{"id":5017,"date":"2026-06-23T04:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5017"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:07:30","slug":"uf-board-of-trustees-appoints-stuart-bell-as-interim-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5017","title":{"rendered":"UF Board of Trustees appoints Stuart Bell as interim president"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TALLAHASSEE \u2014 The University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Dr. Stuart Bell as interim president Monday, but not without criticizing Alan Levine, chairman of the State University System Board of Governors, for delaying the confirmation process.<\/p>\n

Read more Goals are being scored at a record pace at the World Cup. The ball is one reason for the surge<\/a><\/p>\n

Without mentioning Levine by name, trustees said his push to postpone Bell\u2019s confirmation caused \u201ccollateral damage\u201d \u00a0that was \u201cfrustrating\u201d and \u201cdisappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

UF\u2019s Board of Trustees chairman Mori Hosseini also directly responded to critics, who have alleged Hosseini has engaged in improper business and development deals, and said he could \u201cnot be bought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell, who\u2019s first official day will be July 1, said it was a \u201ctremendous privilege\u201d to be named interim president.<\/p>\n

\u201cUF is one of the nation\u2019s 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\u2019s mission,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Last week, Rahul Patel, vice chair of the board of trustees, said the board would meet Monday to confirm Bell as interim president, stating, \u201cThe University of Florida cannot afford to remain in limbo while these matters are addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those matters include \u201cgovernance issues,\u201d Levine said, who was concerned about the \u201csweeping authority\u201d granted to Hosseini by the UF board, and would not put any item on the agenda from a university that is \u201cout of compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

UF\u2019s board has already unanimously approved Bell on a permanent basis, but the BOG must still meet and confirm their pick.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In a letter to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, Levine said the BOG would not confirm Bell as the 14th UF president or follow through on any university issue until the \u201cgovernance issues\u201d were resolved.<\/p>\n

In response to Levine\u2019s allegations, at Mondays\u2019 meeting, UF trustees said they hired the GrayRobinson law firm to review the board\u2019s governance standards, who found them \u201cproper.\u201d<\/p>\n

The review also criticized Levine\u2019s letter, saying it evolved \u201cout of a disturbing, concerted and excessively hostile social media campaign against the University of Florida\u2019s presidential search finalist. Chair Hosseini supports the finalist, and considering their source and timing, the allegations may be viewed as an attempt to stop the search process from moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after the meeting adjourned, Levine issued a statement, saying he would schedule a meeting \u201cas soon as legally possible,\u201d to consider Bell for president, as the governance issues were now \u201cresolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Kansas football player seeking UCF transfer suing NCAA for eligibility<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to positive results from our mutual work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Attorney General\u2019s office also issued an opinion late Friday, one day after news of Levine\u2019s letter published, stating the BOG has no legal basis to delay the confirmation vote for Bell as president of the University of Florida.<\/p>\n

In the letter, addressed to BOG member Nicholas Sinatra and written on behalf of Attorney General James Uthmeier, general counsel Greg Slemp stated the university\u2019s board is \u201cnot out of compliance,\u201d and Levine is \u201cincorrect to withhold consideration of the Trustees\u2019 nomination on that basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his letter to Rodrigues, Levine alleged Hosseini has been granted \u201cfinancial, contractual and other delegations that I feel are problematic, inconsistent with best practices in governance,\u201d and run afoul of state regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne board member may not substitute his or her judgment for that of the other duly appointed board members,\u201d Levine wrote.<\/p>\n

Uthmeier\u2019s office rejected Levine\u2019s claims and said Florida law \u201cprovides broad discretion for a university board of trustees to require university presidents to perform various duties, including obtaining approval of the board chair for the hiring and compensation of university personnel or for any other lawful purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bell\u2019s contract, \u201cIf Dr. Bell\u2019s service as Interim President concludes on June 30, 2027, and he is not selected as UF\u2019s permanent president, UF shall pay him twenty weeks of severance in the amount of the Annual Base Salary.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an annual salary of $2 million, that would be about $770,000 if he doesn\u2019t get the job.<\/p>\n

The BOG previously voted down UF\u2019s choice for president, Santa Ono, in 2025, after concerns over Ono\u2019s avowed reversal on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which he embraced at University of Michigan when he was president.<\/p>\n

Bell has been criticized for the same thing by online activists, who say he backed DEI initiatives during his decade-long tenure as president of the University of Alabama.<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Uthmeier, though have backed Bell on social media.<\/p>\n

At the board meeting, Rahul said the past few weeks have created uncertainty in the presidential search process, but Bell has \u201cremained patient,\u201d and \u201cincredibly professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven everything that has gone on, it would have been really easy for Dr. Bell to say \u2018You know what? This isn\u2019t worth it. I\u2019ve had a great career, I\u2019ve got other opportunities, I don\u2019t need to put myself or my family through this,\u2019\u201d Patel said. \u201cBut he didn\u2019t. He\u2019s continued to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Travel agent must repay nearly $650K stolen from Florida students in study abroad scam<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Dr. Stuart Bell as interim president Monday, but not without criticizing the delay of the confirmation process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUF Board of Trustees appoints Stuart Bell as interim president - 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=5017\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UF Board of Trustees appoints Stuart Bell as interim president - 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