Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article do not represent the views of Her Campus FSU.
Let’s face it, Collegiettes, the search for the next President of Florida State University is a mess. It is a total, complete mess. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The university suffered a great loss when President Eric Barron and his wife Molly chose to go back to Penn State, but the time has come and gone to find a suitable candidate to replace him. I don’t think we could do much better than Eric Barron, but we have to give it the old college try (pun totally intended).
There are so many controversies surrounding this terrible process that it makes my head spin. There is unequal representation on the search committee, our best candidates are being weeded out, and the university is responding more to political and economic pressure than to the voices of the masses. The debate is heated and confusing, so let’s take a look at exactly how screwed up this is and see if we can understand it.
Problem #1: Senator John Thrasher
Photo: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s6
Recently named one of the final four finalists in the presidential search, John Thrasher is someone to be angry about. Although he is a Florida State alum and has directed millions of dollars to the university, he is not a suitable candidate for President. He has absolutely no experience in academia, with the exception of his experience as an undergrad. His qualifications look even worse when you compare him to the other three candidates who are still in the running. Michele Wheatly was the former provost at West Virginia University, Michael Martin is the chancellor of the Colorado State University System, and Richard Marchase is the vice president for research and economic development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. See the problem? Three candidates with outstanding experience in the world of academia, and then there’s Thrasher.
Problem #2: The removal of Garnett Stokes from consideration
Photo: http://provost.fsu.edu/stokes/
Ever since the Barrons left Florida State, Provost Garnett Stokes has been acting as Interim President of the University. However, her application has been taken out of the running for university president and she did not make the final four being considered. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Not only is she extremely well qualified, having served as the head of the Department of Psychology and as the dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia, she is one of our own. Stokes has been at Florida State since 2011 and has pledged to further the advancement of the university. Oh, and did I mention that she is nationally recognized in the field of Psychology and has a Ph.D.? By eliminating Provost Stokes from the running for President, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot. She is one of our most qualified candidates, and probably the most dedicated to the university. Her leadership has always been a great asset to the university, and the search committee has done us all an incredible disservice by eliminating Provost Stokes.
Problem #3: Our voices are being ignored
Photo: http://college.usatoday.com/2014/09/09/fsu-president-search-sparks-student-outcry/
Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the Seminole community are outraged. There have been protests, marches, and even a disturbance great enough to shut down a search committee meeting for forty minutes. Despite the efforts of many, our voices are falling on deaf ears. Those angered by the direction of the search have several complaints: first, that John Thrasher is not a suitable candidate and should be removed from consideration; second, that there is an unfair and unequal representation of students and faculty on the committee, despite the fact that they are the demographic that will be most affected by the new president; and third, that the university is seemingly placing political and economic benefit ahead of the needs of the students. A campaign has surfaced called Reset the Search, and it is calling for the presidential search to start over from the very beginning – and do a better job the second time. On the campaign’s website, resetthesearch.org , there is a petition, questions for John Thrasher, and a place to write comments on the search. On Twitter, you can use the hashtag #ResetTheSearch to see what others are saying and contribute to the conversation yourself.
In conclusion, the search for Florida State’s next president has not been going well. And, based on what has happened so far, I doubt it will end well. Since there are three qualified candidates with experience in academia, it would seem like the odds of finding the right person for the job are high. But how much power does John Thrasher really have? He’s already gotten this far, despite the overwhelmingly negative response to his candidacy. Let’s just hope and pray that the Presidential Search Committee does the right thing and places priority on our needs as students.
Sources:
http://provost.fsu.edu/stokes/
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/10/4339165/state-sen-john-thrasher-is-one.html