From The News Service of Florida
A day after powerful state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, drew heavy turnout for question-and-answer sessions, student and faculty attendance dropped noticeably Tuesday during forums that are part of Florida State University’s search for a new president.
Finalist Michele G. Wheatly, who until June had been provost at West Virginia University, drew roughly 80 faculty members and nearly 40 students in separate afternoon forums at FSU’s Augustus B. Turnbull III Florida State Conference Center.
The majority of the students were from a class on higher education in America.
On Monday, the politically connected Thrasher, the perceived front-runner for the presidency, attracted nearly 200 people for a faculty forum and later about 150 for a student session.
Meanwhile, Colorado State University System Chancellor Michael V. Martin, another finalist, was scheduled to appear Wednesday, but advised FSU he had to undergo emergency surgery for a detached retina. The forums for Martin have yet to be rescheduled.
The university’s 27-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee is scheduled to recommend a new president next Monday, with the issue then going to the university’s Board of Trustees.
The fourth finalist, Richard B. Marchase, University of Alabama at Birmingham vice president
for research and economic development, is set to appear Friday.