Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he will not be involved in UF’s search for its next president and wasn’t “involved necessarily” with the selection of Sen. Ben Sasse for the university’s top job.
At a 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
“The University of Florida’s board has really, really high-quality people and I think they’ve done a fantastic job,” DeSantis said. “They’ll really be the ones that are going to be leading that effort.”
DeSantis' remarks come less than a week after UF President Ben Sasse's sudden resignation, which he attributed to his wife's recent epilepsy diagnosis and newly developed memory issues. Kent Fuchs, Sasse’s predecessor, will step in as interim president beginning Aug. 1.
Sasse, a former Nebraska Republican senator, was named the sole finalist for UF’s 13th presidency October 2022 following a monthslong search process conducted largely behind closed doors. POLITICO reported that DeSantis’ chief of staff James Uthmeier guided Sasse through the presidential search process.
DeSantis said Wednesday he wasn’t “involved necessarily” in the search committee’s selection of Sasse.
“I don’t know how it developed,” he said. “Someone said, ‘You should check this out,’ that’s what happened. I’ll let [the trustees] lead that effort because I have confidence they are going to do something that is going to be really, really good.”
The board is expected to launch a search for Sasse’s permanent successor in the coming weeks, although no timeline has been established. Two other state universities, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Florida Atlantic University, are also searching for presidents.
Presidential searches at Florida universities have attracted national attention in recent years for suspected interference from the DeSantis’ administration. Last year, DeSantis fired half of the New College of Florida’s trustees and installed several well-known conservative activists. The new board immediately fired then-President Patricia Okker without cause and installed Richard Corcoran, a DeSantis ally, as interim president.
DeSantis said Wednesday he wants university presidents to lead in “the pursuit of truth in higher education,” “academic rigor” and “high standards.”
“We do not want higher institutions of higher education to turn into propaganda machines like Columbia University,” DeSantis said.
Contact Timothy Wang at twang@alligator.org. Follow him on X @timothyw_g.
Timothy Wang is a junior journalism student and the Fall 2024 Santa Fe College Reporter. He was the University Administration reporter for Summer 2024. His hobbies include gaming or reading manga.
