Overview
- The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted to name Stuart R. Bell interim president and approved a contract that pays him $2 million a year with a $500,000 termination fee, a move meant to keep leadership in place while the dispute continues.
- Board of Governors Chair Alan Levine barred Bell’s confirmation from this week’s agenda, saying trustees had delegated excessive authority to UF Board Chair Mori Hosseini and that the board could be out of compliance with system rules.
- Trustees pushed back and described Levine’s action as political overreach, and the Florida attorney general’s office sent a letter saying UF is not out of compliance and rejecting Levine’s legal basis for delaying the vote.
- Conservative figures including Sen. Rick Scott and activist Christopher Rufo have criticized the search for lacking transparency and flagged potential conflicts tied to Hosseini’s business interests, while Hosseini and trustees have defended the process and invited outside review.
- The standoff recalls last year’s case when the Board of Governors rejected UF’s pick of Santa Ono and sets up two clear next steps: a promised special BOG meeting to consider Bell and a third-party governance review that both boards discussed.