FGCU students speak out on new President at Trustees meeting
Multiple students told the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees Tuesday that they fear a finalist for president of the university, Henry Mack, would disenfranchise marginalized students.
They say they're worried Mack would adhere to moves by Gov. Ron DeSantis to create more right-leaning higher educational settings such as recent changes at New College of Florida in Sarasota.
Mack and three other finalists from a pool of 100 applicants were announced Friday. This is the second time the university has narrowed down a list of applicants for the office of the presidency in the past year.
In the last go-around, two of three candidates decided to withdraw from consideration and the selection committee opted to begin the process over.
Nearly all of the 10 student speakers asked the board not to choose candidate Mack. The board is scheduled to select the next president on May 4.
Mack is a senior chancellor with the Florida Department of Education and was selected by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 to serve on the Education Commission of the States.
The other three finalists are Neil MacKinnon, provost at Augusta University; Joseph “Jay” Morgan, president of Morehead State University and Aysegul Timur, FGCU’s vice president and vice provost, Strategy and Program Innovation.
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Jules Bustamante spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Charlie Pervaza spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Kaylee Dombrowski asked all the students who were in attendance to please stand up as she spoke. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Madison Sardine spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Nick Gatian spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Alena Stevenson spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Seana Perkins spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Andrea Toles spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Raven Siegfried spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Vice Chair of the FGCU Board of Trustees and also the chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, Edward Morton, spoke on the search for a new President. Robbie Roepstorff and Joseph Fogg look on. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Kaylee Dombrowski spoke at the meeting. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Vee Leonard, FGCU Vice President and Gerald Counsel; Tiffany Reynolds, Director of Board Relations and Associate Corporate Secretary in the Office of Board Relations; Edward Morton, Vice Chair of the FGCU Board of Trustees and Chair of Presidential Search Advisory Committee; Robbie Roepstorff, FGCU Board of Trustees; and Joseph Hogg, Board of Trustees all look on as Blake Gable, Chair of the GCGU Board of Trustees, (center) thanks everyone for speaking. Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
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Around 40 students showed up, 10 spoke, at the Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday morning. They were there to peacefully sit in and urge the board to choose a president who will represent the students.
Andrea Melendez / WGCU
“We need a president who knows and loves FGCU as a marketplace of ideas and will not ban opposing viewpoints under the guise of it being too woke," said FGCU senior Jules Bustamante.
"We need a president who will not attack education; the very reason that we as students are all here. We need a president that will promote uncensored history. We need a president who is not afraid of embracing this campus as a diverse as equitable and inclusive space. We need a president that will give Hispanic students what they need to succeed as FGCU moves forward to become a Hispanic serving institution. We need a president who acknowledges that we are all students united and not at odds with each other. We need a president who can look at every single student and say, 'I see you and you belong here.' Henry Mack is not this president.”
There will be multiple public forums with each of the candidates. More information on the candidates can be found on line at fgcu.edu/presidentialsearch/presidentialfinalists
Schedule of public forums for candidate finalists
FGCU, in conjunction with executive search firm Greenwood Asher & Associates, is pleased to announce the dates and times for on-campus public forums for the four finalists in the presidential search.
Senior Chancellor, Florida Department of EducationTuesday, April 18
Physical location: Academic Building 9, Room 106
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
11 a.m. to noon
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Vice President and Vice Provost for Strategy and Program Innovation, Florida Gulf Coast UniversityWednesday, April 19
Physical location: Academic Building 9, Room 106
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
11 a.m. to noon
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Augusta UniversityThursday, April 20
Physical location: Cohen Student Union, Room 201
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
11 a.m. to noon
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Joseph A. “Jay” Morgan, Ph.D.
President, Morehead State UniversityTuesday, April 25
Physical location: Academic Building 9, Room 106
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
11 a.m. to noon
4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee and FGCU Board of Trustees are invited to attend the public forums.
The public forums will be hybrid, so participants can attend virtually or in person. Each forum will be recorded, so campus stakeholders can replay the forums at a later time and date.
Virtual links, details on how to submit questions, and links to feedback forms will be shared with campus and posted online next week. To submit feedback ahead of time, emails may be sent to Julie Schrodt at julieschrodt@greenwoodsearch.com.
Information submitted by the finalists as part of the application process can be found on FGCU’s presidential search website, www.fgcu.edu/presidentialsearch.
Final interviews will take place May 4 during a public meeting of the FGCU Board of Trustees. A selection will be made at the conclusion of the meeting, with the president-elect going before the Board of Governors on May 10 for confirmation as FGCU’s fifth president.
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