Sen. Scott Blasts U of Florida Board's Rec of 'Sole Finalist' for President

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) blasted the University of Florida’s Board recommendation of a “sole finalist” for president, accusing them of a “pattern of malfeasance” in their hiring process.

“This week, the University of Florida (UF) announced the unanimous recommendation of Dr. Stuart Bell as the sole finalist to become President of UF,” Scott wrote in a letter to State University System of Florida Chancellor Raymond Rodrigues — obtained by Breitbart News.

The senator went on to say, “UF has engaged in a search process that lacked any transparency or public input and failed to interview three candidates as mandated under Florida law.”

He also referenced his prior public criticism “of the process that transpired with Dr. Santa Ono,” adding, “it was good the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) rejected his appointment.”

Scott then called into question “why Dr. Donald Landry who has been interim president was not considered,” before pointing out that Landy “has a clause in his contract that he would be awarded a multimillion-dollar payout if he failed to become the permanent president at UF.”

“That is crazy,” the senator asserted. “There needs to be an investigation of Dr. Landry’s contract.”

Scott went on to mention a Fox 13 report earlier this year that noted “UF’s law school awarded Florida’s appointed Attorney General a $100,000 job to teach a few hours a week, when similarly situated professors make $5,000.”

“I don’t know the Attorney General, but that is frankly bizarre and if true, it demonstrates a pattern of malfeasance in UF’s hiring and contracting processes,” the senator wrote to Rodrigues.

In his call to action, Scott cited “two major problems” at the University of Florida that he believes need to be addressed: “UF’s Contracting Process” and “UF’s Lack of a Transparent Presidential Search.”

“I am requesting any and all contracts from all institutions in the State University System that have hired elected officials or their families and how their compensation compares to similarly situated faculty members,” the senator wrote.

“I am also requesting all contracts from all institutions in the State University System that have provisions where there is a payout if someone doesn’t get a permanent job,” he added.

With regards to the second problem of the university’s lack of a transparent presidential search, Scott demanded that the search committee “explain why they are bringing the board fewer than three candidates.”

“As I said last year during the Santa Ono search, the law signed in 2022 on presidential searches is flawed,” Scott told Rodrigues. “The current law is being implemented in a matter that allows much of the selection process to be shielded from the public.”

“The board interview should not be the only and final arena for the public to learn about the sole candidate, and it is being interpreted in such a way that only one candidate is often sent to our university boards to consider,” the senator added.

Scott also said that he is “tired of hearing” people say: “there is only one sole finalist because no one else was willing to do a public interview.”

“That is BS,” the Florida senator declared.

“The single focus of higher education is to help students get good paying jobs,” Scott proclaimed, before noting, “The average salary for a graduate of UF is $56,000 dollars six years after graduation” and “the average salaries for UF professors are about $150,000 dollars.”

The senator added that “Over 40% of recent college graduates are working in jobs that typically don’t require a college degree.”

“If I was a board member or president of a university and that was the case, I would be embarrassed,” Scott said.