BOCA RATON, Fla. — In the latest in a back-and-forth between Florida Atlantic University and state education leaders, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida said the Board of Governors will be investigating FAU's presidential search process.
Last week, the university announced its three finalists for the job, with on-campus forums expected to take place with those finalists this week. But days later, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues requested that FAU suspend the search until further notice, citing "anomalies" in the search process.
"This office has received concerning information regarding anomalies that have been alleged in the Florida Atlantic University presidential search," the initial letter from Rodrigues said.
It refers to a straw poll conducted for search committee members to rank their top candidates, which may not have followed protocol. The letter also questions a survey sent to candidates, asking about their gender and preferred pronouns. It calls those questions "wholly irrelevant, inappropriate and potentially illegal."
In response, FAU Board of Trustees Chair Brad Levine said the university did not authorize that questionnaire from the search firm and would be taking appropriate and aggressive action to address it.
After another letter from Levine defending the search and addressing the concerns from the state, the chancellor informed Levine in a letter Tuesday that the search would remain suspended until the state's investigation is completed.
"Based upon these preliminary admissions which underscore our concern raised in our July 7 letter questioning 'whether the search firm withheld material information from the search committee,' along with the additional anomalies that remain to be investigated, it is important that we engage in a deliberative review of the search process to ascertain the facts," he wrote.
Rodrigues said the investigation will be led by Board of Governors Inspector General Julie Leftheris.
"The investigation will be thorough, fair and a determination will not be reached in haste," he said.