Miami Herald by Collen Wright and Emily Mohoney
February 7, 2020
Miami Dade College has been in no rush to find a new president since it scrapped the search process at its apex last year.
This might be why: A reincarnated bill to exempt from public records the searches for public university and college presidents, from the slate of applicants to meetings on their compensation packages, is gaining momentum in the Florida Legislature.
Last year, a similar bill was prompted by Tampa Bay-area Republicans as the University of South Florida tried to keep its own search under wraps. This time, as Miami Dade College restarts its search, the bill was filed by a Miami lawmaker, Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah Gardens.
That bill now has a House companion, something last year’s bill never got.The House State Affairs committee filed a matching bill, which passed that committee 16-6 Thursday. It could buy the college some time to conceal its quest to find a nontraditional candidate to succeed Eduardo J. Padrón, who retired in August.
