Dr. Ben Sasse is officially the 13th president of the University of Florida.
This ends the long 11 months Gators spent anticipating who would replace Dr. Kent Fuchs, who announced his retirement shortly after ringing in the new year.
It also provides a bitter, but not sweet, ending to a month of protests and debate after his nomination announcement Oct. 6, fueled by a complete lack of transparency from the selection committee.
The most recent protest occurred outside Emerson Alumni Hall on Nov. 1 as the UF Board of Trustees interviewed Sasse in a conference room that students and most faculty were unable to enter.
The Florida Board of Governors met early Wednesday morning in a dingy conference room at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine to discuss a variety of academic measures. The most important moment to the Gators came nearly four hours into the meeting, just after noon.
Mori Hosseini, the head of the Board, who has been Sasse’s most vocal cheerleader, yet again identified the Nebraska senator as a “once in a generation leader.” He gave a presentation that reiterated the search process, based on a summary report that is pretty insightful and worth a read.
Sasse will take office on Feb. 6 on a contract deal worth $1 million a year for the next five years. In 2028, conversation regarding a term extension will begin.
He will be paid biweekly, just like the rest of UF employees, taking home (before taxes) more than $38,000 every other Friday – around $2,700 a day or $113 an hour. For reference, minimum wage at UF and around Florida is $11 an hour.
While his base pay is one million per year, he can receive a 4% raise every year after July 1, 2024, if, and only if, he has achieved all of his short-term goals and is making progress on his long-term goals.
These goals have yet to be defined. They will be outlined by Sasse in collaboration with the 16 colleges and select “principal” units and will be reviewed by the Faculty Senate and approved by the Board of Trustees. When this convening will occur is still to be determined, but it must happen quickly to comply with the Board of Governors’ requirements.
The Faculty Senate passed a resolution of no confidence on the selection process that brought Sasse to Gainesville, with a significant majority vote of 72-16.
This is certainly not the end of the story, however.
There are calls for UF Student Body President Lauren Lemasters’ impeachment following her vote in favor of Sasse, despite demands from her constituents for her to do the opposite.
I’m sure even more discussion will begin in the spring, as the new cohort of senators is brought in and decides on Lemasters’ removal and when Sasse arrives on campus.