FIU Faculty Senate: We’re dismayed that Nuñez could replace FIU president | Opinion

The Florida International University Faculty Senate noted with dismay the Jan. 30 Miami Herald article speculating that Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez will replace current FIU president Kenneth Jessell when his three-year contract ends later this year, possibly without the national search for qualified candidates to lead one of the best public universities in the country.

All the more dismaying was word that the FIU Board of Trustees will meet Friday to install Nuñez as interim president immediately.

The Senate is the representative body of the FIU faculty, with 62 elected members from every college and school in the university.

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday offering “its strong and unequivocal support” to Jessell and urging the FIU Board of Trustees to extend his contract for another year.

Jessell is long-affiliated with FIU, a tenured business professor and the school’s chief financial officer before rising to his current position. Under his leadership, FIU has soared into the list of the country’s top 50 public universities and of the top 100 U.S. universities in the latest rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.

The Faculty Senate believes that Jessell’s leadership will continue to elevate FIU’s status and further its mission. We endorse the renewal of Jessel’s contract and urge the Board of Trustees to reaffirm its confidence in his exceptional leadership.

Noël C. Barengo

FIU Faculty Senate chair

On behalf of the Faculty Senate