While UF’s president is often seen as the face of the university, the Board of Trustees serves as the institution's legal owner and final authority.
The board is tasked with establishing policies for the institution and ensuring the administration is upholding the university’s mission. It is also responsible for conducting a search and selecting a candidate to serve as UF president, who is subject to confirmation by the Florida Board of Governors.
The university’s governing body is composed of 13 trustees. Each Florida governor has the ability to appoint six members. Of the current Trustees, three were appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott and five by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees all 12 institutions in the State University System, chooses five members. The UF Student Body President and the chair of the UF Faculty Senate, who are elected and chosen by the students and faculty respectively, fill the other two seats.
Sarah D. Lynne is the current Faculty Senate chair, and John Brinkman is the Student Body President. Mori Hosseini serves as the chair of the Board, and Rahul Patel serves as the vice chair.
Trustees receive no compensation, but they may request reimbursement for travel and daily expenses. They serve staggered five-year terms, with the exception of the chair and the vice chair, who each serve two-year terms starting on July 1. If the trustees re-elect a member by a vote of two-thirds, that member can then serve for additional consecutive two-year terms. There are no term limits.
Mori Hosseini has been chair of the board since 2018. The board is required to hold a minimum of four regular meetings a year, and a special meeting can be called into order by the request of seven trustees.
The board also holds an annual two-day retreat to give trustees and members of the president’s cabinet an opportunity to hear presentations that hold strategic importance to the university. This year, the board held its retreat Sept. 12 and 13, and it focused on UF Health’s research endeavors, financial status and future vision, according to its agenda acquired via email.
“The BOT retreat is not a business meeting of the Board, which is why no minutes are taken,” UF spokesperson Steve Orlando wrote in an email. “No actions are taken, and no decisions are made. Instead, it is an opportunity for the Board to receive information from specific units regarding their operations, including their achievements and challenges.”
During this year’s retreat, UF Health research faculty showed the board progress in cancer treatment and neurological disease research, Orlando said. He noted that there were discussions about the expansion of UF Health's research in regards to critical human health and said that these discussions included an interest in support for standout researchers.
Although student life was not the focus of the 2024 Board retreat, Orlando said the UF student experience is always at the board’s top of mind.
“In addition to always having a student serving as a trustee, the Board has an active committee that focuses on student success,” Orlando said, “and student success is frequently the subject of discussions and actions during Board meetings.”
After the retreat, the Board held a virtual meeting Oct. 3, where it unanimously approved the motion to use $198 million of the $339 million leftover from the previous year’s balance in the fiscal year 2024-25. $25 million will go toward deferred maintenance on the data science building, $64 million will go toward the College of Education’s New World’s Reading initiative and $109 million will go toward emergency building maintenance.
Contact Annie Wang at awang@alligator.org. Follow her on X @wynwg.
Annie Wang is a sophomore journalism student and the Fall 2024 University Administration Reporter. She previously wrote for the University Desk as a General Assignment reporter. In her spare time, she can be found reading and writing book reviews.
