MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Florida International University is moving into its final stage of naming its seventh president.
According to a media release, the Presidential Search Committee selected three finalists for recommendation to the FIU Board of Trustees. The three finalists included a sitting president and sitting provost at other institutions, as well as FIU’s Interim President Jeanette M. Nuñez.
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Two of the finalists indicated that they would only move to the public phase of the search process if selected as the lone candidate. As a result, these two finalists withdrew their candidacy.
The Committee unanimously agreed to move Interim President Nuñez forward as its sole finalist for consideration by the FIU Board of Trustees.
On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, a series of open forums will be held at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus for the FIU to ask Interim President Nuñez questions.
An online survey will also be available for the community to share opinions.
Nuñez took on the role in February.
Nuñez, 52, a South Florida native and an FIU alumna, and former Lieutenant governor, succeeded current President Ken Jessell.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believed she would do a good job in the role when the announcement was made earlier this year.
“The lieutenant governor has done a great job for Florida. She has been involved in all the successes that we’ve had over the last six years. She’s been especially involved in things like the space program,” he said. “She’s been very supportive of our efforts to bring some sanity to higher education and so I think in that sense, she’s going to do a really good job there.”
Florida Democrats slammed the appointment, with party chair Nikki Fried calling it reflective of Republican “hypocrisy.”
“Just a few weeks after she backflipped on protecting in-state tuition for Dreamers — Jeanette Nuñez will now lead one of the most diverse colleges in the state,” Fried said in a statement. “With her record, how can she be trusted to lead the college with the largest population of Hispanic students in the country?”
The FIU Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, June 2, 2025, for an on-campus interview of the candidate and to consider the feedback from the university community shared at the forums and through the survey.