Bell is supposed to go before the Florida Board of Governors this week for a confirmation vote.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images | DenisTangneyJr/iStock/Getty Images
A power struggle between boards is threatening to upend the University of Florida’s presidential search.
Earlier this month, the UF Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire Stuart Bell as president, despite an online campaign to tank his candidacy over concerns about his support of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts when he was president of the University of Alabama from 2015 to 2025. Trustees dismissed the criticism, and Bell vowed he wouldn’t “bring DEI or woke back.”
His appointment seemed poised to move ahead despite concerns Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, raised last month about the search process, alleging it lacked transparency and public input. Scott also flagged the highly unusual agreement UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini struck with interim president Donald Landry, who will receive a $2 million payout if he doesn’t get the permanent position.
