After FAU relaunched the search, Hasner, a former Republican majority leader in the Florida House, emerged as a finalist. Now a vice president at Florida-based private prison company GEO Group, Hasner beat out two academics for the role: a dean at Florida State University and the provost of the University of Maine.

Florida Atlantic University on Monday welcomed former House Majority Leader Adam Hasner as its new president, concluding a presidential search that was off and on over the past two years, and at times became mired in discord.