An intense two-hour long discussion by the Board of Governors on university governance concerns took the place of what would have been the consideration for Dr. Stuart Bell to be confirmed as the University of Florida’s interim president.
As a result, the board’s nomination and governance committee voted during a June 24 meeting for a third-party expert in university governance to review the governance documents of all universities in the system, delegated authorities and Board of Governors policies.
The lengthy conversation among governing board members – including sharp comments made by UF board chair Morteza “Mori” Hosseini – came after Board of Governors chair Alan Levine said in a letter last week that he would not allow Bell’s confirmation to be placed on the board’s June 24-25 agenda until governance issues at UF are resolved.
UF board members and state officials, including Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office, reacted to Levine’s decision through social media posts and letters, calling it “unfair” and “incorrect.”
“This is the third president UF will be hiring in just over three years, and I want this president, if confirmed, to remain at UF,” Levine said during the board’s nomination and governance committee on June 24 on Florida Atlantic University’s campus in Boca Raton. “I believe they ought to walk into a structure that is supportive of that goal.”
While Levine laid out that governance issues were identified at more than one university, he specifically highlighted a flaw in UF’s processes – noting that presidential contracts at UF have been requiring the president to get approval from the university’s board chair before making appointments and salary decisions.
‘You’re bringing your concern now?’
Levine also said the “extraordinary delegations of authority” are out of compliance with the governing board’s regulation of university board of trustees powers and that he wants to “ensure institutions are in the right posture.”
In addition, he touched on the controversial $2 million annual salary included in UF’s presidential contract for Bell and suggested the Board of Governors’ general counsel work with the university’s general counsel to resolve concerns in the document.
But Hosseini – who’s been UF’s board chair since 2018 and previously chaired the Board of Governors – launched a heated rebuttal to Levine, saying that he’s holding up Bell’s confirmation.
Hosseini, a multimillionaire real estate developer and philanthropist, also pointed out that the governance concerns were included in UF interim President Donald Landry’s contract and questioned why Levine didn’t address them sooner.
“You had a contract for a year and you said you read it, and you’re bringing your concern now?” Hosseini asked Levine. “And in your three-page letter, or whatever you sent to me, you asked me to take this stuff out of the contract, and I said, ‘I agree that we’ll take it out.’ Then, all of a sudden, you’re holding (up) somebody’s confirmation.”
The concerns come after UF’s board voted unanimously June 22 to appoint Dr. Stuart Bell – the former president of the University of Alabama – as interim president, effectively sidestepping a delay in his leadership after Levine indefinitely postponed Bell’s confirmation vote.
“People still thought that I didn’t put him on the agenda because I’m trying to block him from being president,” Levine said, referring to Bell.
“That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Dr. Bell deserves his day in front of us, where he can have a dialogue with this board, and in fact he’s going to … (but) these concerns should be addressed before a new president starts. Otherwise, he will end up in a parallel reporting structure where one board member is making board decisions.”
‘I hope this does not happen again’
Several of the governing board’s members expressed their concerns.
“The letter joined in a couple of issues, which made it – for lack of a better term – go nuclear,” Charles Lydecker said, “and it was in the face of an important vote to help the University of Florida get on a steady path with a permanent president that was not presumed to be controversial.”
Board of Governors member Nick Sinatra, who joined the board earlier this year, said he was “disappointed and deeply frustrated” about the way the concerns were being addressed.
“Mr. Chairman, you used your position unilaterally to set the agenda in a very powerful way,” Sinatra told Levine, “and that’s exactly what you’re accusing others of doing, right? And so, that to me seemed a little odd.”
The board’s nomination and governance committee voted to have State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues pick a third-party expert to review governance processes at all the universities, which the board will then vote on. The intended move is subject to the full board’s approval during a 1 p.m. meeting on June 25.
Also, a special meeting will be held July 1 for the governing board to consider Bell’s confirmation, among other items.
“I just hope that through this process, there’s many lessons that have been learned,” Board of Governors member Ashley Bell Barnett said.
“I hope this does not happen again,” she added. “I truly hope that we can move forward together and not let political throws, hot emotions and misinterpreted information derail all of us and what we’re doing to serve our students, the state of Florida and every institution.”
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Governance fight throws UF presidency into turmoil
Reporting by Tarah Jean, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tarah Jean, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
