Broward College President Gregory Haile suddenly resigns; board of trustees holds emergency meeting – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) – Broward College President Gregory Haile has suddenly resigned, but the institution of higher learning’s board of trustees has other ideas.

7News cameras captured members of the board during an emergency meeting on Thursday as they were showered with applause.

The applause was spurred by action the board is not taking: they are not, for the time being, accepting Haile’s resignation.

The question on board members’ minds is why.

“I don’t know how we got here, either,” said Broward College Board of Trustees Chair Alexis Yarbrough.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Haile sent a letter of resignation to the board. The 45-year-old listed his achievements but noted that three of the five board members are new.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed the three new board members back in February.

“While you have not requested such a transition, the time is now,” Haile wrote in his letter.

The board seemed blindsided in Thursday’s meeting.

“Are questions being raised? Absolutely,” said board member Akhil Agrawal. “Has anything been said from the board that I am aware of that asks for President Haile’s resignation or fire him or let him go or whatever the terms are that are being bandied about? The answer is absolutely, positively not.”

Dan Lindblade, CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, attended Thursday’s board meeting.

“I think everybody, including the trustees, were caught off guard. We had no previous indication that Greg was going to resign,” he said.

Lindblade urged the board to try to talk to Haile and get him to stay. The CEO was not alone.

Bacardi Jackson with the Broward College Foundation Board addressed trustees during the meeting.

“Greg Haile is one of the most visionary, transformative leaders that we have ever seen in this community,” she said.

“He’s been doing a great job, and so, I felt there was a disconnect,” said Lindblade. “It appears to be about communications.”

Haile’s resignation comes as DeSantis has appointed more conservative members to some state college and university boards. The move resulted in a complete shift of focus at Sarasota’s New College. A fight is still waging over the presidency at Florida Atlantic University.

But despite all of that, Lindblade said he has no reason to believe politics played any role.

“I think people are drawing conclusions, but I haven’t seen any of that myself. If that’s the case, that would really be unfortunate,” he said. “It’s the sixth largest community college in the United States, and it is the place that we need to have thriving right now.”

As of Thursday night, Haile has not responded to 7News’ request for comment. According to his contract, he will remain in his post for the next few months.

As for the board of trustees, they said they are going to work on improving communication with Haile, as they attempt to persuade him to stay.

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