Today, the Harry Roy Membership Committee, officially known as the University of West Florida Presidential Search Committee, will host an open public forum with presidential search finalist Manny Diaz Jr., the former education commissioner who has served as the interim UWF president since July.
The forum is from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the UWF Commons Auditorium.
“This forum is open to the campus community and the general public and will be livestreamed,” the email to students and faculty stated. An additional session with the UWF extended cabinet will take place immediately prior to the public forum. While this session is designed for extended cabinet members, it is an open meeting and members of the campus and public are welcome to attend.”
The Resistance
An anonymously authored zine with a scathing critique of the University of West Florida’s presidential search process, which resulted in Manny Diaz, Jr., being named the sole finalist, has been circulating on the UWF campus.
The punk protest zine comes complete with an “obligatory playlist” of politically charged songs and confrontational language throughout. It criticizes Presidential Search Committee Chair Zack Smith, who serves on the board of trustees for UWF and Pensacola State College. The authors allege a complete lack of transparency in the process, noting that Smith has edited meeting minutes, made comments and “got rightful criticism about conveniently ‘smoothed out,’” and declined to comment on the search process and applicants back in November.
The zine draws connections between Diaz, Smith, and other UWF trustees to right-wing political movements, specifically the Heritage Foundation and its “Phoenix Declaration” education framework. It also points out the absurdity of Florida’s Sunshine Laws, which technically require public disclosure of finalists, while the Search Committee announces only a single “sole finalist,” rendering any public input meaningless.
The zine concludes by noting the unpopularity of DeSantis’ education policies. It frames the entire selection as a predetermined outcome orchestrated by politically connected trustees, who use their power to bypass genuine public input.
Read Protest Zine. The zine is meant to be folded, so it’s a little hard to follow. (Warning: adult language).
Zack Smith M.I.A.
UWF Trustee Zack Smith will miss yet another Senate confirmation hearing. Last week, he failed to show for the Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education. He has been dropped from the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee today.
