Staff Reports
The University of Florida announced on Tuesday that interim provost Dr. J. Scott Angle will now assume the position permanently.
According to a UF press release, Angle, who served as UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, and as the administrative head of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) since July 2020, served as the interim provost since the end of July.
Angle succeeds Dr. Joseph Glover, who served as UF’s provost for 15 years and stepped down from the position in July 2023.
“Many of the folks on our excellent search committee recommended that we take the ‘interim’ out of his title. Effective immediately, we’re doing just that,” said UF President Ben Sasse in the press release. “We had some extraordinary semi-finalists and finalists, but we decided not to make an offer when Scott is doing such excellent work. Scott has earned the trust and admiration of his colleagues in each of UF’s 16 colleges. We are grateful for his servant leadership and his commitment to this land-grant university’s world-changing mission.”
Sasse added that the search committee co-chairs, Dr. Saby Mitra and Dr. Duane Mitchell, will continue to serve as advisors on UF’s academic excellence initiative, helping advise Sasse and Angle on important reforms within the Provost’s Office.
“Over the last five months, Scott has broken down bureaucratic silos. This is critical work that enables the provost to focus on the core mission of serving as UF’s chief academic officer,” Sasse said. “Reaching our 10x10x10 objective – 10 top 10 programs in the next 10 years – depends on a new structure that allows the provost to execute our bold mission rather than exclusively tending to the operations of every bureaucratic process. Whether it’s harmonizing our academic budget with the CFO’s office or leveraging data to improve student outcomes, we’ve got a lot of work ahead, and Scott has rolled up his sleeves.”
According to the release, “Angle’s 40-plus-year career in agricultural science, during which he has worked toward ending world hunger and reducing human suffering, includes decades of leadership experience as dean of a college of agriculture, CEO of a global nonprofit organization, and director of the research funding arm of the United States Department of Agriculture.”
He has served as UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, and as the administrative head of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) since July 2020. Dr. Rob Gilbert will continue to lead UF/IFAS in those roles.
“Serving UF is a great honor, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to continue this important work,” said Angle in the press release. “We are going to accomplish extraordinary things together.”
Angle holds a bachelor of science degree in agronomy, and a master of science degree in soil microbiology and chemistry, from the University of Maryland. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri with an emphasis on soil microbiology, and he is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dr. Glover was more than the Provost, he practically ran UF while Kent spent his time glad handing to raise money and taking selfies with the students. Maybe now that there is a proper president in Ben Sasse, the new Provost will be just that, the Provost and not Provost + carrying water for the President. Congratulations to both Ben Sasse and Dr.Angle…and Go Gators.