Florida Atlantic University Halts Search For President Over Questionnaire Asking If Applicants Are “Queer”

July 8, 2023 Education, Republicans

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Just days before the three finalists for Florida Atlantic University’s next president were set to speak at public forums, the search has been stopped in its tracks.

State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues sent a letter to Brad Levine, chairman of both the FAU Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee, citing “anomalies that have been alleged in the Florida Atlantic University presidential search.” The letter, dated Friday, was posted on social media Friday evening.

The letter said Rodrigues’ office “received concerning information,” including that search committee members conducted a straw poll to rank their six preferred candidates out of a list of nearly 60 and that one candidate said a questionnaire asked if his sexual orientation is “queer” and that another survey asked whether his gender is “male, female or other” and what pronouns he uses.

Florida Politics reports:

Rodrigues said such questions appear to violate U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations forbidding questions about job applicants’ sex, sexual orientation or gender.

According to the letter, consulting firm AGB Search did not inform members of the FAU search committee that such questions would appear on the questionnaire. Rodrigues said that raises further questions about whether information was being withheld from university officials.

“Those rankings were submitted confidentially and directly to the search firm,” Rodrigues wrote. A new Florida law keeps finalists for college and university president searches confidential until a list of finalists is publicly announced.

Desantis had recommended viciously anti-LGBTQ state Sen. Randy Fine for the job, but Fine did not make the list of finalists. That, you can be sure, will play into this story as it unfolds. As you can see below, some apparently believe that the questionnaire issue is being used as excuse to ultimately give the job to Fine. FAU, based in Boca Raton with multiple satellite campuses on the southeast coast, has an enrollment of 30,000.



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