As the fall 2024 semester comes to a close, the Florida Atlantic University Faculty Senate held its final meeting on Monday, Dec. 2.

The senators discussed the presidential search, academic freedom and student enrollment.

The Presidential Search

Faculty Senate President Kimberly Dunn started off the meeting with an update about the presidential search. At the last Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting on Nov. 20, the board approved a “position criteria” document that highlights the university’s achievements and sets qualifications for the Presidential Search Committee to look for in a presidential candidate. 

“I and some of my fellow trustees expressed some concern about how the minimum qualifications were stated,” said Dunn. She was referring specifically to page 32 of the document entitled “Preferred Expertise, Skills and Attributes,” where it states that the board requires a “Terminal degree or significant professional achievement, recognition and prestige.”

To Dunn and others, the word “or” is problematic here, because this implies that they don’t have to hire someone with a strong background in higher education. She said so long as they deem someone with arbitrary achievement significant then that is enough to be president.

Dunn, as a member of the BOT, spoke up about that concern on behalf of the faculty at the recent meeting.

“It went nowhere with the Board of Trustees,” she said.

She then announced that the Presidential Search Committee expects to have named candidates by January. The faculty seemed unnerved by this announcement. 

Bill Trapani, who is part of the Faculty Senate’s Steering Committee and is a faculty advisor for the Presidential Search Committee, thanked Dunn for her efforts. He asked who would feel more comfortable if the future president had a background in higher education. 

An overwhelming majority of members raised their hands to this request.

“I will, when I get the opportunity, do my work to relay that to the committee,” said Trapani.

Academic freedom

Dunn and Dawn Rothe, the chair of the Academic Freedom and Due Process Committee, presented a resolution to reaffirm the Faculty Senate’s commitment to academic freedom. This resolution follows a set of concerns that Senate members relayed to the academic freedom committee.

“We stand in solidarity with the AAUP’s Core Principles on academic freedom, to wit. Academic freedom is the freedom of a teacher or researcher in higher education to investigate and discuss the issues in his or her academic field, and to teach and publish findings without interference from administrators, boards of trustees, political figures, donors or other entities,” the statement reads.

It continues to state that academic freedom should protect the rights of faculty members to speak freely as a citizen, as well as when participating in institutional governance. 

Another member of the Senate’s Steering Committee, LeaAnne DeRigne expressed frustration during the discussion, as she feels the resolutions passed in meetings do not lead to tangible action.

“What happens with these statements? Like after we vote on them, what do we do with them?” asked DeRigne.

Dunn explained that the statements go to the Faculty Senate’s website. Sometimes resolutions get covered by news publications, or other universities pass similar resolutions as a result. 

“But in reality, it’s not a lot,” said Dunn, as the resolution passed with no opposition.

DeRigne responded in an email to the University Press on Dec. 3, explaining why she raised the concern. She mentioned that she wanted to understand the fate of these resolutions and for their impact to be better. She emphasized that they are essential and noted that the resolution passed at the meeting was a strong demonstration of support for academic freedom.

“I have spoken at several Faculty Senate meetings over the last few months to express my concerns about the infringement on academic freedom and to highlight how the actions of the State Board of Governors are undermining the overall strength of higher education in Florida,” she wrote.

Enrollment planning 

James Capp, the associate vice president for strategic planning and student success, spoke about FAU’s priorities and future plans for student enrollment. 

According to Capp, the university’s first year of offering early decision applications is going well. He said that as of Dec. 1, there were 38,363 applications already submitted for the fall 2025 term.

He addressed concerns about the university’s housing capacity, with more new students being admitted every year. Capp noted that FAU will continue to waitlist students for housing so as not to overburden the university.

Capp also pointed to FAU’s Boca Raton Campus Master Plan, which outlines a new residence hall expected to be completed in 2026.

Caroline Ribeiro is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email cribeiro2021@fau.edu or message her on Instagram @carolpardiniribeiro.