The University of Florida has a permanent president again.
The Florida Board of Governors approved former University of Alabama President Stuart Bell as president of the university Wednesday, ending two years of interim leadership.
During a two-hour special meeting in Tampa, Bell laid out his vision for the university while facing questions from governors about his experience responding to COVID, allowing free speech on campus, and about diversity, equity, and inclusion, the topic that tanked the last presidential finalist.
Governor Aubrey Edge cast the sole vote against Bell. He asked Bell about his record at Alabama and about his past comments about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“Is DEI underground, in your opinion, or where do you stand exactly?” Edge asked, referring to previous comments made by Gov. Ron DeSantis that Florida is where “woke goes to die.”
Bell responded that he closed DEI offices at University of Alabama and repeated his previous claim that anti-DEI legislators in Alabama approved his response to legislation eliminating DEI at state universities.
Bell opened the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Alabama in 2017, according to media reports, and ordered it shut in 2024 to comply with legislation banning any state or local municipality support for DEI.
One of the first comments Bell made during the meeting reaffirmed his commitment to not endorse policies aligned with diversity, equity, and inclusion. “I am not coming to Florida to bring DEI or woke back to the state of Florida,” Bell said.
A couple of questions from governors revolved around American exceptionalism and America’s 250th anniversary. Bell responded by touting the Hamilton School, UF’s classical and civic education arm.
“Students will know I love this country. If you ask my kids, they know how much I love this country,” Bell said.
Bell’s contract expires in June 2031 and provides a base salary of $2 million with a 3% increase each year.
He will be eligible for 15% of his salary in performance and retention bonuses for years two through five of his contract.
Bell has a place waiting for him in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the end of his service.
The contract allows Bell to be paid 50% of his base salary for two semesters following his termination or, at the end of his contract, to take “professional development leave” before returning to faculty.
Goodbye, Landry
Interim President Donald Landry’s last day as president was Tuesday.
In a letter from UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini to Landry, Hosseini states that Landry will be paid the severance amount prescribed by his contract, $2 million, as well as a $500,000 bonus provided by the contract.
Hosseini said in the letter that Landry’s dual service as senior vice president for health affairs during his time in Gainesville “saved the University money by not having to fill a position that has a compensation and benefits package worth approximately $2 million annually.”
Landry will still serve as a volunteer special adviser to UF Health for one year, ending next summer.
The UF trustees have a meeting scheduled Thursday for a purpose stated as “leadership transition.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
