Another Florida University Picks A Former Republican Lawmaker As Its Next President

Florida Atlantic University on Monday picked a former Republican lawmaker as its leader in what is the latest example of a public university in the state picking someone with a political background for such high-paying posts over experienced academic leaders.

The board of trustees of the university in Boca Raton picked Adam Hasner to be the school's next president, following a lengthy and controversial search process that resulted in FAU tossing out its initial slate of finalists.

The announcement comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis works to expand his influence on education in the state.

State officials called off the school's previous presidential search after a Republican state senator then-aligned with DeSantis was not named as a finalist.

After FAU relaunched the search, Hasner, a former Republican majority leader in the Florida House, emerged as a finalist. Now a vice president at Florida-based private prison company GEO Group, Hasner beat out two academics for the role: a dean at Florida State University and the provost of the University of Maine.