The University of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to select Dr. Stuart Bell as the university’s 14th president, subject to confirmation by the Florida Board of Governors. 

The vote comes several weeks after the UF Presidential Search Advisory Committee unanimously recommended Bell, former president of the University of Alabama, as the sole finalist for the position and a week after Bell took part in a series of public forums with students, faculty and staff at the main campus in Gainesville. 

The forums came even as Florida Senator Rick Scott questioned UF’s search process and a $2 million interim contract. 

The search for the university’s next president came after former UF President Ben Sasse resigned in 2024. Following a search process, UF announced Dr. Santa Ono, then president of the University of Michigan, as its sole finalist.  

Ono received unanimous approval from the UF trustees before failing in a 10-6 vote before the Florida Board of Governors. That denial forced UF back into search mode, with an interim stint by former UF President Kent Fuchs and then installation of Dr. Donald Landry as interim president.  

In a released statement, UF Chair Mori Hosseini said Bell’s experience, character and leadership will take the university to the highest ranks of U.S. higher education. UF is currently ranked No. 7 among public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report 2026 rankings.   

“The Board of Trustees’ unanimous vote today is a resounding and undeniable show of support for Dr. Stuart Bell, who is exactly the right leader at the right time for the University of Florida,” Hosseini said in the release. 

The UF Board of Trustees has voted unanimously for the last five presidents-elect. 

Bell spent a decade serving as Alabama’s president (2015-2025). Before this, he worked as provost and professor of engineering at Louisiana State University and as dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas. 

He was also president of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) from 2023-2025 and served on its Executive Committee from 2021-2025. Bell earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and his bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University. 

During a Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday at Emerson Alumni Hall, Bell was asked to share his reasoning for wanting to join UF and the vision he has for the institution. 

Bell called UF a “tremendous university” that has set “incredible goals.” He also highlighted the investments that have been made in the state for higher education. 

In terms of his vision, Bell said he wants to take UF from being “a great university” to the very best institution. 

“Mr. Chairman, my vision is your vision,” Bell said to Hosseini. “The vision for this board is for the University of Florida to be a top three – if not the best – public institution in the nation. The state of Florida [and] the students at Florida deserve that. The expectation of the citizens deserve that. That’s my vision. That will be my north star in everything that we do.” 

During the interview portion of the meeting, Rahul Patel, vice chair of the UF Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee, asked Bell to share his views on university rankings. 

In response, Bell said rankings will depend on having the best faculty and staff. He also noted that UF has a rare alignment of legislature, board of trustees and governor to provide the resources to move up rankings. 

As a follow-up to his first question, Patel noted that roughly 20 years ago, UF was the 14th-ranked public university in the nation. He added that at one point, the institution had risen to a top 5 public university (UF had back-to-back top 5 rankings in 2021 and 2022 before dropping one spot to No. 6 in September 2023.). 

Patel noted that this aligned with Bell’s tenure at Alabama and that the university didn’t have the same success as UF did during that time (Alabama ranked No. 143 and No.148 among national public universities in 2021 and 2022, respectively, according to U.S. News & World Report rankings.). Patel asked Bell for his opinion on this. 

Bell said Alabama has record retention and graduation rates, as well as record enrollments and research. He also noted that Alabama grew to R1 (very high research activity) status. 

Bell also addressed his diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work while at Alabama. 

According to media reports, Bell opened the Division of DEI at Alabama in 2017. He later closed it in 2024 to comply with state law (Senate Bill 129). 

According to reporting by Alabama Political Reporter, SB 129 banned both DEI programs and “the teaching of ‘divisive concepts’ at public colleges.” 

In addressing a question from Trustee Daniel O’Keefe on Wednesday, Bell said “I’m not coming to Florida to bring DEI or woke back here.” 

“What I am here to do is to build on the vision of this board and the vision that I find consistent across the state…and that is developing a great institution based on merit, based on hard work [and] based on accountability,” Bell said. 

Fears of DEI program renewals pushed the Florida Board of Governors to vote against the confirmation of Ono. 

Trustee James W. “Bill” Heavener asked Bell how he planned to spend his first 100 days as president at UF. 

Bell said there are a few things he would likely focus on, including taking time to visit with the UF community. 

“I will do a visit with this board a lot. I will visit with our faculty, with our staff, visit with our students and begin to understand foundationally who do we see ourselves being at the University [of Florida],” Bell said. 

The Board of Governors will need to ratify Bell as UF’s president. According to a UF release, this vote is expected to take place at the next Board of Governors’ meeting on June 25.