The University of Florida Board of Trustees has established a Presidential Search Advisory Committee to conduct a national search for the school’s next leader.
The committee is composed of several representatives from across UF and the Florida University System. It consists of a cross section of Trustees, faculty, students, alumni and administrators along with “external stakeholders,” according to a UF news release published this week.
The panel is charged with finding what will be the 14th President of UF. The new President will replace Ben Sasse, who stepped down from the job at UF in July 2024. Sasse, a former Republican U.S. Senator from Nebraska, was UF President for nearly two years after accepting the post in November 2022.
Sasse’s tenure was not without controversy. The student newspaper, The Alligator, reported on extensive spending practices that raised questions about Sasse’s financial oversight, as he was accused of funneling university funds toward consulting contracts and GOP allies. One analysis provided conjecture that Sasse tripled spending in the President’s Office compared to his predecessor, Kent Fuchs.
“With the Presidential Search Advisory Committee now in place, we are moving forward with a focused and thoughtful search to identify the leader best suited to guide the University of Florida to even greater national and global prominence,” said Mori Hosseini, Chair of the UF Board of Trustees.
The Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, Rahul Patel, is Chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. Donald Landry has been serving as interim President at UF. The search committee will also work with an “executive search firm” to be appointed by the Trustees.
The Florida Board of Governors, which makes the final decision on Presidents in Florida’s public university system, already rejected one previous finalist for UF President.
Santa Ono, a former President at the University of Michigan, was selected by the UF Trustees to take over the top slot in Gainesville in June. But the process became acrimonious and politically charged, as some members of the Florida Board of Governors heeded concerns by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Donald Trump Jr. The latter specifically labeled Ono as a “woke psycho.”
