of three finalists vying for the top post at the University of Central Florida has withdrawn his application after allegations surfaced he bullied employees on the Texas campus where he is currently president.
Vistasp Karbhari, the president of the University of Texas at Arlington, is no longer pursuing the UCF position, a spokesman said in an email on Monday. He sent a message to Beverly Seay, chairwoman of UCF’s Board of Trustees, saying it had been a “privilege and honor” to be a finalist in the search but he wanted to remove his name from consideration.
“Unfortunately, challenging personal matters have arisen that require my full attention,” Karbhari wrote. “Wanting to be respectful of the University of Central Florida I am writing to withdraw my candidacy. UCF is a tremendous institution with a wonderful future ahead of it and I wish it all the very best.”
Karbhari was one of seven candidates who interviewed for the post last Thursday. A committee tasked with winnowing the applications selected him and two other applicants, both medical doctors, as finalists.
But a story published over the weekend in the Fort Worth StarTelegram said Karbhari “belittled employees, alienated them with bullying, and made retaliatory threats.” The piece cited interviews with a dozen current and former employees.
A former employee also recently filed a suit against Karbhari, the paper reported, saying he made unreasonable demands and had bullied her and other female subordinates.
Karbhari, who has been the president at the Texas university since 2013, couldn’t be reached for comment. A message posted to the school’s website last Wednesday said he was stepping down effective Aug. 31. He was previously the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and has a background in civil engineering.
Committee members knew about the lawsuit filed against Karbhari when they decided to invite him to campus for an interview on Thursday. Some said the allegations described in the suit made them feel uncomfortable advancing Karbhari in the process; others countered that the accusations hadn’t yet been proven true.
The other finalists are David Brenner, vice chancellor for health sciences at the University of California San Diego, and Cato Laurencin, professor and former dean of the University of Connecticut’s school of medicine. They’re expected to return to Orlando later this month for public forums and interviews with the Board of Trustees.
The search committee will meet next on March 16 to will review additional information on the remaining candidates, reconsider other applicants and consider any other people who may apply. Finalists are scheduled to have their first interview with the Board of Trustees on the afternoon of March 17. UCF plans to stream those interviews online.
Finalists are expected to stay on campus next week for visits and open forums. The public will be able to give input on the candidates. The university’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to make the final selection, which is subject to approval from the state university system, on March 20.