Will Rosenberg return to FIU? Maybe. But here’s what needs to happen

After Florida International University released its report Wednesday investigating allegations of misconduct by its former president, Mark Rosenberg, FIU has to decide what role, if any, Rosenberg will have after his year-long, paid sabbatical.

Rosenberg, FIU’s president since 2009, abruptly resigned in January after a young woman who worked with him in the president’s office alleged Rosenberg made unwanted advances to her over several months.

According to Rosenberg’s contract, because he resigned in good standing, Rosenberg could return to campus after his one-year sabbatical at full salary and teach classes with a $377,000 annual salary. As president, Rosenberg made $502,578.63 a year, per his contract, plus bonus and pension supplements paid by FIU.

READ MORE: Source: FIU employee confided to colleague that Rosenberg had been harassing her

FIU’s Board of Trustees discussed this at its meeting Thursday, but the trustees will not make the final decision.

The decision as to whether Rosenberg returns as a tenured faculty member falls on the FIU Faculty Advisor Board, comprised of the vice provost for faculty leadership and success, the associate provost for academic planning and finance, the director of employee and labor relations, the associate director of employee and labor relations and FIU’s deputy general counsel.

Those five members will decide “what, if any, further steps may be taken based on the facts gathered in the instant investigation or any further investigation it may wish to conduct,” according to the 15-page report FIU released Wednesday, detailing the two-and-a-half month investigation by an outside law firm into the misconduct allegations by the woman who worked with Rosenberg.

READ MORE: Rosenberg told FIU staffer he harassed she was a ‘princess’ and would divorce his wife, report says

The woman, who is not named in the report, told Eric Isicoff from Isicoff Ragatz, the Miami law firm that conducted the investigation at FIU’s behest, that Rosenberg called her “princess,” wouldn’t have lunch without her and wouldn’t leave the office until she did. She also alleged Rosenberg told her he would divorce his wife and asked her to be his “lover.”

Rosenberg is 72; the woman is in her 20s.

Rosenberg “flatly denied” calling her princess, according to the report. He said he never used the term “lover” but suggested she could act as his “companion” post-presidency. He also said he thinks he told her he loved her, “but in a broader context,” the report said.

Rosenberg could return as highly paid professor

If FIU decides that Rosenberg could return as a tenured faculty member, he would be covered by the faculty union’s collective bargaining agreement and would report to a department chair, a dean and ultimately the provost.

Isicoff told the Herald Wednesday he doesn’t know when the Faculty Advisory Board will discuss Rosenberg’s future, but that they could issue a recommendation that could range from counseling to reprimand, to suspension or termination. Rosenberg’s department chair or dean — whom Isicoff couldn’t identify — would ultimately decide what to do. Depending on the severity of the decision, Rosenberg could appeal it.

“I don’t know exactly how quickly they will convene and deal with this, but my understanding is that they will not wait until he returns as a teacher or a researcher or to write a book or whatever he will do when he comes back. I don’t believe the Faculty Advisory Board is going to wait for that; I think they’re going to proceed forward,” Isicoff said.

After Rosenberg resigned on Jan. 21, FIU’s Board of Trustees, during an emergency meeting, appointed Kenneth Jessell, 66, FIU’s chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and administration since 2009, as interim president while FIU searches for a permanent successor.

This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 3:00 PM.