Battle for control of UF looms over confirmation of new president
The battle over who controls the University of Florida overshadowed Stuart Bell’s installation as interim president Monday, as UF trustees rallied behind Chairman Mori Hosseini, who has faced mounting scrutiny over his authority.
Before voting to appoint Bell, the former University of Alabama president, as interim president, trustees spent much of the evening defending Hosseini against allegations that he wielded outsized influence over university affairs.
The conflict stems from two overlapping developments: a governance review launched by Florida Board of Governors Chair Alan Levine and an anonymous complaint circulated on social media alleging that Hosseini — a real estate developer and Republican megadonor — had used his perch atop UF’s board to benefit his businesses and hand out political favors.
By the end of the meeting, however, signs of a compromise had emerged. Shortly after trustees unanimously appointed Bell interim president, Board of Governors Chair Alan Levine announced plans for a special meeting to consider Bell’s confirmation as UF’s permanent president following what he called “productive discussions” with university leaders.
The Board of Governors will now consider Bell’s appointment during a special meeting July 1 — the same day he is slated to begin as UF’s interim president.
The announcement signals a potential compromise in a standoff that had threatened to delay Bell’s confirmation and raised broader questions about governance at Florida’s flagship university.
In defense of the board chair
In a letter sent last week to State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, Levine questioned whether authority delegated to Hosseini under exceeded what state regulations allow. Consequently, Levine placed an indefinite hold on Bell’s Board of Governors confirmation vote while his governance concerns were addressed.
In his letter, Levine also said he was directing the Board of Governors’ inspector general to review what he described as “certain allegations made involving real-estate and financial transactions” involving Hosseini. An anonymous complaint to Levine — later circulated on X by “CommiesOnCampus,” an anonymously-run right-wing account which has relentlessly attacked Hosseini and Bell — had raised questions about UF projects that may drive profits toward Hosseini’s real-estate holdings.
Conservative critics seized upon those allegations, accusing Hosseini of exerting outsized influence over UF’s presidential search process and questioning whether trustees had exercised independent judgment in selecting Bell.
During Monday’s meeting trustees forcefully pushed back on the suggestion that there were governance improprieties.
Vice Chair Rahul Patel cited an opinion from Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office, in which outside law firm GrayRobinson concluded that UF’s governance structure complies with state law.
The opinion, provided to the Miami Herald by a UF spokesperson, also found that no Board of Governors member can direct an inspector general investigation and argued allegations against Hosseini stemmed from what the firm described as a “concerted and excessively hostile social media campaign” targeting Bell’s candidacy.
Trustees repeatedly defended Hosseini, a prominent Republican donor, ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis and longtime power player in Florida higher education. Hosseini previously chaired the Board of Governors, helped champion the state’s performance-based funding and preeminence models, and is now eight years into his term as chairman of the UF’s board.
“There is no one who has more integrity and is harder working than you are,” trustee Marsha Powers told Hosseini. “I’m just completely disappointed that these allegations, that anonymous allegations, can be taken seriously.”
Trustee Richard Cole said the controversy threatened fundraising efforts and prolonged uncertainty after nearly two years without a permanent president.
“I find it completely offensive that they would think that the trustees have not done their job,” Cole said. “To think that you trustees would not oversee what we have agreed to oversee is insulting.”
Hosseini, making his first public comments on the controversy, rejected accusations that he had improperly influenced university affairs.
“Mori Hosseini has not done anything wrong,” he said. “Nothing. Zero.”
Hosseini also dismissed criticism from online activists who have targeted both him and Bell during the presidential search process. Later in the meeting, while praising UF faculty and researchers, he took a swipe at critics on social media.
“All those people on Twitter in a basement, your tweets are not going to change people’s lives,” Hosseini said.
