Senate Appropriations Committee advances nearly 30 higher‑education trustee nominees after brief technical interruption

Tallahassee — The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education on Jan. 23 advanced a large roster of gubernatorial nominees to boards of trustees across the state’s colleges and universities, voting to report the slate favorably to the Ethics and Elections Committee after brief technical problems disrupted remote testimony.

Chair Harrell opened the session by saying the committee’s primary duty is ensuring “our state colleges and our university system have the very best trustees,” and swore in each nominee before allowing roughly four to five minutes of introduction. Nominees repeatedly framed their prospective roles around workforce training, student success and fiscal stewardship.

Several nominees highlighted workforce and career‑aligned programs. Michael Steven McWaters, a candidate for North Florida College, said he would prioritize expanding welding and electrician programs to meet employer demand. Jose Juarez, nominated to the College of Central Florida, pointed to the college’s 100‑acre working farm and vocational training as key assets. Charles Lester, a Polk State College nominee, emphasized the police academy partnership and said 450 academy graduates in the past two years passed the state exam.

Trustees and reappointments also focused on nursing and allied health. Ashley Troutman (Polk State College) cited 100% NCLEX pass rates in 2023 and 2024 for Polk’s nursing program and a legislative request of about $7.6 million to complete a Haines City campus to expand health‑sciences capacity. Mike Griffin (University of South Florida) pointed to USF’s near‑97% nursing passage rates and work under a new university president.

Officials who oversee statewide programs described systemwide stewardship and customer‑facing improvements. Slater Bayless, a reappointment to the Florida Prepaid College Board, said the program manages a multi‑billion‑dollar fund and has recently implemented a new customer relationship platform, cyber defenses and simplified 529 enrollment.

The committee briefly recessed to address Teams/Zoom connectivity problems that interrupted testimony from several remote nominees; one witness completed remarks by phone during the outage. Chair Harrell told nominees they would be able to listen to the vote after connectivity was restored.

After hearing the nominees and noting one withdrawal, the committee voted on the slate as a group. A roll call recorded affirmative votes from senators on the dais and the committee reported the nominations favorably to the Ethics and Elections Committee. Following the vote, Senator Burgess moved to adjourn.

The committee’s action sends the nominees to the next step in the confirmation process; the Ethics and Elections Committee will make the next recommendation on the nominations.