By Dale M. King
BOCA RATON – The 13-member Board of Trustees at Florida Atlantic University has selected Dr. Mary Jane Saunders, Ph.D., as the school’s sixth president.
She succeeds Frank Brogan, who left the university last September to become chancellor of the State University system. FAU Provost John Pritchett has been serving as interim president.
Brogan quit his job as Florida’s lieutenant governor under former Gov. Jeb Bush to throw his hat into the ring of candidates for the FAU presidency in 2003. He won the seat by a unanimous vote of trustees, but the faculty never totally warmed up to him because he does not have a doctorate. All the finalists chosen to succeed him did have Ph.Ds.
“What a wonderful day for FAU,” said Board of Trustees Chair Nancy Blosser. “We are extremely fortunate to have MJ Saunders leading FAU through what will undoubtedly be an extraordinary time in the university’s history.”
Blosser said Saunders’ “track record of being an effective and productive leader will help to ensure the university’s growth and success.”
Trustees last week narrowed the field of candidates from five to three. Coincidentally, all were university provosts. The other two finalists were Dr. Terry L. Hickey, provost and executive vice president at the University of Central Florida and Dr. Gary L. Miller who, since 2006, has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at Wichita State University
The presidential hopefuls spent the early part of this week touring FAU campuses and meeting with staff and students.
Saunders has been the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Cleveland State University. She was named interim provost in 2006 and provost in 2007.
“I am humbled and thrilled to be selected as the next president of FAU,” said Saunders. “It is such an honor to have the opportunity to lead the university to its next level of excellence, accomplishing great things together with the university community.”
She joined CSU in 2003 as director of the Biomedical Health Institute and a professor in the department of biological, geological and environmental sciences. She was founding dean of the College of Science, CSU’s second largest college.
Prior to arriving at CSU, Saunders was a program officer and deputy division director at the National Science Foundation, director of the Institute of Biomolecular Science at the University of South Florida and an assistant professor in the botany department at Louisiana State University.
Saunders received her Ph.D. in botany from the University of Massachusetts, and she did postdoctoral work at the University of Georgia. She received her master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and bachelor’s degree from Boston University.
Following the announcement, Blosser – who was also chair of the presidential search committee – noted that “There were many very qualified candidates who applied for the presidency of Florida Atlantic University.”
R. William Funk & Associates, the Dallas-based search firm, helped FAU conduct a nationwide search for a new president.