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UF timeline has new president picked Oct. 15

 
Published Oct. 7, 2014|Updated Oct. 8, 2014

Tia Mitchell, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 10:03am

In more ways than one, it seems, the University of Florida is trying avoid some of the national scandals that have rocked Florida State University. Its presidential search, scheduled to wrap up next week, is another example of UF taking a much different approach.

UF's search has been mostly quiet, mainly because no controversial candidates have emerged yet. We all know by now that FSU picked conservative state Sen. John Thrasher as its next president. Unlike FSU, UF is requiring that its next president have an academic background and the highest degree in his or her field.

Part of the reason why UF's search has flown below the radar is that is has moved slowly and without much structure. That is until now. Not only have dates been set, but things will move quickly.

We've been hearing all along that UF Provost Joe Glover is the front-runner to replace Bernie Machen as president. To see a list of all the applicants, from which finalists will be chosen next week, click here. In addition to Glover, the provost at New York University, David McLaughlin, has also applied.

Here is more from the News Service of Florida:

The University of Florida will choose a new president next week, according to a timeline laid out by the head of the committee searching for a successor to Bernie Machen, who is retiring.

"The high level of interest in the position of UF president among leaders with distinguished academic careers nationally leads us to believe we will have assembled a qualified pool of applicants in the very near future," UF Presidential Search Committee Chairman Steven Scott wrote to students and faculty in an email Monday.

Under the schedule laid out in the email, the search committee will decide Oct. 13 which candidates to interview for the job, then conduct the interviews the following day. The candidates will also begin meeting with faculty and students on Oct. 14. After those meetings end on Oct. 15, the board of trustees will interview the finalists and make its decision.