FAU’s 13-member Board of Trustees unanimously selected Florida Lieutenant Governor Frank Brogan as Florida Atlantic University’s fifth president.

“I am humbled and thrilled to be selected FAU’s fifth president,” said Brogan. “This has been a very vigorous and challenging process that drew world class candidates and provided a most unique opportunity for input by literally thousands of people. My lifetime of public service and commitment to public education continues as we all work together to lift FAU to the next level of excellence.”

An FAU alumnus who earned a Master of Education in administration/supervision from the university in 1981, Brogan is a prominent leader in educational initiatives on the national front. He was president and served as a founding member of the Education Leaders Council, a national organization founded in 1995 to represent leaders in education committed to reforms in the education system.

His resume also includes a wide spectrum of professional educational posts ranging from serving as Florida’s former Commissioner of Education to superintendent of schools in Martin County, as well as an administrator and teacher in secondary education.

In 1976 Brogan received his Bachelor of Science in Education, magna cum laude, from the University of Cincinnati, where he has been named a Distinguished Alumnus. In 1996 he received the Florida Atlantic University Alumni Hall of Fame Award.

Brogan succeeds former FAU President Anthony Catanese, who presided over the university for 12 years before becoming president of Florida Institute of Technology.

The pool of candidates was approximately 50, with an ex-musician, army general, and a chief executive of a technology firm among them.

As lieutenant governor, Brogan earns $117,990 a year. Trustees had discussed a salary-and-benefits deal for their next president worth as much as $2.6 million over five years, as well as the use of a new $2 million on-campus home. He has said he plans to make a full commitment to FAU. He said he wouldn’t use the post to jump into a U.S. Senate race or try to succeed Bush in 2006.

Originally published 2.6.03