The University of Florida has hit another snag in the push to install a new president.
Even though the school’s board unanimously approved Stuart Bell as the school’s 14th president, the chairman of the Board of Governors said Bell would not be confirmed until “governance issues” at UF are reviewed.
In a May 20 letter to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, BOG Chairman Alan Levine wrote he was concerned about the “sweeping authority” granted to UF’s Board of Trustees chairman Mori Hosseini and therefore would not put any item on the agenda from a university that is “out of compliance.”
Levine alleged Hosseini has been granted “financial, contractual and other delegations that I feel are problematic, inconsistent with best practices in governance,” and run afoul of state regulations.
“One board member may not substitute his or her judgment for that of the other duly appointed board members,” Levine wrote.
Now, UF’s board plans to name Bell as an interim president until Levine’s concerns are resolved, said Rahul Patel, vice chair of UF’s board.
In a statement the university posted on X, Patel called Levine’s move “unfair” and that his candidacy is being dragged into a dispute “unrelated to his candidacy.”
“Equally concerning is that a decision of this magnitude has been made unilaterally rather than by the full Board of Governors,” Patel said. “Delaying consideration of the unanimously approved president designate of Florida’s flagship university is a consequential action that should be decided by the Board of Governors as a body, not by a single individual acting alone.”
UF’s board will meet on Monday so the university can “continue to move forward while the issue is addressed,” Patel added.
Last week, Bell was confirmed as the next UF president after a volatile two-year search. The university’s first choice in 2025, former University of Michigan president Santa Ono, was approved by UF’s board of trustees, but was later rejected by the BOG with a 10-6 vote.
BOG members questioned Ono’s avowed reversal on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which he embraced at UM when he was president.
Bell has been criticized for the same thing by online activists, who say he backed DEI initiatives during his 10-year tenure as president of the University of Alabama.
In his meeting with UF leaders last week, Bell assured the board he would not enact DEI programs as president.
“Let me be clear. I am not coming to Florida to bring DEI or ‘woke’ back, period,” he said.
Before serving as president of the University of Alabama, Bell served as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and as dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas.
