Gov. DeSantis says he won’t be involved in UF presidential search

Florida’s Governor said when it comes to the current search for permanent leadership at the University of Florida (UF), he’s leaving it to the school’s Board of Trustees.

“I would say the University of Florida’s board has really, really high quality people. And I think they’ve done a fantastic job. They’ll be really the ones that are going to be leading that effort,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press avail at St. Petersburg College.

The search comes as UF President Ben Sasse abruptly announced plans to step down in order to focus on his wife’s health issues, leaving many of his stated goals for campus reform unfinished, and as former President Kent Fuchs assumed an interim role while the Board begins its national search for a permanent President.

“I was not somebody that was involved, necessarily, in their past selection, that was something that they were and it just, I don’t know how it developed. Someone said you should check this out, but that’s what happened,” DeSantis explained about the selection of Sasse, a former Republican Senator from Nebraska.

“So I’ll let them lead that effort because I have confidence that they’re going to do something that is going to be really, really good,” DeSantis added.

DeSantis alluded to openings at other colleges and universities in his remarks, saying that “there’s an opportunity for a president of UF or any of our institutions because we do have more that are up for grabs and you’re going to see that unfold.”

In addition to the opening at UF, Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic also seek new leadership, as the Florida Phoenix noted recently.

DeSantis was most involved in the transformation of New College in Sarasota, taking it from being “left of the left” to the “Hillsdale of the South” by handpicking a new conservative board that installed former House Speaker and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran as President.