Overview
- UF’s presidential search committee unanimously backed Stuart Bell on Monday, sending his sole-finalist nomination to the Board of Trustees.
- Any appointment would also need sign-off from the Florida Board of Governors, which rejected a prior UF pick, Santa Ono, in 2025.
- Bell led the University of Alabama for a decade, grew enrollment, improved graduation and retention, expanded facilities, and maintained top-tier R1 research status.
- He also held senior roles in the Southeastern Conference, working with NCAA leaders and federal officials on college sports policy during a time of NIL and legal change.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voiced public support for Bell’s selection, and reporting notes interim president Donald Landry is due about $2 million because he was not chosen.