After a dog-and-pony show, FIU did what was expected and crowned DeSantis ally | Opinion

Florida International University became the latest victim on Friday of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ continuing drive to control the state’s public universities by appointing political cronies as presidents.

A secret whirlwind process led to a one-hour online meeting of the FIU Board of Trustees and — boom — Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nuñez is now the interim FIU president. No doubt she’ll be in the job permanently.

Starting Feb. 17, South Florida’s largest public, four-year university will be in the hands of a senior Republican politician, a former healthcare lobbyist and legislator from Miami-Dade County without much in the way of academic credentials. She’ll be in charge of a state school with 56,000 students.

There was no search. There was virtually no transparency. And there was no mistaking or hiding what happened.

Board Chairman Rogelio Tovar said on Friday the Nuñez hire at the state-funded school was a request from DeSantis’ office: “The governor’s office has contacted me and suggested we consider Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as the next leader of FIU.”

The current president, Kenneth Jessell, whose contract was set to end in November, will stay as chief financial officer, board members said Friday.

This is part of a pattern from DeSantis that threatens to erode the credibility of Florida’s institutions of higher learning. He’s installed political cronies to lead New College of Florida in Sarasota and Broward and South Florida State colleges, and will probably push another former Republican state lawmaker at Florida Atlantic University.

These appointments show the governor’s disdain for academia. After spending years fighting the perception — perhaps accurate in some cases — that universities are too “woke” and liberal, DeSantis is now ensuring that his enemies in higher education are pushed out and that only one ideology will prevail in higher education: his own.

To be fair, Nuñez’s appointment will likely give FIU a higher profile in state government. There are expectations that her connections in Tallahassee and the governor’s office will result in more funding and perks for the school. And other politicians-turned-university-presidents are regarded as successful, such as former state senator and Florida State University President John Thrasher.

The problem is that, when cronyism becomes the norm at state universities and colleges, merit is replaced by schmoozing.

During Friday’s meeting, multiple FIU students and graduates spoke out — they were allowed one minute each — with none supporting Nuñez’s selection. They worried her appointment would limit academic freedoms and damage the integrity of the university, and they noted her lack of academic credentials. The Faculty Senate also spoke out against it, at the meeting and in a letter to the editor sent to the Miami Herald.

Overall, though, the meeting seemed more like a charade than a conversation, a dog-and-pony show meant to pretend there was a true effort to place the most qualified candidate at the helm of the university.

There was talk Friday of a search for a permanent president. But who believes that? Board member Dean Colson even suggested trustees find a way around the requirement for a formal presidential search, since the “probable results of the search are already known.”

Nuñez was an accomplished state legislator known for her deep focus on policy before she became lieutenant governor. But what truly earned her spot as FIU’s interim leader were her political connections. After criticizing Donald Trump in 2016 as the “biggest con-man there is,” she became a Trump supporter and then-Trump protege DeSantis’ running mate in 2018. Now FIU might even become the site of a Trump presidential library.

After supporting in 2014 a bill to allow in-state tuition for undocumented students — many of whom were brought to this country as children — Nuñez reversed her stance this year, siding with DeSantis, who wants the law revoked.

The FIU presidency is just another pawn for DeSantis. With Nuñez at FIU, the governor will choose another lieutenant governor, allowing him to pick a potential successor in the 2026 gubernatorial race.

Nuñez has been anointed by DeSantis, and now FIU will have to live with the consequences. Students, faculty and the community need only look at other political choices for university presidents to know what’s coming.

Click here to send the letter.