The community has noticed irregularities in the governance of the University of West Florida and has begun to push back.
A detailed complaint has been filed with the UWF Compliance Office alleging Board of Trustees Chair Rebecca Matthews and certain board members have engaged in a pattern of violations of Florida’s Sunshine Law and institutional procedures. Read the BOT complaint.
- The 10-page complaint, filed in November, documents what it characterizes as coordinated actions among trustees that “raise concerns about compliance with Florida’s Sunshine Law in addition to possible violations of state board and UWF BOT procedures.”
Allegations of Pre-Coordinated Voting
The complaint outlines a pattern beginning in December 2024, when the Board of Governors and Governor DeSantis appointed eight new trustees in less than four weeks—creating an instant supermajority. According to the document, “It is exceedingly rare, if not unprecedented, for a supermajority of new members to be appointed to a Florida BOT in such a short timeframe.”
At the Jan. 23, 2025, board meeting, these new members voted as a bloc to elect Scott Yenor as chair within three minutes, despite his lack of UWF experience and residence in Idaho. The complaint states this “speed suggests a predetermined outcome and/or predetermined bloc voting.”
Presidential Search Controversy
The complaint details multiple procedural violations surrounding the appointment of Manny Diaz Jr. as interim president. On Memorial Day 2025—one day before the scheduled board meeting—Matthews updated the agenda to name Diaz specifically, providing trustees less than 24 hours notice on a federal holiday.
“Despite direct questioning from Trustee Scott, Matthews offered no explanation of her decision criteria beyond stating she had spoken with ‘members of the community,’“ the complaint states.
General Counsel Firing Raises Red Flags
In July 2025, General Counsel Susan Woolf warned the board that Matthews had sought outside counsel for the presidential search without informing trustees—standard practice. Woolf noted Matthews’ first choice was “Manny Diaz’ personal lawyer, Bill Galvano, who negotiated Diaz’ interim contract.”
The complaint emphasizes: “Manny Diaz fired GC Woolf the same day. This shows a clear conflict of interest considering Diaz is a candidate for the full-time position.”
Following this, the complaint alleges Matthews “forbade anyone else from fulfilling public records requests unless it went through her first”—after a paralegal properly fulfilled a public records request about the presidential search. (I made the request and found out Matthews had already scheduled her meeting before Woolf’s termination.)
Questionable Interim Spending
Recent board actions have raised additional concerns. Trustees approved $50,000 for office furniture, a new permanent VP position at $250,000 salary, and $1 million for building renovations for the interim president.
“These are not things that interim presidents are awarded, unless they already know that the interim will be the permanent president,” the complaint states.
Recommended Actions
The complaint recommends that Matthews be removed from the board, the cancellation of the contract with the executive search firm, and that Diaz be disqualified as a presidential candidate.
The complaint concludes: “Chair Rebecca Matthews has flagrantly violated state and institutional policies. There are clear indications of sunshine violations among board members. The UWF Presidential Search is a sham.”
Sadly, our local state representatives are largely in lock step with the DeSantis administration, and therefore have no interest in questioning the ethics or legality of these actions. It is a miniature version of what is going on in Congress.
This looks like the playbook for the entire state: take over the universities and hand them over to friends with ideological agendas and profit plans. Time for our local representatives to start asking tough questions in the upcoming legislative session.