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Like much of America, higher education is consumed with uncertainty over Tuesday’s presidential election.

After only a monthlong stint as the University of Arizona’s provost, Joseph Glover is returning to his previous role at the University of Florida. Glover, who served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at UF for 15 years, announced Tuesday in an email to UA faculty and students that he would be leaving the university. According to the letter, W. Kent Fuchs, Florida’s interim president and Glover’s old boss, asked him to return as the university undergoes a “major transition.”

After a difficult rollout of the Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) last year, the application is delayed once again, according to an announcement by the department on Wednesday. The application, known as the FAFSA form, allows students to obtain federal aid to help pay for college.

The interview as a form of personal testimony is a staple of the presidential search ritual that is here to stay. What should be set aside, however, is the naive belief that public performance is a sure guide to a candidate’s leadership potential. The entire search process stands to be improved with steps that bring stronger candidates to the forefront and enable search committees to distinguish truly exceptional leaders from those who talk a good game. We call this superior alternative the forensic model. 

Robert J. Nava, vice president for CSUSB’s University Advancement and executive director of the Philanthropic Foundation, has been invited to serve on the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) Council on Foundation Leaders. AGB, with more than 40,000 members worldwide, is the premier organization focused on empowering college, university and foundation boards to govern with knowledge and confidence.

Last week, Harvard University announced Alan Garber would shed his interim presidency title and serve as president until the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. While the announcement was met with enthusiasm from some members of the Harvard community, it was also critiqued by pro-Palestine activists and others.

A consultant told Florida A&M University’s trustees as they began their search for a new president that successful university leaders take a business-executive mindset to the job while, in her experience, candidates are less often emerging from within academia.

Lee Roberts, the interim chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is one of four finalists for the permanent role heading into a final decision this week, according to multiple sources close to the process.