FAU presidential selection committee member Dick Schmidt seems to be living up to his name. Dick is outraged over the suspension for the school president search and feels that being called out for someone reportedly asking at least one candidate if he’s “queer” or a “transgendered male” is “slander.”
According to an article Schmidt wrote for the alt-left newspaper, the Sun Sentinel, Schmidt is upset that Chancellor Ray Rodrigues called out the woke and possibly illegal nonsense that went on during the search for the new president of FAU. He doesn’t like the political component in all of this and quickly notes in his bio that his “family” is the largest donor for FAU, having donated forty-seven million dollars; he describes himself as having the “highest pedigree.” Apparently, his fancy feast and Downton Abbey background allow him to make the decisions for this school. State Representative Randy Fine was Governor DeSantis’ choice for this position, but the unelected Schmidt seems to think his opinion is more important.
It’s important to note that Florida Atlantic University is a public institution subject to public control, as expressed by Florida’s duly elected public officials. Highly pedigreed interest groups, as described by Schmidt, are not in charge.
The search committee included a broad-based representation of FAU stakeholders, including representatives of the faculty, students, administration, outside educators and donors, all of the highest pedigrees. I have been honored to be included in this group. ~Dick Schmidt
Letter from Chancellor Ray Rodrigues
Subscribe to Florida Jolt Newsletter!
According to an opinion piece Schmidt wrote for the Sentinel;
Numerous press reports suggest that the motive for this interference is that the university committee empowered to conduct the search did not include the governor’s reported personal selection for the position among the three outstanding candidates put forward to the school’s board of trustees for nomination to the position.
If correct, these reports would indicate a continuing trend of meddling in the state university and state college presidential searches to award these important positions to favored politicians, as has been reported in the most recent searches at the University of Florida, New College of Florida, and South Florida State College.
Schmidt seems to resent the audacity of the governor for picking the person he thought was an appropriate choice. Fine is a self-made, successful businessman, highly educated, and in his fourth legislative term. Money isn’t everything, but since Schmidt brought it up, it should be noted that Fine is a proven leader who can raise much more money for FAU than forty-seven million dollars. So why don’t they want him at FAU? Could it be that Fine is a God-loving, DEI-hating conservative opposed to minors mutilating their bodies in their search for gender identity?
FAU Pres Candidate Asked If He’s ‘Queer’ or ‘Transgender’- Presidential Search Suspended
Schmidt told the Sun Sentinel;
The chancellor of the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, has accused the presidential search committee of improper activity…The search committee included a broad-based representation of FAU stakeholders, including representatives of the faculty, students, administration, outside educators, and donors, all of the highest pedigrees. I have been honored to be included in this group.
I feel personally outraged and slandered by the implications of the chancellor’s letter on me and my colleagues for what appears to be an attempt to unwind our successful, hard work and reopen a search for a candidate more to the liking of certain politicians.
Fine sponsored a bill in the Florida House criminalizing bringing children to drag shows. He’s been a vocal proponent of parental rights, and the left doesn’t like it. It is no coincidence that “one” unnamed FAU presidential candidate was asked gender identity questions. That person could have elected not to answer, but a conservative would never answer those questions. Conservatives reject the entire premise of pro-nouns, and a refusal to answer the question with the usual leftist educrat orthodoxy is a tip-off that the candidate is a conservative. The public is being slandered because this FAU group thinks we’re all stupid and don’t know how the world works. This whole thing certainly seems intentional. Schmidt can be as indignant as he wants, but we all see it; the emperor has no clothes.
So many questions about what’s going on here. Why didn’t the school choose the governor’s pick? Does someone have it in for Randy Fine? Is this really about protecting a university’s long-standing woke agenda? Who in 2023 talks about ‘”pedigree” with a straight face? Schmidt feels Ray Rodrigues should respect their decision and allow the process to proceed. Rodrigues did the right thing by calling out the hypocrisy, and now FAU is paying the price. The owl messed with the bull, and it got the horns.
UPDATE: Florida Board of Governor’s Inspector General to Investigate FAU’s Presidential Search
Other stories you may want to read:
FAU Pres Candidate Asked If He’s ‘Queer’ or ‘Transgender’- Presidential Search Suspended
Trump Pundit Laura Loomer Denigrates Motherhood, Sparks Mass Outrage on Twitter
- Tracy Caruso Tells All - September 17, 2024
- Meet Joe Kaufman- R Candidate Ready to Take Down Moskowitz - September 11, 2024
- RJC Vegas Edition: Tracy Caruso’s Inside Scoop - September 10, 2024