The Verdict is in: Adam Hasner will be the Next President of Florida Atlantic University 

A much-anticipated, three-year long presidential search at Florida Atlantic University concluded Monday, when its Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously voted to appoint Adam Hasner as the university’s eighth president. 

Coming into the Feb. 10 Candidate Interview and Selection meeting before the BOT, it was assumed by many students and faculty members that Hasner was the preferred choice. This was despite a student-led protest on Friday afternoon following Hasner’s various forums with FAU’s Presidential Search Committee – and the one designated for students was in a room that quickly reached maximum capacity at 28 people and was monitored by FAU’s Police Department. There was, however, a noticeably low student turnout during Monday’s public decision meeting. 

“I was completely unsurprised by the [BOT’s] choice,” said Emily Fenichel, an Associate Professor of Art History at FAU who attended Hasner’s public forum meeting on Friday. “I was unsurprised from when they released the names of the three finalists. I could have told you then who they were going to choose.”

As the meeting opened, attendees voiced opinions in favor of Hasner, a former politician who is currently the executive vice president for public policy at the GEO Group, a private, for-profit prison corporation that has a problematic history with FAU. Hasner’s political and corporate background was why some faculty members and students, including FAU’s College Democrats, viewed him as an inappropriate choice.

“Students and faculty already said ‘no’ once to having our institution affiliated with a company that has such a terrible record,” said Karen Leader, an Associate Professor of Art History who attended Hasner’s forum meeting on Friday. “The idea of bringing that record back into…our university at this moment when mass deportation and mass detention is the policy of our leaders, both governor and [U.S.] president, is an affront.” 

In 2013, the BOT voted unanimously to accept a $6 million deal over the course of 12 years from the GEO Group to rename the football stadium on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. However, after weeks of public and social scrutiny from students and faculty following the decision, GEO Group withdrew from the agreement. 

Tensions remain high surrounding the BOT’s unanimous decision as students and faculty have been vocal about their concerns regarding Hasner as the next president – specifically because he has a background in Republican politics rather than in academia, unlike the other candidates, Michael Hartline, Dean of the College of Business at Florida State University and John Volin, the provost at the University of Maine.

“I think it’s clear to anyone who looked at the three candidates that [Hasner] was not the most accomplished of the three to run a university. The legitimate concerns that faculty and students brought to the open forums really makes us wonder where the unanimous vote came from because it does not seem that it came from the process that involves all the different parts of the university,” said Leader.

After the University Press, FAU’s student-run newspaper, took to social media to inform the university community about Hasner’s victory following the meeting’s commencement, many voiced their disappointment and disapproval of the BOT’s decision in the comments – sentiment that followed what many students protested on Friday. 

But, there were some students who were optimistic about the new change in leadership for the university. During Monday’s meeting, Stefan Andjelkovic, the Student Government president, member of the BOT and senior at FAU, said students should be optimistic about a positive future with Hasner.

“I think the Honorable Adam Hasner is someone that the students will look up to, and I say this as a student. Hasner is someone that the students can trust, and I think that students will believe in [for] the future of FAU,” said Andjelkovic. 

Jack Nixon, the Rules and Policies Chair of the Boca Raton House of Representatives and a junior at FAU studying Political Science and Criminal Justice, voiced a similar opinion of support for Hasner’s victory. 

“I think this vote clearly shows that the [BOT] wants to promote community relationships and relationships with businesses in the local Boca Raton area. Some students will of course love [the decision] and some students might not have liked him and would have preferred another option,” said Nixon. “But, at the end of the day, we can all come together and celebrate the fact that it’s a new age of FAU.”

Some students and faculty, though, have been concerned that Hasner may introduce politics into the university instead of putting scholarly needs first due to his extensive career in politics. From 2002 until 2010, Hasner was a part of the Florida House of Representatives – where he also served as Majority Leader – worked alongside former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in 2004 and was then named the Republican nominee for Florida’s 22nd congressional district in 2012. 

“There is a sense of fear on campus, especially if you are a member of a minority group that has been traditionally targeted by right-wing politicians…so we’re talking about anybody in the LGBTQ+ community [and] students whose immigration status may not be fully decided. There are lots of people on campus who I think have reason to be fearful,” said Fenichel, the history professor. 

As Hasner was asked by the BOT about how he handles being wrong and how he will approach being president despite not have a professional background in academia, he explained that he feels he has the necessary skills to be able to learn in order to make up for those shortcomings – specifically the ability to listen and hit the ground running when he assumes office. 

“When you make decisions, you’re not going to be able to make everyone happy. If I were the next president, I would probably make some decision that people think would be a mistake,” said Hasner. However, he explained that his local connections to important stakeholders would give him a leg up and that he does not believe partisan politics are important in becoming a university president. 

The BOT’s decision comes after Interim President Stacy Volnick made history as the longest-running interim president in FAU’s history. She has been filling the university’s presidential role throughout the ongoing national presidential search after former president John Kelly stepped down in 2022.

The BOT’s unanimous decision will now make its way to the Florida Board of Governors for final approval, although the exact timeline of when that will be and when they will send their approval is still up in the air. While they have a meeting slated for Feb. 20, they will most likely decide at their next full meeting in April. A decision is expected to come quickly, however, given how important a decision this is for the university, which is seeking R1 status.