Dive Brief:

• A Florida State University search committee will make a state senator the only candidate it interviews for the school’s president position.
• The candidate: Republican state Sen. John Thrasher, who is a fervent supporter of the school.
• Students and faculty members on the search committee voted against the decision, saying Thrasher’s candidacy was discouraging others from applying.

Dive Insight:

The FSU faculty union has also weighed in, saying in a statement that it had lost confidence in the search process and that the search firm for the position disregarded faculty opinions on the search. Thrasher opponents say he lacks higher education experience, and his legislative proposal to break up a college of engineering shared by FSU and Florida A&M University has also drawn fire from critics.