After more than nine years with UF, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Charlie Lane was fired by UF President Ben Sasse — his first major leadership change since taking office in February.
A UF employee with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Alligator that Sasse fired Lane and announced the move in an internal email Friday evening.
The Gainesville Sun reported on Friday that in his email, Sasse wrote UF vice president for business affairs Curtis Reynolds and associate vice president for enterprise projects Colt Little will share the responsibilities of Lane’s office in the interim, while the university performs a strategic review in the national search for a replacement.
The Sun also reported that email gave no reason for Lane's firing.
Lane held a cabinet position, meaning Sasse can appoint his replacement directly. Sasse will also be able to name the successor to senior VP and chief financial officer Chris Cowen, who announced he will leave UF in July.
UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldan did not respond to an email request for comment as of Friday night.
Lane has been with UF since 2014. He oversaw university-wide functions, including information technology, human resources, the office of internal audit, business affairs and real estate.
Before UF, Lane was the University of Southern California associate senior vice president for administration for 23 years.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Claire at cgrunewald@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @grunewaldclaire.
Claire Grunewald is a fourth-year journalism major and the Spring 2024 Editor In Chief of The Alligator. In her free time, she likes to go to concerts and attempt to meet her Goodreads reading goal.
