FAU Pres Candidate Asked If He’s ‘Queer’ or ‘Transgender’- Presidential Search Suspended
Florida Atlantic University (FAU) has been ordered to suspend a search for a new university president in a letter from State University Chancellor Ray Rodrigues claiming that at least one candidate was asked if he was “queer” and if he was a “male or transgender male.”
Governor Ron DeSantis recommended State Representative Randy Fine for the FAU president position. Fine has been rejected, and it appears to be based on partisan politics, personal vendettas, with a massive dose of trying to keep education woke by any means possible.
Fine is in his final term in the Florida House and has sponsored significant legislation, including Holocaust education bills that have received bipartisan support.
Additionally, Fine has sponsored legislation that those on the left have found highly contentious. One bill makes bringing children to drag shows a crime. It was considered a win for parents but a slap in the woke face of liberals.
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There have been plenty of snobby murmurings about “that casino guy Randy” and the “audacity” of the governor to choose someone for FAU president. Regarding Fine, there’s been quite a bit of “who does he think he is” thrown in for good measure. It has not been confirmed which candidate referred to in the letter was asked the “queer” and “trans” questions, but the fact that “one” of the candidates happens to be a legislator who sponsored a drag bill and seems to be particularly despised by those on the left makes this line of questioning highly suspect.
From Chancellor Rodrigues’s letter;
At least one candidate reported he was requested to complete a questionnaire and answer if his sexual orientation was”queer” and whether he was a “male or transgender male.” In a separate and required survey, the same candidate was subsequently asked if his gender was “male, female, or other” and what his “preferred pronouns were.” These inquiries are wholly irrelevant, inappropriate, and potentially illegal.
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that “questions about an applicant’s sex including sexual orientation, [and] gender identity … are generally viewed as not job-related and problematic under Title VII unless a defense or exception applies.” https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment inquiries-and-gender (last accessed July 6, 2023).
Letter from Chancellor Ray Rodrigues
The Palm Beach Post published a scathing editorial on July 7th titled “FAU dodges bullet of an inexperienced leader,” praising the woke, anti-conservative FAU process and bashing Representative Fine.
From The Palm Beach Post article;
Kudos to Florida Atlantic University for attracting three qualified candidates for president, a far cry from the dreaded political appointment of an inexperienced state legislator who somehow thought himself worthy of serious consideration. Experience counts, especially given the headwinds higher education in Florida now faces,
The names Sean Buck, Michael Hartline, and Joseph Sartarelli are both a far cry and a welcome relief from the one name that had been making the rounds — state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, a legislator better known for extremist politics than an acumen for academia. To his credit, Fine has said he had been approached by Gov. Ron DeSantis about taking the position, and that was enough to send shivers throughout the university student and faculty populace on its main Boca Raton campus and beyond.
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The rest of the article is about how the school dodged a “proverbial bullet” and then went on about the terrible policies threatening universities, such as doing away with DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) quotas.
All this seems to be about universities being unhappy about conservative leaders running the show and doing away with wokeism. Conservatives are winning this war in Florida; some don’t like it. This move, defying the governor’s wishes, seems more about personal political feelings and an anti-DeSantis agenda than it does about Representative Fine, who has been treated disgustingly and disrespectfully.
Former FAU trustee Bob Rubin had this to say to Florida Jolt;
It is really a shame that it has come to this. The search committee did an admirable job of finding three good candidates. Clearly, there were issues with the chosen search consultant. As a previous presidential search committee member, I can tell you that the search committee heavily depends on search consultants. If this questionnaire issue is true, AGB Search Consultant was not the right choice. Hopefully, they can coalesce on the right candidate and allow FAU to move forward. ~Bob Rubin, Trustee Emeritus.
Representative Fine is a self-made, successful businessman and fourth-term State Representative leader in the Florida House. He is a husband, a father, and he’s highly educated. He graduated from Harvard magna cum laude, then continued at Harvard Business School and graduated with an MBA. He has also proven himself to be an outstanding fundraiser, which is precisely what any university president needs to be good at doing.
Chancellor Rodrigues’s letter went on about sexual identity questioning;
Members of the search committee were not informed that these questions were being asked of candidates. This raises an additional concern about whether the search firm withheld material information from the search committee.
Considering the serious nature of these concerns, I have briefed the Chairman of the Board of Governors. Chair Lamb concurs with my recommendation that the FAU Presidential Search be suspended at this time to provide an opportunity for the Board of Governors staff to obtain the facts around these concerns and other potential anomalies.
The FAU presidential search has been conducted unprofessionally, possibly illegally, and the process hasn’t been transparent. The search for a new FAU president has been suspended.
FAU needs to start over and search for a new president who can function successfully in a red state that’s getting ever redder.
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