It’s official: Stuart Bell is the new president of the University of Florida—at least on an interim basis.
Bell is now the third person in the last two years to lead the government temporarily since the former president Ben Sasse stepped down.
The UF Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to hire the former president of the University of Alabama as the university’s next leader despite widespread criticism from conservative leaders who accused him of pushing a diversity, equity and inclusion agenda in his last post. Abnormal appointments—nominating a successful candidate while the hiring process is still ongoing—are both a rebuke of the Florida Board of Governors and an end to efforts to stop the hiring.
Last week, Florida Board of Governors Chairman Alan Levine signaled that he plans to stall the process by blocking Bell’s confirmation from appearing on the agenda this week, despite UF trustees unanimously approving the appointment earlier this month. Levine suggested that powerful UF Board Chairman Mosi Hosseini has amassed too much power in his role and that the board may not be in compliance with state laws. However, the Florida attorney general’s office disputed that claim.
The Board of Governors’ agenda ultimately did not include Bell’s confirmation vote, prompting UF trustees to hold back. Hours after the UF meeting, Levine said in a statement that the two parties had “productive discussions” and the UF board agreed with the third party. a governance specialist who reviews the governance documents of all universities in the system.
Levine also said the Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting “legally immediately” to consider Bell’s appointment.
Hosseini, who defended his reputation during the meeting, suggested working with a third party to resolve compliance issues. He added that it was time to “put aside all our personal plans.” Hosseini also noted that UF has hired outside counsel to provide a legal opinion on compliance concerns.
That law firm—GrayRobinson—has already issued an opinion, which found that the UF board is in compliance with governance standards despite recent concerns, General Counsel Ryan Fuller said. That view, the trustees noted, is consistent with the statement issued by the government attorney. (Fuller also said there was no credibility to allegations that Hosseini, a major real estate developer, used his power as a board member to enrich himself and that it did not warrant an investigation, which Levine called for based on an anonymous letter widely circulated on social media.)
While Hosseini sought to end the rift between the two boards, he also criticized critics on social media who fueled the DEI’s major controversy over Bell’s appointment.
“They are leading even if that is their idea [and] they don’t really know the facts,” he said.
Hosseini returned to that topic later in the meeting, taking another swipe at social media critics while praising the university’s faculty at large and individually for their life-saving research amid a presentation by Provost Joe Glover praising UF’s performance on various metrics.
“All those people on Twitter in the basement, your tweets are not going to change people’s lives,” Hosseini said.
Another trustee, Richard Cole, hit out at Hosseini and pushed back against Levine’s criticism. Cole said the idea that UF trustees have failed in their oversight role is “insulting” and said the presence of a permanent president is critical to fundraising. Several others also supported Hosseini in comments at the meeting and warned that the refusal of the Board of Governors to consider the UF agenda items amid legal compliance concerns will ultimately harm the university, including increasing the cost of construction projects awaiting approval.
As the tournament approaches, the UF board is looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s unsuccessful search. Florida was on the verge of hiring former University of Michigan President Santa Ono as its next leader last summer, but the Board of Governors rejected him due to concerns about his prior commitment to DEI. Like Bell, Ono sought to distance himself from DEI, but was unsuccessful.
Bell will officially step into his role as interim president on July 1. His contract will run until June 30, 2027, or until he is named permanent president and signs a new agreement with the university.
Bell, who was absent from Monday’s meeting, will replace UF interim President Donald Landry, who is set to make $2 million in non-permanent employment due to an unusual provision in his one-year contract that expires at the end of August.
