TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, there has been a clear shift among Florida\u2019s public colleges and universities.\u00a0More and more Florida college and university presidents are coming from state government positions than ever before.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
A number of new university presidents in Florida have come from backgrounds in government\u00a0
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It is happening in Florida more often than other states\u00a0
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Some argue the background in government helps school presidents navigate legislative affairs, fundraising and other aspsects of the job\u00a0
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Others believe having little backround in academia harms the overall performance of the president<\/p>\n
According to a 2023 study<\/a> from the American Council on Education<\/a>, more than half of the college and university presidents in the United States came from academia. Fewer than 10% moved into the role after having a background in government.<\/p>\n But Florida is an outlier.<\/p>\n More than a half dozen new college and university presidents in Florida under Gov. DeSantis have come from state government. The list includes:<\/p>\n Jeanette Nunez<\/a> Manny Diaz<\/a> Richard Corcoran<\/a> Adam Hasner<\/a> Marva Johnson<\/a> DeSantis has acknowledged the changing background among college and university presidents is by design. He argues it\u2019s a response to what voters want.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taken that to heart for many, many years. We said we\u2019re not going to allow these universities to be hijacked by woke ideology,\u201d DeSantis said at a news conference in June, 2025. \u201cWe\u2019re going to make sure we have strong leadership at all these universities.\u201d<\/p>\n But research professor Judith Wilde<\/a> believes working in state government and running a university are \u201ccompletely different area(s) of expertise.\u201d Wilde has studied college presidents for years and noticed the shift in Florida.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019ve written about it,\u201d Wilde, a professor at George Mason University<\/a>, said. \u201cWe typically have not see that many in such a short period of time. We have not seen that many (presidents) who come from, I\u2019ll say, one route.\u201d<\/p>\n She has also noticed that salaries for college and university presidents have ballooned in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cFlorida was the first to really jump,\u201d Wilde said. \u201cIn fact, Florida was the first to have a million-dollar president. That was Ben Sasse.\u201d<\/p>\n Sasse<\/a> served as president at the University of Florida<\/a> from 2023 to 2024.<\/p>\n Those that move from state government to a role as university president do tend to reap financial rewards. Nunez went from making approximately $135,000 as lieutenant governor to making approximately $925,000 as FIU\u2019s<\/a> president.<\/p>\n Diaz more than doubled his salary moving from education commissioner to president at UWF<\/a>.<\/p>\n And, including perks, Corcoran makes more than $1 million as president at New College of Florida<\/a>, a school with a student population that doesn\u2019t eclipse 1,000.<\/p>\n Nunez had previously served as an adjunct professor at FIU, but she held no other traditional academic credentials before becoming FIU\u2019s president.<\/p>\n Corcoran had worked mostly as a lawyer and lawmaker, before being appointed education commissioner and then taking over as president at New College.<\/p>\n However, Dr. Jay Lemons<\/a>, president at the search firm Academic Search<\/a>, does not believe a background in academia is a requirement for a successful school president.<\/p>\n \u201cI find that there are exceptional leaders that have come from outside higher education,\u201d said Lemons, who once served as school president at Susquehanna University<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t see it as a new phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n Lemons believes the traits of a good leader are the same, whether in politics, business, the military or in academia.<\/p>\n He is also correct that there are examples from the past where leaders without typical backgrounds in academia transition to university president roles.<\/p>\n Dwight Eisenhower served as president at Columbia University<\/a> after World War II but before becoming president of the United States.<\/p>\n Janet Napolitano moved from being President Obama\u2019s Homeland Security Secretary to the president of the University of California\u2019s System<\/a>.<\/p>\n
WAS: Lieutenant Governor
NOW: President, Florida International University<\/p>\n
WAS: Education Commissioner
NOW: President, University of West Florida<\/p>\n
WAS: Education Commissioner
NOW: President, New College of Florida<\/p>\n
WAS: State Representative
NOW: President, Florida Atlantic University<\/p>\n
WAS: Chair, Florida Board of Education + Legislative Affairs
NOW: President, Florida A&M University<\/p>\n