BOT names Adam Hasner as the university’s next president
On Monday, the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name Adam Hasner as the eighth president of the university.
Hasner is a former Republican member of the state’s House of Representatives and the current executive vice president for public policy at The GEO Group, a for-profit prison corporation with longstanding ties to the university.
Florida State University College of Business Dean Michael Hartline and John Volin, an academic administrator at the University of Maine, were the other two finalists.
The search has been ongoing since 2022 when former President John Kelly stepped down. This is the second iteration of the presidential search, which started in July 2024.
A previous search ended after a violation of Florida law on Oct. 30, 2023. For this current attempt, the committee hired Tennessee-based search firm Buffkin/Baker to assist.
Stacy Volnick has served as the interim president since 2023 and will continue until the new president begins their first day in office.
In early July 2023, the FAU Presidential Search Committee named finalists for the first search attempt; however, it was suspended — which restarted the entire search process. The last search did not meet this point of the process of interviewing the finalists.
The next step in concluding the presidential search is for the Florida Board of Governors to confirm the candidate chosen by the trustees, the date of the meeting has yet to be announced.
During the public forums on Feb. 7, Hasner acknowledged that many students and faculty were concerned that he didn’t have a traditional career in academia.
“I am not involved in partisan politics. I do not believe it is politically red or politically blue to be a university president,” he said.
BOT Chair Piero Bussani emphasized that the next president must possess the best possible skills to help navigate FAU through the upcoming years, or the university will risk being left behind.
“That requires out-of-the-box thinking: Something that’s different, somebody that can energize and communicate extraordinarily effectively. Getting FAU its fair share of dollars from Tallahassee, navigating those borders, working with state [and] federal government to drive our research in R1,” Bussani said. “At the end of the day, this second part requires the best and most effective ambassador of this school when and only it is combined with an extraordinarily strong Provost.”
Faculty Senate President and Trustee Kimberly Dunn stated that the next step after the presidential search is to focus on finding a new Provost. Russ Ivy is currently the Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, a role he has been in since 2022.
Dunn says the ladder to becoming president of a higher education institution is to build your career in academics, serve as Provost and then the next step is becoming president. She appreciated Hartline for applying for the position but said he didn’t convince the trustees to the fullest with his experience as a dean.
“And I think you will make an amazing president, somewhere someday but in 2025 in the state of Florida. Not today, not for us,” said Dunn, as she then voted for Hasner.
Michael Cook is the Managing Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email michael17cook@gmail.com.
Latest University Press
- Trump administration reverses student visa revocations, including six FAU studentsIn recent weeks, the Trump administration revoked the visas of six Florida Atlantic University students, prompting concerns about their legal immigration status and potential deportation. However, FAU spokesperson Joshua Glanzer said all visa revocations have since been reversed. “We don’t have any information on why. That lies with the federal government,” Glanzer wrote in an...
- From notetaking to dodging critters: The co-existence of students and wildlife at Florida AtlanticLocated three miles from the beach’s shoreline, Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus holds over 29,000 students according to their website. Within the human population is an abundance of wildlife, from the nocturnal species of raccoons and coyotes to iguanas and burrowing owls. As students make their way to classes, they’re likely to catch a...
- Hooked and stolen: How rebounding shark populations are changing Florida’s fishingIn the turquoise waters off Florida’s East coast, Captain Douglas Covin cuts his boat engine and waits. Within minutes, they arrive – six 300-pound bull sharks circling expectantly. The moment a sailfish takes his line and before he can even begin to reel it in, the sharks strike, leaving him with only half a fish...
- More than just trees: Explore FAU’s Robert J. Huckshorn ArboretumFrom birds to butterflies, the Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum on Florida Atlantic University’s John D. MacArthur campus in Jupiter may seem like a sea of trees, but in reality, it is home to a near-endless list of wildlife. Walking through the Arboretum, one can discover the flourishing plant life of the urban forest, unique ecosystems...
- FAU hosts Wimberly PAWS event to help students de-stress before finalsFlorida Atlantic University students could pet therapy dog K9 Nala at the “Wimberly PAWS” event in the S.E. Wimberly Library to relax and de-stress as finals week approaches. The event, organized through a collaboration between FAU Libraries, FAU Police Department and Owls Care Health Promotion, aimed to promote self-care and mental wellness by providing resources...
- FAU launches new research center to combat brain diseasesFlorida Atlantic University received a $2 million philanthropic donation on March 10 from Philanthropist David Nicholson, which the university is planning to use to launch a center called the “David Lynn Nicholson Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research” to battle against neurodegenerative brain diseases. The research center will bring together different scientists and engineers to combat...