FGCU Board of Trustees picks next president

FORT MYERS, Fla. The Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees has selected the school’s next president.

Michael Martin, former chancellor of the Colorado State University System and Louisiana State University and former president of New Mexico State University, will replace the retiring Wilson Bradshaw, pending the completion of a contract agreement and Board of Governors approval, the school announced.

#FGCU Board of Trustees picks Michael Martin as next president, pending contract negotiation & Board of Governors OK. #FGCUpresidentsearch

— Florida Gulf Coast University (@fgcu) February 28, 2017

He was one of four finalists interviewed Tuesday. Susan Martin, former interim president at San Jose State University and former president at Eastern Michigan University, Mark McLellan, vice president for research and dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University, and Mark Rudin, vice president for research and economic development at Boise State University, were the runners-up.

Bradshaw announced in 2015 that he would step away at the end of his contract on June 30, 2017, so Martin will presumably take over the job then.

Martin, 70, earned a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1977. He later held several positions at the school before moving on to become vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida, a position he held from 1998-2004.

Read the cover letter Martin sent when he applied for the position in January.

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