BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic University has narrowed down its choices to become the next president of the school.
The college announced Wednesday three finalists have been recommended to the University's Board of Trustees for the university's top job.
The finalists include:
- Vice Adm. Sean Buck is the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. Buck has served as Superintendent since 2019. Prior to his appointment as Superintendent, he was the Commander of the U.S. Fourth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. Buck also served as the chief of staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate in the Pentagon. He earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Naval Academy and a master's degree from George Washington University.
- Michael Hartline, Ph.D. is the dean of the College of Business at Florida State University. Hartline has served as the dean of the College of Business since 2016. During his time at Florida State University, Hartline has also served as the interim vice president for University Advancement, interim president of the Florida State University Foundation, interim executive vice president of the Florida State University Foundation, interim dean of the College of Business, and chair of the Department of Marketing. He earned a bachelor's degree and an MBA from Jacksonville State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Memphis.
- Jose Sartarelli, Ph.D., was the former chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Sartarelli served as Chancellor from 2015 until 2022. Before being appointed as chancellor, he was the Milan Puskar dean of the College of Business and Economics and chief global officer at West Virginia University. Sartarelli has also served as the company group chair of the Pharmaceutical Group for the Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Latin America divisions of Johnson & Johnson and president of Worldwide Medicines Group for the Latin America, Puerto Rico and Canada divisions of Bristol-Myers Squibb. He earned a bachelor's degree from Sao Paulo School of Business Administration and an MBA and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
The school said the finalists were chosen after several weeks of conducting in-person interviews with several semi-finalists before selecting the three finalists.
School officials said the applicant pool included 12 current or former university or system presidents, eight executive vice presidents, five provosts, and several vice presidents of health affairs and deans.
"The fact that FAU received so many outstanding applications from across the nation shows the strength and attractiveness of both our university and the State University System as a whole," Brad Levine, chair of the FAU Board of Trustees and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee, said in a statement.
In accordance with the Florida Board of Governors' requirements for university presidential searches, each of the finalists will conduct public forums on FAU's campuses before interviewing with the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Stacy Volnick has been serving as interim president of FAU since late last year. She took the helm at the school after President John Kelly announced in June 2022 that he was stepping down at the end of the year. Kelly had served as president of the school since 2014.