PENSACOLA, Fla. — The University of West Florida has officially selected a new president.
After a search that lasted months, the Board of Trustees voted Thursday morning in favor of Manny Diaz as the president-elect.
That approval — with an annual salary of $674,000 plus almost $300,000 in benefits — is pending a vote by the board of governors.
Diaz was interim president at UWF for more than six months, and was the only finalist considered for the permanent position.
For more than an hour on Thursday, trustees questioned Diaz about opportunities for students and future fundraising efforts.
Board chair Rebecca Matthews says Diaz has been the right man for the job for a while now.
She and other trustees are confident his contract will be approved by the board of governors.
“Day one will be February 1,” Matthews said. “We’ve got to take them to the bog for the next round of discussion and approval for them, but he really did hit the ground running from the beginning. He’s relentless and will go nonstop and will go above and beyond. I don’t think he’ll settle for anything less.”
New faculty senate president Dr. Heather Riddell cast the lone dissenting vote for Diaz’s approval, citing the selection process.
Last year, Diaz was named the sole finalist out of 84 applicants.
Dr. Riddell says without additional candidates, there’s an inability to compare and determine if the solo candidate is indeed the best fit for the university.
“Stakeholders are left without a clear understanding of the decision,” Riddell said. “I’m not voting against president Diaz and the work he’s done. I’m voting against the process that’s led us here.”
Over the last year, Diaz’s tenure as interim didn’t come without controversy.
Members of the public have advocated against the selection for months citing different reasons.
Matthews says it’s part of the process.
“There has been a lot of discussion around the town and I appreciate all of the passion that folks have,” she said. “It’s definitely worth while and everyone should have their voice in the process. So I think we’ve allowed that for everybody.”
Following the approval by the board of trustees, Diaz responded to WEAR News’ recent report on concerns of him benefiting from a charter school moving on campus soon.
A recent letter sent to the Florida Auditor General calls for an investigation into Diaz’s ties to the charter school system.
Diaz says the public has a misunderstanding about the plans.
“Do I have prior relationships with folks in the charter system? Yeah, I was legislator that drove the policy,” he said. “I’m in favor of school choice unabashedly. I was Commissioner of Education. I think that having relationships to benefit UWF could be a bonus. I bring relationships that are positives, I’m going to use those relationships to benefit UWF any way I can. I’m not going to apologize about it.”
Diaz says UWF is also looking at a branding plan to market the university far and wide.
The school conducted a branding audit. Diaz says you can expect some positive improvements to school logos in the near future.