Speaking to the UF Faculty Senate Thursday afternoon, Interim President Donald W. Landry said he will maintain institutional neutrality — which he defined as “leadership holding back on commentary that isn't essential.”
That was in reference to recent events, including the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Landry said he considered making a statement about Kirk’s death and about the anniversary of the attack but ultimately decided against it.
“Every time leadership comments on something that it doesn’t absolutely have to speak about, it divides the students,” he said.
Former President Ben Sasse, in contrast, issued a statement condemning Hamas following the university’s vigil for Israel in 2023.
Landry also advised other campus leaders against speaking out on current issues, saying such statements, when necessary, would come from the president and provost.
He added he has been in communication with Jeffrey Harrison, the former UF professor who lost emeritus status last month following a public comment he made about Kirk’s death. In a September post on Facebook, Harrison said he didn’t want Kirk to die and would “reserve that wish for Trump."
The university said it had a “zero tolerance” policy toward violence-inciting speech and consequently stripped Harrison’s emeritus status.
Landry said Harrison “regrets what happened.”
“I'm just letting it sit till the next academic year before I opine further,” Landry said. “But at the moment, he certainly cannot put emeritus on any of his documents.”
Contact Alissa Gary at agary@alligator.org. Follow her on X @AlissaGary1.
Alissa is the Fall 2025 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been engagement managing editor and university editor, and she has covered stories across UF and Gainesville. She was also an intern at the Orlando Sentinel and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her cat and take care of her plants.
