Academic

More On Dean Searches In The Sunshine State

By Dan Filler

On Tuesday, two South Florida papers reported that there were 10 candidates being interviewed for the FIU dean slot.   As I discussed yesterday, these press accounts gave the impression that one particular person - the sitting U.S. Attorney, Alex Acosta - might be a frontrunner.  Howard Wasserman added his thoughts over at Prawfs  in response.

Today, however, Howard adds significantly more detail to the story - and all of it just convinces me that Florida should not open initial vetting sessions to the press.  Apparently, this was a preliminary meeting of the FIU dean search committee and it only addressed a subset of candidates; more will be considered at the next meeting.  The reporter was not wrong, per se, though she may have been incomplete. She suggested that these were first cut decisions - noting that the list would be reduced to four or five top candidates.  But the Herald must cater to its readers' interests  - and in this case, the only compelling hook for the average subscriber was the Acosta angle.   Acosta is getting an interview, and thus is part of a limited sub-group of people being considered for the job.  Compared to most people in the world, he is a top candidate for the job. 

The issue here is process, and in particular sunshine laws.  They exist for good reason - to keep government clean.  But should every single hiring meeting be open to the public?  In this case, sunshine seems like it may distort, rather than cleanse, the dean selection process.

Howard says the committee is working to correct any misconceptions about the process.  Meanwhile, the Herald may be getting some heat for their story because it has now disappeared from the newspaper's site.  (Update: a new link is now working.  It's here.) 

Update:  Today I received a press release from FIU.  It stated:

 The search committee charged with finding FIU College of Law's next dean discussed a preliminary list of candidates this week. This list, published in several media outlets, is not a final slate of candidates. In future meetings, the committee will consider these and other candidates and will continue to solicit applications for this position until it is filled. ?We have, and continue to receive, applications from throughout the country to lead this young and promising law school,?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on February 12, 2009 (boomark / email).