So in the meantime, here's a round-up of press that was sent to me regarding the BOT's decision to ignore the majority of student and faculty voices and instead choose their political and personal friend.
Thrasher is choice for FSU, despite loud opposition
In the end, the voices of Florida State University's faculty and students failed to persuade the decision-makers. By an 11-2 vote of the FSU Board of Trustees, John Thrasher was chosen as the university's next president. A motion to pick Thrasher was the only one considered by trustees after a day of interviews and public comment that was overwhelmingly opposed to the career politician. Members of the trustees, a majority with close personal and political ties to the Republican Thrasher, cited his leadership skills and gift for raising money before the final vote after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Thrasher isn't likely to start until mid-November, pending confirmation by the Board of Governors at their Nov. 5 meeting. Thrasher, 70, was interviewed by the board for 75 minutes at 8 a.m. and did not return to the Turnbull Center following the vote. He told the Democrat that he hopes to meet with interim President Garnett Stokes, who had been provost for three years before Eric Barron's departure for Penn State on April 2, as quickly as today. He said he wants to know what she would like to have happen. Before their vote, the trustees listened to almost two hours of public comment, almost all from professors and students opposed to Thrasher and in favor of the three traditional academics leaders the board had also interviewed earlier Tuesday: Richard Marchase, Michael Martin and Michele Wheatly. Students lined the perimeter of the conference room during the public-comment session and while the trustees deliberated, many carrying anti-Thrasher signs. Some erupted upon the final vote. "FSU is not for sale," was one chant of dissent. Thrasher has said he will step down immediately as chair of Gov. Rick Scott's reelection campaign. There is also the matter of his seat in the Florida Senate, where he is up for reelection in November. Thrasher's campaign announced after the vote he intends to remain on the ballot, where he faces Democratic and no-party affiliation challengers. "I intend to continue to campaign for re-election to the Senate and will continue to carry out my commitment to the people of my district," Thrasher said in a statement sent by his campaign. "If I am ultimately selected to lead FSU, this will allow the voters to select who will be the next senator from the 6th District." Storbeck/Pimentel, the search firm helping FSU select its next leader, conducted surveys following each candidate's campus forums last week. Thrasher received favorable ratings from only 11 percent of the responders, while 87 percent said he was not fit to be FSU's president. By comparison, the other three candidates had favorable scores between 78 and 91 percent. The FSU Faculty Senate, which represents all 16 colleges at the university, passed a unanimous resolution Friday calling for the trustees to hire one of the three academics among the four finalists. "We deserve a president who plays on the national stage, one who walks the walk, one who won't put off potential donors in the other party," Michael Buchler, a music professor and faculty senator, said during the public comment period. "FSU has never hired a president who didn't have experience in the classroom." [...]
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2014/09/23/thrasher-named-fsu-president/16112701/
[...] The process to hire a successor has been bumpy ever since Thrasher emerged as a candidate. Initially FSU planned to interview him ahead of all candidates but that created a backlash and ultimately led to the search being delayed. Emails obtained by The Associated Press this past summer showed that the consultant first hired to help FSU told the head of the search committee that the university was trying to "concoct a competitive process" that would end with Thrasher's hiring. Those same emails showed Thrasher reached out directly to top FSU officials about the job and that the former campaign manager of Scott gave advice about the search.
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=XHSZn9SO
