UF’s Board of Trustees has chosen a scientist to represent the school as interim president while it continues to search for a permanent hire.
The board unanimously approved Dr. Donald Landry, a professor of medicine at Columbia University, on Aug. 25. He comes with support from both his former colleagues and Florida’s political higher-ups.
Landry, a graduate of Columbia and Harvard University, served as the chair of Columbia’s Department of Medicine for 16 years, raised the Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s research rankings, and won the Presidential Citizens Medal under former President George W. Bush.
During Landry’s tenure, the department of medicine saw a faculty growth spurt, and the department’s National Institutes of Health-funded research tripled. It also climbed in national NIH rankings from the top 15 to the top five, according to a Columbia Irving Medical Center staff announcement.
Landry’s duties were set to begin Sept. 1, and his position is pending approval from the Florida Board of Governors, which is set to meet Sept. 10.
Professional reputation
Barry Honig, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia, has known Landry for 20 to 30 years. He said Landry is a fitting choice for interim president, and UF is “lucky to have him.”
“I think Columbia is losing somebody who, frankly, I wish was … our president,” Honig said.
Honig said Landry has the highest possible standards in judging others’ accomplishments without political motivations.
Landry is also president of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, an organization recognizing scholarship and research. His work there demonstrates his ambition to apply high standards to university accreditation “independent of political views,” Honig said.
According to Honig, Landry had been active in organizing a society at Columbia to help undergraduate students who were a minority at the school, and he asked Honig to be an adviser for the club.
“Especially in a place like Columbia, there was a minority in students who are more conservative, for example,” he said.
The club, called the John Jay Society, is a debate organization for political and moral philosophy, dedicated to exploring Western intellectual tradition through discussion and debate.
Landry was a terrific chairman of Columbia’s Department of Medicine, Honig added, and he’s “really upset” Landry is leaving the university.
“Don has more experience than most in handling very different issues,” Honig said. “I think he covers all the bases.”
Meeting GOP approval
Landry’s appointment swiftly gained political approval from conservative leaders, even as Columbia itself has faced criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis and others for being “sad and pathetic” in its handling of pro-Palestinian protests in May 2024.
DeSantis congratulated Landry on social media, calling him a candidate with a “stellar record” and praising the Board of Trustees for securing “such a strong candidate.”
Conservative activist Christopher Rufo also gave “kudos” to the Board of Trustees on social media, describing Landry as a “principled leader who will reverse ideological capture and restore truth-seeking” at UF.
Alan Levine, vice chair of the Board of Governors, publicly showed support for Landry, calling him a “serious leader” on X.
“Dr. Landry is an excellent nomination, and I look forward to having the opportunity to offer my formal support at our next BOG meeting,” he wrote in a text message to The Alligator.
Landry’s appointment as interim president came after an unprecedented presidential search for UF’s 14th president. GOP politicians criticized the Board of Trustees for its top choice, Santa Ono. The former president of the University of Michigan was rejected by the Board of Governors after facing backlash for his past support of DEI initiatives and for being, as Donald Trump Jr. put it in an X post, a “woke psycho.”
Critics said the search that produced Ono as a sole finalist was not transparent. Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Greg Steube, all Republicans representing Florida in Congress, sent a letter to the Board of Trustees June 18, urging them to be fully transparent in their search for UF’s next president.
Levine publically opposed Ono, questioning him for nearly 40 minutes over his past support for DEI initiatives and his handing of pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Michigan. He ultimately voted against Ono’s confirmation.
Views on free speech
During the Aug. 25 Board of Trustees meeting, Landry said he would place the freedom to learn and teach at the forefront of his leadership.
“Freedom of speech … is a right, but so is the right to learn, the right to teach,” he said. “That’s when we have time, place and many restrictions on the speech, on the expression. And that’s a very rational approach.”
He emphasized he would support freedom of speech and expression to maintain stability, but he would not “allow destruction” at the cost of learning.
Landry has been involved in public debate over free speech and online content moderation. In a 2024 Supreme Court case, he submitted a brief supporting Florida and Texas attorneys general in their challenge against NetChoice LLC, a case against censorship on social media platforms.
“It is difficult to think of a more compelling governmental interest than protecting open debate,” Landry wrote in the brief.
In his statement, Landry listed the dangers of suppressing what he titled “scientific dissent.” Social media platforms, he argued, shouldn’t censor claims solely because they are controversial.
“Science depends on the freedom to question any existing scientific theories,” he wrote.
UF communities weigh in
The president of UF’s chapter of the United Faculty of Florida union, Meera Sitharam, said in an email statement she feels relieved Landry was chosen for the role.
Unlike at least four other state university systems around the state, she wrote, “we did not end up with a political appointee as interim president.”
Sitharam praised Landry’s academic background and said his reputation is “encouraging, if we ignore one or two questionable actions.” She declined to comment further as to what actions she was referencing.
During the Aug. 25 Board of Trustees meeting, Board Chair Morteza “Mori” Hosseini emphasized the need for UF’s next president to continue the university’s campaign against antisemitism.
“That is the kind of leadership we expect at the University of Florida,” Hosseini said during the Board meeting.
Contact Swasthi Maharaj at smaharaj@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @s_maharaj1611.
Contact Maria Arruda at marruda@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @mariazalfarruda.
