FIU presidential candidate meetings draw university-wide interest

The university community got to know its prospective sixth president a little better during half a dozen meetings this week.  

Kenneth A. Jessell currently serves in the temporary position of interim president and has been recommended by the presidential search committee as a finalist for the permanent job. The FIU Board of Trustees is considering Jessell and expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. 

The public gatherings featured introductory comments from Jessell and gave students, university personnel and outside supporters a chance to ask questions and gain insight into how he might lead the institution moving forward. The South Florida native is already known to many as he served as FIU’s senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer from 2009 until he accepted the role of interim president in January. 

Respected for his history of fiscal responsibility and a willingness to step in when called upon earlier this year by the Board of Trustees, Jessell stands out to many for his approachable demeanor, unbounded love for the institution and grounding in academia. He holds the position of full professor in the College of Business.  

Married to his wife of 46 years, Lori, with whom he shares adult children John and Amanda (Jeffrey) and grandson James, Jessell has been lauded for a steadfast nature that many view as ideal at a time of national debate on whether a university degree still holds value and how the growing burden of student-loan debt should be addressed. 

In his opening remarks, Jessell covered four priority areas on which the university has concentrated and to which he has committed his support should he be appointed president. 

Student success: “We will continue to be accountable to our stakeholders and measure our progress and performance in educating our students, including retention and graduation rates, employment and strategic degrees as well as other key metrics. FIU’s keen focus on performance has been the primary reason why we have excelled in both state and national rankings as well as why we have received significant incremental state performance funding and philanthropic funding. I am committed to our goal of achieving Top 50 Public University in U.S. News and World Report Rankings in three years. We all know an FIU education is not restricted to students with high financial resources, and our #4 ranking in social mobility by U.S. News and #32 ranking in Washington Monthly reflect our commitment to improving the lives of our students, their families and our community. We are committed to improving these impressive rankings even further.”

Research excellence: “I remain committed to the research enterprise of our university and the planned investment of resources to expand research opportunities. Research is critical to expanding knowledge, developing innovative solutions to problems and gaining a better understanding of the complex world we live in. Our research expenditures have surpassed $245 million, and we are in the Top 10 of research expenditure growth of R1 public universities over the past 10 years and we are poised to hit the $400 million mark by 2025.”

Sustainable resources: “FIU must have sufficient and sustainable human, physical and financial resources to fulfill our mission of outstanding teaching, research excellence and community engagement. The recruitment and retention of our best faculty and staff is my highest priority.” Jessell provided an update on a proposal approved last month by the Board of Trustees that makes a legislative budget request of $60.7 million that would put almost $26 million toward retention of outstanding faculty and staff. Also included is $5 million for the hiring of additional faculty in areas of strategic importance and $12.5 million for investments in technology to improve operational efficiencies and cover recurring costs and $15 million for scholarships. And he said that he would “advocate for additional funding to achieve a level that is fair and equitable for FIU compared to our sister institutions.” Finally, the former chief financial officer concluded: “You have my commitment that I will stay focused on FIU’s strategic priorities and not take on new initiatives that are not strategic and that often times dilute the scarce resources we already have. I will also work tirelessly on expanding our sources of revenues, particularly philanthropy, net auxiliary revenues and external grant funding and find ways to provide high quality administrative support services and achieve cost savings through shared services, including human resources, information technology, business and financial services and research administration.”

University affinity: “Students who are engaged with their university through student clubs and organizations . . . typically achieve greater gains in learning, are more satisfied with their college experiences, experience stronger mental health and well-being, feel more prepared for life after college, are more likely to promote their institution and give back financially to their alma mater. This engagement translates to higher retention and graduation rates of our students. These benefits are multiplied when we create an engaged community of faculty and staff where mentoring, collegial discussions and encouragement take place and where ideas for research and innovation emerge throughout our great halls, in our offices, in our Wolfe and Graham centers, in our food courts, on our plazas and lawns and on the Bay. The experience of our students while they are here will define how active and supportive alumni are. [Alumni] provide mentoring and internship opportunities for our current students and help improve job placement rates once our students graduate. And they help with admissions by serving as ambassadors and telling our remarkable story. And finally, we need to stay engaged with our community. We can enrich the lives of our residents through health and civic partnerships, service and research, and we know the community will reciprocate by supporting FIU.” 

During the question portion of the meetings, audience members attending either in-person or online inquired about a wide variety of topics, among them Jessell’s stance on acadeemic freedom; his position on work flexibility; his plans for retaining employee talent; the possibility of adjusting student fees; how student advising might be adapted to better meet the needs of undergraduates; how to expand use of the Biscayne Bay Campus and satellite FIU@I-75 location; and his support of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.