Henry Mack, a former high-ranking state education official and nearly chosen as president of Florida Gulf Coast University earlier this year, was named interim president of Broward College on Tuesday.
Another selection made Tuesday, this one by the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, selected Interim President Richard Corcoran to become the small liberal-arts school’s leader on a permanent basis.
Mack, who previously was a chancellor at the Florida Department of Education overseeing the Division of Florida Colleges, was chosen to succeed former Broward College president Gregory Haile.
Haile on Sept. 13 submitted a letter of resignation, which the college's board of trustees accepted last week.
The Broward College board sought an interim president who is “either a current employee, a former employee, or a former Board member of Broward College,” a news release last week from the school said. A job posting listed a salary range for the position of $250,000 to $350,000.
Mack, who previously worked as an assistant vice president at Broward College and had been a candidate for Florida Gulf Coast University president, lost the nomination by one vote of the university’s board of trustee’s in May.
Dr. Aysegul Timur, FGCU's Vice President and Vice Provost for Strategy and Program Innovation and the only internal candidate who was in the running for the job, was selected for the post.
Mack had been hired as a consultant by The Southern Group, Florida’s largest lobbying group, shortly after the presidential search ended at FGCU.
A news release from Broward College announcing Mack’s selection Tuesday said he has a “keen understanding of Broward College’s goals, mission, and values” from his time working at the school.
Broward College trustees Chairwoman Alexis Yarbrough touted Mack’s selection.
“Dr. Mack is a committed and seasoned leader who brings a wealth of experience in higher education, demonstrates formidable leadership capabilities, and possesses a deep understanding of Broward College’s values and mission,” Yarbrough said in a statement.
In 2019, Mack was selected by Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve as senior vice chancellor for the state department of education. He was directly responsible for the state of Florida’s workforce education strategy, budget, operations, policy and finance, grants and administration, and, together with the Governor’s Office, was responsible for all higher education and workforce education legislative and policy priorities.
He also served as a vice president for Workforce Education and Innovation at Broward College and oversaw the college’s career and technical education programs, the development of new baccalaureate degrees, and the college’s business incubator and accelerator.
At New College, the selection by trustees — dominated by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis, set in motion negotiations of an employment contract, with the board’s Vice Chairman Ronald Christaldi designated to take the lead on ironing out details the agreement. The New College Presidential Search Committee in July approved a pay range of $487,000 to $868,000.
Two other finalists for the position were Tyler Fisher, an associate professor of modern languages and literature at the University of Central Florida, and Robert Gervasi, a former interim president at the University of Mount Union in Ohio.
Corcoran, a Republican former state House speaker and state education commissioner, earned a salary of $699,000 in the interim role. Since his installation as interim leader in February, Corcoran has overseen sweeping changes to the school. The changes included an influx of funding from the Legislature, the launch of athletic teams that have bolstered enrollment and the shuttering of an office that handled diversity, equity and inclusion issues.
The trustees selected Corcoran through a roll-call vote in which they were asked to name their top candidate among the three finalists. Corcoran garnered votes from 10 of 12 trustees. Trustee Amy Reid, a professor who represents New College faculty, voted for Gervasi, and trustee Grace Keenan, who is the student member of the board, voted for Fisher.
Trustees who supported Corcoran include many board members who were appointed by DeSantis since the beginning of the year. They indicated Corcoran could continue efforts he and DeSantis have spearheaded to remake the school.
Joe Jacquot, a trustee who served as the governor’s general counsel during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, pointed to Corcoran’s leadership as education commissioner during the pandemic.
“I have to say, I thought he did a tremendous job in dealing with 67 different district school-board constituents that varied across the state. He did a faithful job in implementing law, from a federal (regulations) perspective as well as new statutes that were passed by the (state) Legislature,” said Jacquot, who was appointed to the board by DeSantis in May.
Matthew Spalding, who was appointed to the New College board as part of a wave of conservative appointees by DeSantis in January, said that Corcoran was the best-suited candidate to carry out a goal of “restoring the mission” of the school.
Corcoran, who holds a seat on the trustees board as interim president, did not address the board following his selection.
Prior to Tuesday’s vote, Keenan read feedback on the presidential candidates that she said was collected from students during open-office hours. Keenan said that the students’ “clear first” choice was Fisher, who she said impressed students by speaking with them in person. Second-ranked by students, Keenan said, was Gervasi, although she added students said Gervasi had a “lack of clarity” about his vision for the school.
Corcoran was ranked last by students, according to Keenan.
“The top comment was that, despite being interim president, he (Corcoran) had not come to speak with the students to open himself up for conversation about the presidential search,” Keenan said. “I don’t think there is any excuse for that.”
Reid, the faculty representative on the trustees board, also spoke against Corcoran’s selection.
“Clearly, his strengths lie in his political connections, which are not negligible and which have resulted in bringing money to campus. But he has failed to build campus consensus over these past months,” Reid said.
Members of the group Save New College, which has opposed Republican state officials’ efforts to remake the school, held a rally ahead of Tuesday’s meeting of the trustees to warn against placing Corcoran in the post permanently.
Sophia Brown, a New College graduate who works as a community outreach consultant with the free-speech group PEN America, suggested the school should look elsewhere for a leader.
“We know that New College deserves better leadership. One that can justify creating opportunities for new kinds of students without discriminating against others. One without such a transparent political agenda,” Brown said.
Corcoran's selection as president ultimately will need approval from the state university system's Board of Governors.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.