University of Florida search committee selects Sen. Ben Sasse as sole finalist for UF president

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a favorite among conservatives and a known Trump critic, will likely become the next president of the University of Florida, which he called “the most interesting university in America right now” in a UF press release issued Thursday afternoon.

The university announced that its presidential search committee unanimously voted to select Sasse, 50, as the sole finalist to lead one of the largest and the highest-ranked public university in the state.

FIU’s only candidate for president: Interim president who had vowed not to stay on for long

The current UF president, Kent Fuchs, announced in early January he will step down by the end of 2022, his eighth year in the position. The news came after a semester marred by contentious relations between him and the faculty over academic freedom and his handling of COVID-19, although UF said at the time his decision to leave the presidency preceded these issues.

In the UF release Thursday, Sasse said in part that “the caliber of teaching and research at UF is unmistakable, carried out through the core principles of shared governance and academic freedom.”

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to work alongside one of the nation’s most outstanding faculties,” he added.

What’s next in the search process?

The next step in the process is for the UF Board of Trustees to consider Sasse before deciding whether to pick him as the 13th president of the university. If the board of trustees chooses him, the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, would need to confirm the appointment.

UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini said the board will meet at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 in Emerson Hall, home to the Alumni Association, to discuss the matter.

“The University of Florida is one of the nation’s top five public universities for the second year in a row, but we have a lot more to build,” Hosseini said. “We need a transformational leader to guide our strategic planning to prioritize among the spectacular opportunities before us in this time of growth and change.”

Before the Board of Trustees meeting, Sasse will visit the Gainesville campus Monday to talk to students, faculty and staff. Those interested can submit a question using this online survey. After getting to know Sasse, they will be able to submit feedback through the UF Presidential Search website.

Amanda Phalin, the current chair of the UF Faculty Senate and a business professor, tweeted on her personal account Thursday that she’s “thrilled” to welcome Sasse next week.

“This is a historic moment that calls for a unique, transformational leader, & that is who I think our Search Committee has found,” she wrote.

Who is Ben Sasse?

The UF Presidential Search Committee initially recruited “more than 700 leaders within and outside of higher education,” according to the Thursday release, and then focused on a dozen, including nine sitting presidents at major research universities.

The six-month search ultimately led the 15 members of the committee to pick Sasse, who’s served as the junior senator from Nebraska since 2015. He’s now in the second year of his second term in the U.S. Senate.

Earlier this year, Sasse stood out as one of the few GOP senators who crossed party lines to vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial.

Before turning to politics, Sasse spent five years as the president of Midland University, a private Lutheran college in his hometown of Fremont, Nebraska. He has also taught at Yale University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Sasse got a bachelor’s in government from Harvard University, a master’s in liberal studies from St. John’s College, and two master’s and a doctorate in philosophy from Yale University.

Ben and his wife, Melissa, have three kids: Corrie, Alex and Breck.