The University of Florida Board of Trustees recently named a 15-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee that will be tasked with finding the university’s 14^th president. 

“With the Presidential Search Advisory Committee now in place, we are moving forward with a focused and thoughtful search to identify the leader best suited to guide the University of Florida to even greater national and global prominence,” Board Chair Mori Hosseini said in a press release.  

The panel brings together representatives from across the UF and State University System community, the release said, consisting of trustees, faculty, students, alumni, administrators and external stakeholders. 

Rahul Patel, a UF alumnus and vice chair of the Board of Trustees, has been appointed the chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. He also chairs the board’s committees on Academic, Faculty and Student Success, and Public Relations and Strategic Communications. 

The other 14 members who will serve on the search committee include: 

• Charles Allison, UF alumnus and IFAS representative  

• Douglas Band, UF alumnus  

• David Brandon, UF trustee 

• Rebecca Brock, president, UF Alumni Association  

• Richard Cole, UF trustee 

• Blake Cox, UF student representative, UF student body president  

• Dr. Luisa Amelia Dempere, UF faculty representative, Faculty Senate Chair and director of the Nanoscale Research Facility  

• Dr. Kelly Foote, UF faculty representative, professor and co-director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases  

• Ed Haddock, Florida Board of Governors member 

• Dr. Shakira Henderson, dean and chief administrative officer, College of Nursing 

• Daniel O’Keefe, UF trustee 

• Dr. Li-Ming Su, the Pete and Carolyn Newsome Professor of Urologic Oncology and chair, Department of Urology  

• Karen Unger, UF alumnus 

• Bill Walton, UF friend and donor 

According to the release, “the committee will identify and recommend a select group of highly qualified candidates to the UF Board of Trustees.” The board will interview finalists and elect UF’s next president.  

The candidate who is elected to the position will need to be confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors.  

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

In August, 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.  

At a Dec. 4 Board of Trustees meeting, Hosseini said Landry, who started in his role on Sept. 1, plans to apply for the permanent president position.  

Landry’s current contract includes a $2 million base salary, with a potential $500,000 bonus if he meets performance goals. As part of his agreement, if he is not selected as UF’s permanent president when his contract ends on Aug. 31, 2026, he could also earn up to $2 million in severance through Aug. 31, 2027.  

According to the release, more information on the search committee’s charge and member biographies will be provided on a “dedicated presidential search website, which will go live in the coming weeks.” 

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.