Board of Governors confirms Manny Diaz Jr. as interim University of West Florida president
Diaz will replace Martha Saunders, who announced her resignation May 12 following months of attacks on the university by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed several controversial picks to the university's Board of Trustees and warned of a bumpy road ahead for the university.
Saunders had served as UWF's president since January 2017.
All board members but one − Eric Silagy − voted in favor of confirmation. Silagy voiced concerns about Diaz's compensation package, the lack of a performance component in that package as well as a university succession plan. Silagy is the immediate past chairman of the Board of Governors and is president and CEO of Florida Power and Light Co.
He also asked UWF Board Chair Rebecca Matthews if she tried to talk Saunders out of retiring or if she encouraged her to stay on as UWF president in an interim capacity.
"She's (Saunders) clearly engaged, she loves UWF. She wants to stay engaged. Did you ever look at whether or not keeping her on just as interim, while you went through a search process? She knows the school so well, and she had a contract in place. And it would have been very easy to have her bridge that gap," Silagy said.
Matthews said she honored Saunders's resignation letter − knowing that she would be helpful during the transition.
Diaz's name quickly floated to the top of the pool of potential replacements. In an 8-2 vote on May 27, the university's Board of Trustees chose Diaz to fill the position left open by Saunders' resignation.
On June 12, the university's Board of Trustees approved a $744,000 compensation package for Diaz, which includes a base salary of $643,000, along with provisions for housing and a vehicle and relocation allowances.
Under the terms of the contract, Diaz will serve as interim president from July 14, 2025, until July 13, 2026.
The Board of Trustees is conducting a search for a permanent president, and the agreement notes Diaz's term could be extended in the event the search fails.
It's also possible that Diaz will apply for the job permanently. If so, and if he's picked, the GOP former state lawmaker will follow other former Florida elected officials into state university and college presidencies, such as former House speaker Richard Corcoran now at New College of Florida and former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez at Florida International University.
Under Diaz's contract, his duties and powers are to "diligently devote his full professional time, ability, and attention to the day-to-day operations of UWF including, without limitation, all administrative, executive, and academic functions as required by this Agreement, law, rule, and regulation."
A former state legislator from Hialeah in Miami-Dade County, Diaz served in the House from 2012 to 2018 and in the Senate from 2018 until 2022, when DeSantis recommended him as education commissioner and the Florida State Board of Education made it official.
As education commissioner, Diaz oversees Florida's public education system, including 28 state colleges and nearly 3 million students across K–20 institutions, and manages a $27 billion annual education budget, according to his resume.
Diaz will be University of West Florida's seventh president.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Manny Diaz confirmed as University of West Florida president by BOG
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