During a virtual meeting on Monday evening, the University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint UF’s president-elect, Dr. Stuart Bell, as interim president, effective July 1.
“It is a tremendous privilege to serve the University of Florida,” Bell said in a statement. “UF is one of the nation’s leading public universities, and I look forward to working alongside faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters to build on that strong foundation and continue advancing the university’s mission.”
Bell would take over for current interim UF President Donald Landry, appointed last year after the nomination to make Dr. Santa Ono the next university president fell short before the Florida Board of Governors (BOG).
That contract with Landry raised concerns from other Florida officials, including questions from U.S. Senator Rick Scott, because of a stipulation giving $2 million if Landry were not selected as the next permanent president.
Bell was scheduled to go before the BOG this Thursday for final confirmation, but the vote was delayed.
Multiple media outlets reported that Alan Levine, chairman of the BOG, sent a letter to Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, on June 17, saying that he would not approve placing any item on the agenda for a university while that institution’s board is out of compliance with state regulations. He added this would impact the vote on Bell and the reappointment of Florida Gulf Coast University’s (FGCU) president, Dr. Aysegul Timur.
“To be clear, this action should not be construed by anyone to be a statement about Dr. Bell or his candidacy,” Levine wrote in the letter.
Rather, Levine outlined governance concerns involving the Board of Trustees and its delegation of authority. Levine noted that the contract for Landry had granted Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini “sweeping authority to approve the hiring and compensation of university personnel, from the provost down to mid and lower-level unit academic and administrative unit leaders.”
Levine called this an “unusual delegation of authority to a board member” that appeared to be “non-compliant” with state regulations.
While he said Hosseini agreed to remove this language from future contracts, Levine said he learned through a preliminary review of governance at all 12 of Florida’s universities “that elements of this language, and significant other delegations of authority,” have been granted to Hosseini that involve financial, contractual and other delegations he feels are “problematic” and “inconsistent with best practices and governance.”
Levine asked the BOG inspector to investigate any “credible allegation” related to financial transactions and real estate at UF that could help the BOG monitor governance.
In a statement last week, Rahul Patel, chair of UF’s presidential search committee and vice chair of the Board of Trustees, said the decision to postpone the confirmation vote was “unfair to Dr. Bell and harmful to the University of Florida and the students, faculty, almuni, and supporters we are entrusted to serve.”
Hosseini addressed the allegations in Levine’s letter during Monday’s meeting.
“Mori Hosseini has not done anything wrong,” Hosseini said. “If I made a mistake, we all made a mistake. But as far as I know, I have made no mistake. I have done everything that I know within the regulation, within the right.”
During the meeting, Patel also referenced a opinion from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office, which disputed Levine’s allegations and said that the Board of Trustees “is not out of compliance with BOG Regulation 1.001.”
Patel also mentioned another opinion from Florida law firm Gray Robinson that confirmed the appropriateness of UF’s governance standards.
Hosseini referenced a concern by the BOG regarding governance with several State University System institutions. He proposed that UF and the BOG select an independent third-party expert to review governance documents of all state universities, delegated authorities and BOG polices.
“We want the best practices. We want to have the right governance,” Hosseini said.
In a statement on Monday night, Levine said the following regarding the university governance.
“After productive discussions between the BOG and UF, the University of Florida Board of Trustees agreed it would be appropriate for a third-party expert in University governance to be engaged to review the governance documents of all universities in the System, all delegated authorities and BOG policies. This expert will recommend best practices. The leadership of the UF Board of Trustees stated unequivocally it will comply with any BOG regulations on governance standards that are enacted. I agree with this approach. Ultimately, our mutual goal should be to be an example of best practice in university governance. Similarly, I will encourage the Board of Governors to adopt any beneficial policy changes that enhance our ability to ensure Florida’s universities are an example of best practices.
“In light of this, I have directed the corporate secretary of the Board of Governors to schedule a special meeting, as soon as legally possible, for the Board to consider the nomination of Dr. Stuart Bell as President of the University of Florida, the full-year extension of FGCU President Timur’s contract, and the request from the University of Florida for approval of their housing plan. I look forward to positive results from our mutual work.”
Bell’s approved interim contract will run through June 30, 2027, and includes an annual base salary of $2 million. Hosseini said if the BOG confirms Bell’s presidency, then the interim nature would automatically go away.
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 on May 18. He also received unanimous approval from the Board of Trustees on June 10. The last five presidents-elect for UF were selected unanimously by the UF Board of Trustees.
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