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In the wake of a failed presidential search last week, South Florida State College has named a new sole finalist for the job: Republican state representative Fred Hawkins, a staunch ally of Governor Ron DeSantis, Fox News reported.
Hawkins, who has no experience in higher ed, co-sponsored a bill that stripped the Walt Disney Company of its self-governing power and transferred oversight to a DeSantis-appointed board. The governor endorsed Hawkins for re-election last year.
“A lot of people have so much invested in this college, and they really don’t want to see it controlled by the governor,” Michele Roberts, a former dean at South Florida State College, told Fox.
All three previous finalists for the position withdrew their applications last week, citing “personal reasons.”
Hawkins is scheduled to be officially interviewed for the job May 31, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
But as far as he’s concerned, he’s already got it.
“Pages turn and new chapters begin. I am looking forward to becoming the next President of South Florida State College,” he tweeted Wednesday evening.
