Ivy Tech chief among final four for Florida job-WEB ONLY

Ivy Tech Community College President Tom Snyder has been named one of four remaining candidates for the position of chancellor of the State University System of Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reported yesterday.

A search committee trimmed a list of 13 candidates to four who will be interviewed for the job on Friday. A recommendation from the committee and an appointment by the system’s Board of Governors is expected to be made the same day.

The State University System oversees Florida’s 11 public universities. The frontrunner to lead it is thought to be former Florida Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, who served under former Gov. Jeb Bush. Brogan currently is president of Florida Atlantic University.

Brogan and Snyder were named finalists along with Roderick Chu, former chancellor for the Ohio state university system, and Florida State University associate professor Steve MacNamara, who served as former Florida House Speaker John Thrasher’s chief of staff.

Snyder’s candidacy for the Florida position was first reported last week by Indiana Education Insight, a newsletter published by Ed Feigenbaum, an IBJ columnist.

Snyder has notified Ivy Tech’s Board of Trustees of the Florida system’s interest.

“He is honored to be a part of this process and feels his candidacy is certainly an indication of the increased national prominence of Ivy Tech Community College,” the school said in a statement. “He continues to be fully focused on the challenges and opportunities here at Ivy Tech and within the state of Indiana.”

Snyder became Ivy Tech’s president in March 2007. The Anderson native spent six years in the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant and 20 years at Anderson-based auto-parts maker Remy International Inc., where he ascended to CEO.

His lack of educational experience, however, initially drew criticism from some who instead favored Carol D’Amico. At the time, D’Amico served as Ivy Tech’s executive vice president, but resigned a few months later after being passed over for the president’s job. She now is an adviser to the Indiana Department of Education.

Adam Herbert, a former president of Indiana University, led the State University System of Florida from 1998 to 2000.