Michele Wheatly Is the Only Woman Candidate for President of Florida State University

In a search for a new president, Florida State University’s search committee interviewed 11 applicants over a two-day period. Of these 11 applicants selected for consideration, only two were women: Kate C. Miller, dean of the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University and Michele G. Wheatly, former provost and vice president for academic affairs at West Virginia University.

The search committee selected four candidates from among the 11 applicants who were interviewed. These four candidates will participate in a series of public forums with students, faculty, and staff. On September 22, the search committee will recommend no fewer than three finalists. These three finalists will be interviewed by the board of trustees on September 23, with the announcement of the new president expected that day or soon afterward.

Of the two woman applicants who were interviewed, Dr. Wheatly was chosen as one of the four candidates and will move on in the process. Dr. Wheatly was provost at West Virginia University for five years until June of this year. Previously, she was dean of the College of Mathematics and Sciences at Wright State University in Ohio. Earlier, for 10 years she served on the faculty at the University of Florida.

Dr. Wheatly holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a Ph.D. in comparative physiology from Birmingham University in the United Kingdom.

Update: On September 23, John Thrasher, a Florida state senator, was chosen to be the next president of Florida State.