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.
In a lengthy, heartfelt post to X late Thursday, Sasse attributed his resignation to his wife's recent epilepsy diagnosis and newly developed memory issues. Sasse said, "Gator Nation needs a president who can keep charging hard, Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights."
Sasse is set to remain at UF in an advisory role as President Emeritus and will continue to teach classes as a professor, according to a separate UF news release.
"I’m going to remain involved in serving our UF students — past, present, and future — but I need to walk arm-in-arm with my dearest friend more hours of every week,” Sasse wrote.
Here's what top Florida and U.S. politicians, education officials and political commentators are saying about the unexpected resignation.