- Dr. Stuart Bell, former University of Alabama president, is the sole finalist for University of Florida's 14th president after a months-long search process.
- Bell emphasized engaging UF's community in strategic planning and highlighted the importance of improving university rankings and health academic centers.
The lone finalist to be the University of Florida’s next president, Dr. Stuart Bell, visited campus on Wednesday to speak with students, faculty and staff in a series of open forums.
On May 18, the UF Presidential Search Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Bell, former president of the University of Alabama, as the sole finalist to become UF’s 14th president. This was after a months-long search process that kicked off in December 2025 and included a series of listening sessions in the winter and an online stakeholder survey to gather input from the community.
The search marked UF’s second presidential search in less than a year after its last sole finalist for the position – Dr. Santa Ono – was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors in a 10-6 vote in June 2025. Ono had received unanimous approval from the UF Board of Trustees in May 2025.
Bell spent a decade serving as Alabama’s president (2015 to 2025). Before this, he worked as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University (LSU) and as dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas.
He was also president of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) from 2023 to 2025 and served on its Executive Committee from 2021 to 2025. Bell earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and his bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University.
Three forums were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Emerson Alumni Hall. This included a student forum, faculty forum and administrator and staff forum.
Most of the chairs in the Emerson Alumni Hall President’s Ballroom were occupied during the faculty forum, which lasted roughly 40 minutes and drew attendance from other members of the UF community.
In that nearly 40-minute time frame, Bell answered several questions that were submitted by faculty and consolidated ahead of time. Rahul Patel, vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee, took turns asking questions to Bell with UF Faculty Senate Chair, Dr. Luisa Amelia Dempere.
Bell was asked early in the forum to discuss his broader vision for UF and how he would go about creating a strategic plan to accomplish that vision.
He noted the importance of engaging the entire community in the planning process, including students, faculty and staff.
“The competition at the top is high, and it’s going to take every one of us to discover that plan, to believe in that plan [and] to work in that plan,” Bell said.
Bell was also asked about his thoughts on university rankings. Patel acknowledged that while Bell was president at Alabama, the university’s U.S. News & World Report ranking dropped.
In the 2015 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings – the same year that Bell became president at the university – Alabama tied for 88th among national universities, according to AL.com. In the 2026 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings, Alabama ranked 169th in national universities, according to ABC 33/40.
Bell said rankings are crucial, adding they’re important to states, students and families. He emphasized the need to move rankings and productivity at UF for the university to jump from great to No. 1.
“You’ve got to move all of those things from your facilities that you have to the success of the students to the success of us as a faculty, and our research, our scholarly publications. All of those things are important,” Bell said. “And that’s what we focused on, certainly at the University of Alabama, and we’ll continue to focus on those [things] here at the University of Florida.”
Bell was also asked how he would work with leadership at UF Health to make sure academic medical centers survive and thrive amidst challenges with funding reductions and competition.
“I believe that our health academic medical centers are the nucleus of research, and we must remain there,” he said. “At the same time, we must be able to translate that in a clinical setting to make sure that we are serving the people of Florida that count on us for that health care.”
In a May 22 announcement on UF’s president search website, Patel said the Board of Trustees will interview Bell during a meeting at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, at Emerson Alumni Hall.
If Bell is selected by the Board of Trustees, he will still need to be confirmed by the Board of Governors.
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.