UNF reveals four finalists for school's president position, first public glimpse at process

A former college provost and three deans are in the final rounds of interviews to become the University of North Florida's seventh president. Two are from the University of Kentucky, one from the University of Arizona and one from another Florida university. Two oversaw law colleges. None of the finalists are women.

The next president will replace David Szymanski, who left the position in September to become the CEO and executive director for UNF MedNexus, a university-based medical and healthcare program. Pamela Chally, a former provost and vice-president of academic affairs has been serving as the school's interim president. It's unknown if Chally applied for the permanent position. When asked by the Times-Union in a previous interview, Chally declined to say if she planned to apply.

The UNF Board of Trustees recently published a list of the final four presidential candidates. University presidential searches used to be public earlier in the process but a state law that went into effect in March shades presidential searches from the public eye until a list of at least three final candidates is compiled. The law makes information including candidates' names, ages, race and gender — exempt from public records requests. This marks the first university presidential search in Florida taking place under the new restrictions.

The presidential search began last September and now that finalists have been revealed, the final rounds of interviews are expected to begin in May. Finalists are:

• David Blackwell
  Blackwell is a former provost at the University of Kentucky, where he held the position for three years until 2021. Other roles he held at the school included chief academic officer and dean of the school's business and economics college where he led fundraising efforts.

• David Brennen
  Brennen was the dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law for 11 years until 2020. Before that, he served as a law professor at the University of Georgia and a deputy director with the Association of American Law Schools. He's a co-founder and co-editor of Nonprofit Law Prof Blog as well as several other law-related abstracts.

• Moez Limayem
  Limayem currently serves as dean for the University of South Florida's business college. He has been at the university since 2012. He co-authored "Understanding The Use of Technology-Based Self Service: The Consumer’s Point of View" and wrote “Building an Informing Business School: A Case Study of USF’s Muma College of Business.”

• Marc. L Miller
  Miller currently serves as the dean of the University of Arizona's college of law. He served as Associate Dean for Faculty and Scholarship at the school from 2003-2005. Miller co-founded the Federal Sentencing Reporter, a law journal and is an editor for a series of books that focus on the intersections of environmental science, law and policy.

Board of Trustees member and UNF Faculty Association President John White said in an interview last month with the student newspaper UNF Spinnaker that the search committee's hope is that the privacy granted at the beginning of the search process would encourage more candidates to apply for the position. It's unclear as of publication time how many applicants the position received. In the last UNF presidential search in 2017, 55 people "showed strong interest" and the search committee eventually narrowed the pool to four finalists.

Still, critics of the new law worried it would shield candidates and respective universities from accountability and transparency during the process.

“To exempt this search from public scrutiny, according to many [faculty members], is a step in the wrong direction," White told Spinnaker.

What's next for the UNF presidential search?

Several forums and meet-and-greet events are scheduled to give finalists an opportunity to meet with the school community. The first took place Friday with Marc Miller, who had three separate sessions with students, staff and faculty.

Forums are scheduled to take place through May 12 according to the university's public schedule which is available by visiting www.unf.edu/trustees/president_search/notices.aspx. After each visit, community members can fill out a survey to share their feedback. Survey results following candidate forums will be posted on UNF's website and will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees.

Additionally, three of the four finalists responded to a request for comment from the student newspaper about the process so far and why they're interested in the role.

Blackwell discussed economic development opportunities at the school. Brennen revealed he is a Florida native and first-generation college graduate. Miller kept his statement brief, but said he was excited about the opportunity. Limayan failed to respond to Spinnaker in time for publication.

The Board of Trustees is scheduled to hold finalist interviews May 13-14 and to have their meeting on May 16. The ultimate presidential appointee will become UNF's seventh president.

Emily Bloch is an education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Here's what we know about UNF's search for its seventh president