The University of West Florida’s presidential search process is compromised before it even begins. Board of Trustees Chair Rebecca Matthews has stacked the deck, appointing five trustees to the Presidential Search Committee while excluding representatives from both the UWF Foundation Board and the Black community.
- Bad math: Trustees will control both the Search Committee chair and one-third of its total membership. This level of trustee dominance represents unprecedented overreach that transforms what should be a collaborative, community-driven process into a rubber-stamp operation for predetermined outcomes.
Two of the trustees appointed make sense: SGA President Trista Bennett and Faculty Senate President Heather Riddell, but Rebecca Moya, Ashley Ross and Zach Smith should step aside to make room for better representatives from our community.
Hollow Promises, Real Consequences
As it so often has since she took over the Board chair, Matthews’ public messaging rings hollow. In the press release, she proclaimed the Search Committee’s mission to “attract an exceptional leader who will usher the University into its next chapter of growth.” But her actions contradict these lofty goals.
- Outstanding candidates—the very leaders UWF claims to seek—will recognize a rigged process and look elsewhere rather than participate in a sham search.
The Voting Bloc Problem
The conflict of interest runs deeper than mere appearance. Trustees Rebecca Moya, Ashley Ross, and Zack Smith have operated as an inseparable voting bloc since joining the board, demonstrating lockstep loyalty that prioritizes political allegiance.
Chair Matthews only recommended one person to serve as interim president, Florida Educatoin CommissionersManny Diaz Jr.. The trio voted for Diaz and awarded him the highest salary in university history—a clear signal of their preferred outcome for the permanent position. With Diaz now applying for the role, their participation in the search committee represents an obvious conflict that compromises the process.
- Smith has an obvious conflict. He simultaneously serves on the Pensacola State College board while his UWF appointment awaits Florida Senate approval—a dual loyalty that raises serious questions about his commitment and legal standing.
A Path to Restore Credibility
The solution is straightforward: Moya, Ross, and Smith must resign from the Search Committee immediately. They retain their ultimate authority as trustees to approve the final recommendation, preserving their influence while removing the taint of predetermined bias from the search process.
- To restore credibility, these three vacancies should be filled through genuine community representation: nominations from the UWF Foundation Board and former Black Student Union presidents would signal UWF’s commitment to inclusive leadership selection.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. UWF’s next president will shape the institution’s future. The search deserves a process worthy of the university’s aspirations—not a predetermined outcome.
The deck is stacked, the outcome is predetermined, and the protests from the community are of zero consequence to the new BOT members. These machinations are part of a much larger machine that seeks to lay the groundwork for higher ed “reform” as outlined in Project 2025, with UWF as the nation’s first test case.
It is also important to note that Manny Diaz, while commanding a much higher salary than Saunders, will carry a far lighter workload than she did. This will be made possible by the creation a of chief of staff position for Clifford Humphrey, also commanding a high salary. Clifford will shoulder much of the work that is traditionally part of the president’s role, thus freeing Diaz to rub shoulders with donors, play golf, and focus on athletics – just a fraction of the work that Saunders put in during her tenure. As Diaz has expressed to several people close to him, he’s not especially interested in working all that hard.