For Adam Hasner, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) has always been a part of his story—both professional and personal. Just over a mile from the school’s main campus in Boca Raton was where he met the love of his life, Jillian.
“We were both at a Boca Chamber event 22 years ago,” says Jillian. “On our first date, Adam took me to two bowls, the Gator Bowl and the Orange Bowl. I thought, this is a guy who is kind, wicked smart, and really loves sports.”
To wit, Hasner and his wife are often seen cheering at FAU’s football and basketball games. They’re also longtime fixtures at the school’s musical and theatrical performances.
When Hasner was appointed as the university’s eighth president in February 2025, it was a homecoming of sorts for the Palm Beach County kid who had for years used his political platform to shape FAU from a commuter school to a world-class institution.
He attended college at the University of Maryland and interned for Congressman Tom Lewis (R) on Capitol Hill. As Hasner notes, working in the United States Congress was his ultimate goal, as his interest in politics was stoked early on.
“In high school, I served three years in a row as a page for the Florida Senate,” he says. “At 15, I knew that I wanted to be involved in public policy and public service.”
After college, Hasner earned a law degree from Florida State University and then worked in marketing, development, and acquisitions roles at two health care companies. Almost a decade later, he left to run for the Florida House of Representatives. He served for eight years (2002-2010) as a Republican state congressman representing southern Palm Beach County and northern Broward County, including two terms as House Majority Leader.
Upon fulfilling his term limit, Hasner went up against former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel for Florida’s twenty-second Congressional district seat. He lost and decided to leave the political arena, pivoting his expertise into insurance and government contracting roles, including serving as chief marketing and communications officer for People’s Trust Insurance and as executive vice president for public policy at The GEO Group, a government services contractor for private prisons and mental health facilities.
But Hasner’s time in Tallahassee left an indelible mark at FAU. His accomplishments included earmarking funds for FAU’s LEED Platinum–certified Engineering East Building and helping to establish the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
“There was not another medical school from Miami to Orlando,” recalls Hasner, whose office at FAU sits serendipitously close to the medical school. “That was probably the most transformational initiative that I championed. And now I get to look every day from my window at something that I helped create.”
Hasner was known to pull so hard for his local university while in office that his moniker around campus was Mr. FAU. “I’ve always been a part of this university’s culture and community,” he says. “And now, as president, it’s a full-circle moment.”
While some were initially skeptical about Hasner being an academic outsider, he has been quick to defend his intentions, skills, and results.
“When I applied to be the university’s president, I was very clear that I was not seeking this position to ever run for public office or go to another university. This is the pinnacle of my career,” he says. “Knowing the campus, the donor community, and the elected officials, I get to hit the ground running.” (The university’s latest fundraising drive—which spanned 10 years and ended in December—brought in north of $617 million from more than 60,000 donors.)
FAU, which has six campuses spread across 110 miles, has been on an upward trajectory in national rankings. It’s now a top 100 national public university (and top 30 in social mobility) according to U.S. News and World Report’s revered list; it’s thirty-ninth on Washington Monthly’s America’s Best Colleges for your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars list.
Last year, FAU earned an R1 Carnegie Designation, the nation’s most prestigious research accolade. R1 institutions on average spend at least $50 million on research and development, and award at least 70 research doctorates a year, per the Carnegie Foundation. It’s a distinction bestowed upon fewer than 5 percent of more than 4,000 U.S. colleges and universities.
“A major benefit of having reached R1 status is that it puts us on the radar for the country’s best trainees and faculty candidates trying to decide between us and other fine options, a true multiplier effect,” says Randy Blakely, PhD, executive director of FAU’s Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. “President Hasner grasped, way before he came, that investing in the Institute would not only accelerate the research and training missions of FAU, but in a more profound way, drive the creation of a ‘Brain Coast,’ where investments in brain science and medicine locally could impact the lives of those with brain disorders globally.”
Michael Hamper, a recent undergrad and masters alum from Palm Beach Gardens, chose FAU specifically for its research opportunities. “As a junior, I was researching the treatment of cancer cells with novel marine compounds,” says Hamper. For his masters’ thesis, Hamper focused on the rare neurological condition that he himself suffers from, Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS). “The university was crucial in helping me obtain precious KLS serum samples. These helped me explore a potential autoimmune mechanism in the condition.”
Students from outside the county and state are paying attention to FAU’s success curve. The university has had a 40 percent year over year increase in out-of-state applications. In 2025, FAU’s undergraduate school saw its most competitive academic class ever, with approximately 57,000 applicants vying for only 4,300 seats. FAU was also awarded the Carnegie Opportunity designation, which means it enrolls a significant number of students from lower income backgrounds and historically underrepresented populations who graduate with competitive wages and strong career outcomes. (Thirty-five percent of FAU’s current undergraduate students are the first in their families to attend college.) The university also received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for 2026, which highlights an institution’s commitment to community engagement. With this recognition, FAU is now one of only 11 universities in the United States to achieve three Carnegie Foundation designations.
As first lady and a first-generation college student herself, Jillian Hasner has a personal investment in the college’s success. Before her current role, she was CEO of Take Stock in Children, a nonprofit organization that pairs underserved youth with adult mentors and college scholarships, serving more than 15,000 Florida students each year.
“Adam and I don’t have children of our own, but we always found ourselves surrounded by children and by students,” says Jillian. “When I was growing up, I never dreamed that I would get to have the experiences that I’ve had. My parents didn’t go to college; they came from rural Appalachia. I understand the first-gen experience, and I want parents to know that we are committed to having each student reach that finish line.”
As part of her work as first lady, Jillian is using her background to support her husband on his new Presidential Mentorship and Career Internship Program, which pairs adult mentors from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and the Office of Alumni Engagement with undergraduate students.
“We have one of the largest OLLI programs in the country,” says Adam Hasner. “FAU was a pioneer in distance learning when it was founded in the 1960s. We recorded, televised, and beamed out classes.” Hasner plans to continue making OLLI a priority, vowing to strengthen its offerings to serve the broader community.
For FAU donor Charna Larkin, OLLI was a lifeline. She always dreamed of attending college, but there was simply no money. After a career in trade show production, Larkin—in her sixties—finally enrolled and graduated from Boston College. And when she moved to Boca Raton, she continued learning through OLLI.
“My husband and I took opera, painting, and political courses,” recalls Larkin. “It opened up our thinking and our lives.” At 97 and razor sharp, she might be the poster child for longevity through education.
Along with bringing OLLI and undergraduate students together, Hasner has also inaugurated the university’s first internship program in Washington, D.C.: Owls on the Hill. It’s a nostalgic nod to his own experiences on Capitol Hill.
“I applaud President Hasner for allowing students to observe the political process in person and on the ground,” says Jeri Muoio, PhD, former Mayor of West Palm Beach and an adjunct instructor in the executive education program in FAU’s College of Business.
As with many university leaders, Hasner’s short tenure has not been immune from challenges and controversies. His advancement in the FAU board of trustees’ selection process (Hasner was one of three finalists, alongside Michael Hartline, dean of the College of Business at Florida State University, and John Volin, executive vice president of academic affairs and provost at the University of Maine) was met with protests from some students, who cited his lack of experience in higher education administration and his long career as a Republican lawmaker and executive in the private prisons sector.
In July, just four months after Hasner took office in March and in accordance with a February 2025 directive from Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Atlantic University Police Department partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the 287(g) Program, which allows trained university police officers to enforce certain aspects of U.S. immigration law, to include detaining and questioning individuals suspected of immigration violations. This was met with more student protests in September.
In response to these protests, Hasner shares that “Florida Atlantic supports respectful engagement that contributes to a safe and productive academic environment. We continue to focus on student success and maintaining a campus environment where discourse remains constructive and consistent with the university’s policies.”
Marilyn Wallach, who along with her late husband gifted the university $20 million to build the new Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies building, believes Hasner is exactly what FAU needs. “Adam Hasner is a president who will not tolerate hate,” says Wallach. “You can only take out hate with love.” She hopes her namesake building will not only teach the lessons of the Holocaust but promote interfaith and interethnic understanding.
As the university’s first Jewish president, Hasner proudly affixed a blessed mezuzah on his office’s doorframe. “I thought it was very important to let it be known that we were going to make FAU the safest and most welcoming campus for all students,” he says. “That meant we were going to have intellectual and viewpoint diversity, but in a safe and respectful environment, one in which civil discourse could proceed.”
In many ways, Hasner’s presidency is a continuation of a relationship decades in the making. Now charged with leading FAU into a new—and ambitious—chapter, he is betting that momentum, access, and a sense of mission can outweigh skepticism. Whether that wager pays off will help determine not just his legacy, but the future of a university still very much on the rise.
Story Credits:
Hair and makeup: Deborah Koepper, Deborah Koepper Beauty, Palm Beach
Photography assistant: Ben Cooper
Facebook Comments