Board of Governors will have to approve Sasse’s position
By DANIELLE J. BROWN
Florida Phoenix
The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve Nebraska’s U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as the new president to lead Florida’s flagship institution, despite weeks of outcry, questions about the senator’s political views, and an air of secrecy around the search process that led to his candidacy.
The board agreed to provide compensation for Sasse that would be up to but not exceed $1.6 million. (A U.S. Senate salary is under $200,000 a year.) The overarching Board of Governors, which oversees the statewide university system, will have to approve Sasse’s position. That meeting is scheduled next week.
On Tuesday, the crowd in the meeting room in Gainesville was mostly calm, but when Sasse was approved, there were some shouts of disapproval in the audience, according to people who attended the meeting. The remarks included “F— you Mori (Hosseini)” who is the chairman of the board; “This whole process is bulls—,” and “This is a farce.”
The vote came after public testimony from the UF community and a lengthy Q+A session that covered topics from the future of higher education and academic freedom to tenure and the concerns from LGBTQ+ students and staff.
During the Q+A, Sasse said that he would practice “political celibacy” when it comes to partisan issues leading up to his presidency at the university.
“So I would have no activity in partisan politics in any way as I arrive at the University of Florida. I wouldn’t speak at political events. I wouldn’t make political contributions, partisan political contributions. I wouldn’t surrogate for or assist any candidates.”
Before the vote, “I was hesitant about the decision to bring in a politician,” said UF Board of Trustee member Richard Cole. “I had been in school here when we did that twice, and I didn’t think it was probably the right thing at the right time. But you’ve (Sasse) overcome that for me. I hope you will for them. I strongly support this nomination. I think it will do terrific job. I really do.”
But the candidacy of the Republican senator has been contentious from the moment he was announced as the “sole finalist” of UF’s presidential search.
“Once again, political meddling has made UF a laughingstock of the academic community,” said Bryn Taylor, a UF graduate student.