University of Florida leaders held a second virtual listening session on Tuesday, where members of the public had the chance to offer input on the qualities and criteria for the university’s next president. 

The session, which lasted roughly 20 minutes, was led by Rahul Patel, a UF alumnus, vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of the 15-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee that was established to lead the search for UF’s next president.  

Patel was joined in the listening session by other members of the search committee, as well as Victoria “Vickie” Antolini, who is with the global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry. Patel said Antolini and her team “will serve as the lead outside consultants” in the presidential search, working closely with the search committee “in all aspects of supporting the search.” 

During the session, the public had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed qualifications and criteria that the Board of Trustees approved less than a year ago. This was after the board received “extensive input from faculty, staff, students, alumni and donors, administrators and community members gathered through 10 listening sessions and an online survey,” according to the UF Presidential Search website. 

“Given how recently that document was created and the level of feedback and thought that went into it, we have asked the UF community to review that document,” Patel said in the session.  

The qualifications document, Patel said, falls into four categories: academic accomplishments, leadership experience, collaboration with stakeholders and operational acumen. 

Patel went through each category one-by-one, giving the public a chance to offer input on any of the qualifications or criteria listed under that category.  

In terms of academic accomplishments, one person, who was not identified, said the next president doesn’t have to be someone with an extensive academic background. He noted that this person should be someone “who cares a lot about the university and our community and the direction we’re going.”  

Another person, who was not identified, shared a similar viewpoint, saying he feels it’s important that the next president be familiar with the UF campus. 

“If they’re familiar with our campus, and they’ve seen it, they see the changes that have happened, that’s a positive,” he said.  

Regarding leadership, a person who was identified as “Raphael” talked about the importance of student safety and how the next president should be able to work closely with local leaders to ensure that the safety of students is a priority. He added that this is not just on campus, but also where the students live. 

Jessica Watson, a UF alum, touched on the leadership and collaboration categories. She noted that the next president should have some expertise in protecting and developing UF’s reputation. 

Patel thanked the members of the public who offered feedback. He said the comments would be shared with the search committee members not in attendance.  

There will be one more virtual listening session that will take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. A link to the session can be found at https://www.presidentsearch.ufl.edu/the-search/listening-sessions/. 

Community members can also provide input via an online stakeholder survey. The survey is available now and will remain open through Friday.  

To access the survey, visit https://kornferry.surveymonkey.com/r/KFFTSFK. 

Patel said the search committee will consolidate the input it received in Tuesday’s listening session, as well as the feedback from the other sessions and the survey. He added that the final, revised qualifications and criteria document will get approval from the Board of Trustees.  

UF’s last presidential nominee – Dr. Santa Ono – was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors in a 10-6 vote in June 2025. Ono, who was serving as the president of the University of Michigan at the time, was chosen as the sole finalist for UF’s president position in May 2025 following a months-long search and received unanimous support from the Board of Trustees.  

In August 2025, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Donald Landry, then-Columbia University professor, as UF’s next interim president. He succeeded Kent Fuchs, who had been serving in an interim capacity following former UF President Ben Sasse’s resignation in July 2024.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.