UF announced Monday that Larry Arrington will be the interim senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources while UF searches for a permanent replacement for Jimmy Cheek, who was named chancellor of the University of Tennessee in October.
Arrington, who has been dean of UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences since 2003, will start Monday.
The national search for Cheek's permanent successor has not started yet, according to a memo sent from President Bernie Machen to faculty Monday.
In his new position, Arrington will oversee IFAS, which has a budget of more than $300 million.
With the largest budget of all of UF's colleges and administrative units, IFAS also received the largest budget cut, $9.5 million, in the 2008-2009 budget, according to Alligator archives.
Arrington said budget issues will be the most challenging aspect of his new job.
He also said he looks forward to making changes to IFAS to make its programs more relevant to the current job market for students.
