The Florida State University Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting to discuss selecting a new president after Eric Barron announced he would leave to become president of Penn State University. At the meeting, Barron apologized for the abrupt announcement of his departure. The Trustees voted to start a search committee led by Trustee Ed Burr to find a new president, with the goal of having someone in place before an accreditation review in March. They also agreed to waive Barron's 180-day resignation notice and set his last day at FSU as April 2. The Trustees hope to select committee members and an interim president at their next meeting on March 6.

1. Vol. 40, No. 09 Section 01 Tallahassee, Florida Feb. 27 - March 5, 2014
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Florida State University Begins Search for New President
By Aldranon
English II
Outlook Staff Writer
Florida State Uni-
versity’s Board of
Trustees scheduled
an emergency meet-
ing Feb. 19 to discuss
the process of select-
ing a replacement for
President Eric Bar-
ron. Barron agreed to
become president to
Penn State University
last week.
Allan Bense, Chair-
man of the Board of
Trustees, described
the Feb. 19 confer-
ence as a “special”
meeting.
“Although it is
short notice, I do not
like the term emer-
gency meeting, I
never liked the term
emergency,” said
Bense. “By statutes, it
is called an emergen-
cy meeting, but from
here on let’s call it a
special meeting.”
During the one
hour conference,
President Eric Bar-
ron apologized to the
trustees for his abrupt
decision and how the
school and its faculty
received the news of
his resignation.
“The first thing I
want to do is apolo-
gize for how many
of you learned what I
was contemplating,”
said Barron. “It was
certainly not my in-
tent to have it emerge
that way.”
Barron closed stat-
ing that he hopes FSU
continues to strive
without him at the
head of the realm.
“The most im-
portant thing I can
imagine is that this
institution continues
to move forward, be-
cause there is a lot
to be proud of,” said
Barron.
Trustee Andy Hag-
gard, of student af-
fairs, expressed his
sentiments about the
great job Barron done
for FSU as president.
“I want to thank
you for everything
you have done for
Florida State Univer-
sity,” said Haggard. “I
will never forget those
years and what you
have accomplished
here at Florida State,
thank you.”
Bense acknowl-
edged at the confer-
ence that Barron told
him a week ago of his
decision, prior to the
sudden meeting.
“He asked me to
keep it between the
two of us, and I did,”
said Barron. “I think
it is important to have
trust with each other.”
Bense discussed
the commencement of
a presidential search,
including a search
committee, but did
not establish members
of the committee at
the conference.
“I do not intend to-
day to establish mem-
bers of the search
committee,” said
Bense. “I think we
need to be thoughtful,
prudent yet swift on
our decisions.”
Bense is hopeful
the trustees along with
the search committee
will find the ideal in-
dividual for the posi-
tion.
“I do not have any
preconceived notions
as to who should be
the next president,”
said Barron. “I want
to let our supporters
know that we certain-
ly appreciate Dr. Bar-
ron’s service but we
are going to move for-
ward in an effective
and efficient manner.”
The trustees dis-
cussed that the next
president should be
a model individual, a
good listener and an
excellent fundraiser.
All of the trustees
agreed that the candi-
date should be goal-
oriented with the staff
and students of the
institution.
Bense did not an-
nounce an interim
president at the con-
ference because of the
premature notice of
Barron’s resignation.
“It is still early,
keep in mind Barron
officially left us less
than 48 hours ago,”
said Bense.
FSU is also in the
middle of Southern
Accreditation of Col-
leges and School’s
accreditation review
period. The onsite
committee will ar-
rive on campus next
month to make their
assessments. Bradley,
Florida State’s SACS
liaison, stressed the
importance of the
president’s role in the
process.
“It is important
to recognize that the
president is pivotal
in this review,” said
Bradley. “Every cor-
respondence goes
through the president.
He is the one who
is notified of every-
thing.”
The trustees voted
unanimously that
Barron’s resignation
is effective April 2,
days before the SAC’s
review in March.
Trustees also agreed
to waive a clause in
Barron's contract that
required him to turn
in his resignation no-
tice 180 days ahead
of time. Barron is ex-
pected to be at Penn
State no later than
May 12.
Kathleen Daily,
legislative liaison,
stated that House Bill
135 would limit the
process of presiden-
tial searches at uni-
versities.
“The bill will not
stop the search, but
hinder it at the start of
the presidential pro-
cess,” said Daily.
Daily stated that the
bill is difficult to pass
but will be carefully
monitored during next
month session sched-
uled March 4.
Trustees voted
unanimously that fel-
low member Ed Burr
will head the presi-
dential search com-
mittee.
“The first step of
action of course is to
identify the proper
search firm,” said
Burr.
Burr was adamant
in finding the best
candidate for the job.
“The president of
FSU will be a great
job for somebody
and we look forward
to the process,” said
Burr.
The next board
meeting is scheduled
March 6. The board
of trustees is hope-
ful that they will find
individuals for the
selection committee
as well as appointing
an interim president.
A presidential search
website was made to
help facilitate com-
munication as the
committee progress
through the search
process.
The URL for the
site is: www.fsu.edu/
presidentialsearch.
FSU President Eric Barron