{"id":4559,"date":"2026-06-18T15:04:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4559"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:04:30","slug":"vote-on-ufs-next-president-stalls-after-questions-over-hiring-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4559","title":{"rendered":"Vote on UF\u2019s next president stalls after questions over hiring practices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite getting close to locking in the next leader of Florida\u2019s top university, the school has hit a stumbling block.<\/p>\n

Read more Talking Central Florida: Pulse anniversary, electric-powered air travel<\/a><\/p>\n

The chairperson of the board that oversees Florida\u2019s university system wants to push back a vote to confirm the University of Florida\u2019s president-elect, citing what he called possible governance issues under UF\u2019s board chairperson.<\/p>\n

Alan Levine, chairperson of the Board of Governors, wrote in a letter to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues on Wednesday that he believes a vote on Stuart Bell\u2019s confirmation, and other university matters, should be postponed.<\/p>\n

But he said the postponement shouldn\u2019t be taken as a message about UF\u2019s choice: \u201cTo be clear,\u201d he wrote, \u201cthis action should not be construed by anyone to be a statement about Dr. Bell or his candidacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

While reviewing Bell\u2019s nomination ahead of the vote planned for June 24-25, Levine said he observed that the contract for interim president Donald Landry granted UF board chairperson Mori Hosseini \u201csweeping authority\u201d to approve the hiring and compensation of university personnel. That wouldn\u2019t comply with a Board of Governors rule stating that a chairperson can\u2019t make personnel decisions that are within a president\u2019s purview, Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no provision in our regulations which permits boards to delegate authority to a single board member, including the chair, for financial decision-making, personnel decision-making, contract or procurement decision-making or any other material decisions which are ultimately fiduciary duties of the board of trustees,\u201d Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

Levine did not immediately respond to a phone call and text from the Tampa Bay Times. A UF spokesperson declined to comment. Rodrigues did not immediately respond to an email from the Times.<\/p>\n

Read more Bianchi: After standing up to Texas Tech, Commissioner Brett Yormark and the Big 12 are the new heroes of college athletics<\/a><\/p>\n

Levine wrote that he had asked Board of Governors staff to review governance at each public university to ensure each school is in compliance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The review found that most public Florida universities are compliant and have a clear understanding of the regulation, Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

He said the review also found that \u201csignificant delegations of authority\u201d were granted to Hosseini, which Levine called problematic and inconsistent with best practices. He said he would like to share the results of the preliminary review at next week\u2019s Board of Governors meeting.<\/p>\n

Hosseini has agreed to remove such language from future contracts, Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact the offending language will likely be removed from the president\u2019s contract is rendered meaningless if the university\u2019s governance standards, which are a policy of the board of trustees, remain out of compliance,\u201d Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He wrote that he will not approve placing any agenda item for a university while that university\u2019s board is out of compliance with the regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realize this may create some controversy, but that is not the intent,\u201d Levine wrote. \u201cDr. Bell deserves the opportunity to have his nomination considered on the merits, based upon his established track record and his presentation before the BOG.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Asking Eric: He made me laugh and also cringe. The cringing won out.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite getting close to locking in the next leader of Florida\u2019s top university, the school has hit a stumbling block.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nVote on UF\u2019s next president stalls after questions over hiring practices - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4559\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vote on UF\u2019s next president stalls after questions over hiring practices - 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