The University of Florida is trying again to win approval for an interim president.
The State University System Board of Governors, which oversees public universities across Florida, meets Thursday in Sarasota to vote whether to confirm Donald Landry as UF’s new top administrator for at least the next year.
Landry, the chairman of the Columbia University Department of Medicine, was widely expected to win the board’s approval. The same board rejected an earlier candidate, Santa Ono, to become UF’s next full-time president after raising questions about Ono’s role supporting diversity programs when he was president at the University of Michigan.
Landry declined to comment Tuesday through a university spokeswoman to discuss the upcoming vote.
The portion of the meeting focused on Landry was expected to begin about 3 p.m.
Landry’s new employment contract includes a $2 million base salary plus a bonus of up to $500,000. If Landry were not selected as UF’s permanent president, he would be paid an additional $2 million severance after August next year.
Landry succeeds former President Ben Sasse, who abruptly resigned in July 2024 after less than two years in office amid his wife’s worsening health and his own escalating tensions with Mori Hosseini, UF’s longtime board chairman and a close ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Former UF President Kent Fuchs served as an interim president for 13 months after Sasse resigned.
Landry is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard universities. DeSantis described Landry on social media as a strong candidate with a stellar record.
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