The Presidential Search Advisory Committee named Santa J. Ono the lone finalist for UF’s 14th president in an announcement Sunday afternoon.
Newly released minutes of a Feb. 25 committee meeting show trustees are willing to offer their pick to lead the state’s flagship institution an annual pay as much as $1 million more than what they offered former President Ben Sasse.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis hand-picked Joseph Ladapo as Florida’s surgeon general in September 2021, the role came with a second high-profile appointment: a tenured faculty position at UF. But Ladapo’s colleagues still aren’t sure what he does to earn his salary at the university. Some say not much.
The UF Board of Trustees unanimously approved an unspecified compensation package for UF’s next president Tuesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he won’t get involved in UF’s presidential search. But under a recent rule, the state university system’s Board of Governors, seven of whom are DeSantis appointees, must approve UF’s presidential finalists before they’re publicly announced.
A preliminary report from the Florida Auditor General found UF failed to prevent former President Ben Sasse from leveraging his executive privileges to inappropriately spend university funds.
Former UF President Ben Sasse stepped down unexpectedly in July, citing concerns about his wife’s health. But nine current and former administrators and top donors say there was more to the story.
Former UF provost Joe Glover is returning to his post after less than a month at University of Arizona — the first major shakeup in university leadership since former UF President Kent Fuchs returned to his post Aug. 1.
At a Wednesday press conference at St. Petersburg College, DeSantis said he would leave the decision to the UF Board of Trustees, of which six members out of 13 are appointed by the governor. Mori Hosseini, who has ties to DeSantis, has chaired the board since 2018.
Five days after UF President Ben Sasse abruptly resigned, the university’s board of trustees is set to vote on whether his predecessor Kent Fuchs will take over in the interim. If confirmed, Fuchs will take office Aug. 1.
Five days after UF President Ben Sasse’s abrupt resignation, the university said his predecessor Kent Fuchs has agreed to take over in the interim effective Aug. 1. The UF Board of Trustees will officially vote on Fuchs’ interim presidency at a 5:30 p.m special meeting Tuesday, according to a university-wide email.
No details were included in the meeting’s agenda, but the board is expected to name an interim president before Sasse steps down July 31.
Danaya Wright had plans and papers to write. After chairing the UF Faculty Senate during Ben Sasse’s tumultuous first year at the university’s helm, she was behind on her duties as a law professor. The sun was low as she drove home from campus, moments before she received the call that changed everything: “Sasse is resigning.”
Following UF President Ben Sasse's abrupt resignation from the university's top post, several top state politicians took to Twitter to offer their condolences to Sasse and honor his leadership's legacy.
Sasse, who has led the university since February 2023, announced his resignation in a UF news release Thursday night. He leaves office effective July 31.
The UF Faculty Senate held its first-ever summer meeting Friday over Zoom to vote on approval of two degree proposals for the Hamilton Center, the university's state-mandated civic center which has been fast-tracked to become a college by 2025.
Tulane University Vice President Randy Philipson will replace Dave Kratzer as UF’s vice president for construction and facilities beginning July 22, according to a news release.
Within the past year, UF has filled positions from the shifting vacancies that followed after Ben Sasse was announced as UF’s new president in February 2023.
A UF employee who coached a university-affiliated water polo club is no longer working at the university after he was accused of being “overly touchy” and sharing a bed with student athletes.
After losing his top pick for a postdoctoral assistantship, UF professor Zhengfei Guan is suing top state officials to block a law restricting international student employment at Florida public universities.
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