UF Interim Provost Joe Glover provided updates on UF’s presidential search and for dean searches for the colleges of arts and engineering at a faculty senate meeting Thursday.
There “is an expectation” the presidential search will conclude by the end of April, Glover said. He added he does not have any other updates on the search as of now.
“I know nothing, literally nothing, about the presidential search. I am not being coy or trying to conceal anything,” Glover said. “That’s the only thing that I have heard.”
This is UF’s third presidential search in four years. The search was first announced in December 2025, and there have been no further updates about potential candidates. However, the university’s next president could make up to $3 million annually, per a unanimous vote by the UF Board of Trustees in February.
Glover also said the College of Arts has narrowed its dean search to three finalists, while the College of Engineering has narrowed its search to eight semifinalists.
Graduate council proposal
Also during the meeting, Tom Kelleher, the associate dean for academic affairs at UF’s graduate school, said UF’s graduate council is looking to establish a new Master of Science degree in AI-driven hospitality.
Kelleher announced the proposal as an information item during Thursday’s meeting. The graduate council unanimously approved the new program Feb. 26.
The 30-credit degree is intended to be taught at the Jacksonville campus, Kelleher said.
The program has a pending start date of Spring 2027, should the Faculty Senate approve it with a vote during its next meeting May 7.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Spring 2025 University Administration reporter. They previously worked as the Santa Fe reporter. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, watching Marvel movies and traveling the country for music festivals.
